Albert (nn Albie) or Jake for my baby boy?

[Sareiah29]

I'm really struggling to choose between these two names for my baby boy. I seem to change my mind every few days and it's driving me nuts 🤦🏻‍♀️.

I love the classic, vintage feel of Albert and Albie is a cute nn for when little. However, I'm struggling with seeing how the name will fit when he's a grown man. Albie seems juvenile and I'm not keen on Bert/Bertie. Al is ok, or he could just go by Albert.

The strong, simplicity of Jake is appealing to me and I think it's a name that easily suits a little boy or a man, without having the need for a nickname (which I do prefer). However, I don't know whether it's a bit outdated now and also if it's a bit boring? Would he end up having a bit of a 'dad name' since the popularity of the name Jake spiked in the 90s and those born then will be the generation having babies now?

My other two children are named Owen and Eliza, so I would like the name to fit best with theirs. They have no nicknames and I do like this.

The full name would be:

Albert Sylvester Edwards
Or
Jake Oliver Edwards

Thank you 🥰

Problem is she has mental health issues and it could be something that I would have to listen to her be angry about for years.

Jake!

Just tell her you don’t want to discuss it.

Jake by far. Albie is a weird mix of babyish and thuggish, and I can’t warm to Albert.

Honestly, I can't explain what's she's like. She can be very volatile and it honestly wouldn't be worth the family arguments 🤦🏻‍♀️.

Not Albie the racist dragon…

@KrakinouI think that being almost 20 years old isn't really relevant to children today. I've never even heard of it either.

Everyone on Mumsnet seems to strongly disapprove of the name Albie, they bash it quite a lot on here! .. it’s a very loved name in real life!

I have a 10 year old Albert.. who goes by the name Albie. He loves his name and has had plenty of positive comments on it. It was waaayyyy less popular 10 years ago when he was born. I imagine as he gets older may go by the name Albert more.. i love the thought of him being a teenage Albert!

We have friends who have a baby called Jake. I think it’s a lovely name too which is very well known but not overly popular.

good luck xx

@mum1345
That's so lovely to hear of your positive experience with Albie/Albert. Thank you for sharing this. Albie is quite popular now but Albert is still around number 55, so not too popular. I'm hoping it won't suddenly increase in popularity over the next few years as Owen and Eliza have always had fairly uncommon names (not come across more than a couple of children named the same as them).

I suppose i am quite old :)

I do think it’s quite a cute name though

Jake by a million miles. It's good for all ages, and I prefer it to Jacob.

I suppose Albert is OK, it's sort of dignified and classic, but I just don't warm to it. Also, I can't bear cutesy names, of which Albie is one, on either boys or girls.

I like both, but Albie is very popular near me (North of England).

There are two Albies and one Albus in my son’s nursery class alone! So, I’d choose Jake. I agree that it’s timeless and goes well with the names of your other children. Good luck!

Neither name is objectively objectionable, so it comes down to a matter of personal preference. Personally, I dislike the cutesy -ie nicknames that have been all the rage on MN over the past decade (and which thankfully is less common in my own country). So I'd pick Jake any day. But if your MIL would react that strongly to Jacob, are you sure she wouldn't react to Jake ?

Anyway, if you really can't decide between both names, you could look for a third name that you love even more than the other two ?

edited once I read the bit about your MIL

I think Jake on its own is a bit harsh (though like if as a nn). How about Jacoby? It's said jah-CO-BEE rather than Jacob with an y on the end.

Albert/Albie has been so recently overdone

Arnold/Arnie might be an option though?

Jake is lovely and not very common these days. Albie is everywhere.

Other options - Joel / Adam

I don't like either sorry.....

Maybe

Lucas or Alex ?

Jacob.
"Alb" gives off egg vibes (Albumin)

Albert is very popular at the moment and may date, but that means it will feel like a perfectly ordinary name for him - names are more varied these days than they used to be, so he probably won't be the third Albert in the class like all the 80s/90s Daves. But it will be as unremarkable as Mark or Adam was in our day.

Jake was very popular about 20-30 years ago, so is likely to feel more unusual. I think it's a lovely name. Doesn't feel thuggish to me at all, but it is the name a lot of younger-sibling toddlers had when I was a teenager. I mostly associate it with cute small children!