Am I boring to be thinking of calling my baby James?

[Two4One]

My baby will be here very soon and DH and I still haven't agreed on a name. I have spent hours poring over these threads about baby names and have come to the conclusion that I might like to call my boy James...

Is this what MNters call a "meh" name? I'm forever reading on here "What about Turquand?" and "How do you feel about Virgil?" and I wonder if I should be making a bit more of an effort. But I think James is a lovely name. Always have. Makes me think of my dear Grandpa.

Is it very important to his well-being that my child has a name outside of the top 100?

Is James ten-a-penny?

Please help...

James is a lovely, wonderful, gorgeous, heavenly name.

No child called James in ds's class (age 5/6) if that helps. I know one in my family though .

Congratulations!

James is timeless, classy and elegant.

Not ten a penny, those are Alfies and Archies.

If I had a boy, James would be very high on my list.

My lovely nephew is called James so I am biased but I think it's a lovely name.

It IS a common name... but you love it and it has special meaning for you. No brainer in my opinion.. go for it

James is a wonderful name and doubly so if it makes you think of your Grandpa.

My DS1(5) is a James. I think of it as a strong, classic name (and also my dads name!). There were no other James' in his nursery class.

I agree with Bucharest, James is timeless, its a beautfil name, one of my top 5 favorites for a boy

Have you considered Bames? Similar, but with a little twist to set it above the ordinary.

Because it's for you Grandfather it's not boring at all, it's meaningful.

If they were no family link I would think it was a bit middle of the road but you have a nice reason so I'd definitely use it.

No, it's lovely. All little boys relish sharing a name with a character from Thomas the Tank Engine, Jamie is a cute nickname, and when he gets to secondary school they'll all call him J or something.

I have a James...he was going to be Daniel but he didn't look like a Daniel.
he is 14. He did go through a time when he was in a class of 25 other James's but they seem to have thinned out a bit. (could be because I have no idea who is in his class now, or in fact which class he is in )

James is a lovely name and I wanted it for DS. Unfortunately we have an S surname so it really wouldn't have worked. Plus James is far and away the best engine in Thomas the Tank Engine.

James is a great name. Lots of nickname potential.

The James' we know are a.k.a. Jamie, Jaymar, JimJam, JimJamJaroonie , Jimmy (I love Jimmy!).

Great choice.

James is such a classic, I think it is above the "Oh that's so top ten" MN snobbery!

And it has loads of abbreviations.

And James were the best band in the world if you are a thirty something indie chick!

So go for James, Jim, Jamie, Jimbo, Jimmy..... just not with Robert as a middle name like my friend, who needed her 4 year old daughter to say (after he was registered) - Jim Bob!

James is lovely! I know loads on their 20's, 30's and 40's but only one under 12, he is 5.
I love the nn Jimi/Jimmy/Jim.
Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix are very cool too!

I have a James and think it is the best boys name ever....we call him Bob for short (JimBob became just Bob....)

you will never be embarrassed to call out the name James whereas some of the more choice MN choices i cringe just reading....

Bames is better.

James is a great name which is made even better as it makes you think of your Grandpa!

It doesn't really matter what others think of it, if you love it, use it.

DS1 and DD's names were both in the top 10 list last year and I think DS2's was in the top 20 - I love their names though and couldn't care less! DS1 has my most favourite boys name ever!

James is a brilliant name. There are 3 in my daughter's Reception class of 30 and we know another couple of 5-year-olds named James but who go by Jamie but I can't think of any babies I know named James recently.

I doubt any future psychiatric problems will be able to be attributed to your son having been given a name from the top 100... it would be ever so tricky to demonstrate a causal relationship between the two

I am very much in the minority in that I don't get James (don't dislike it, but don't understand all the fuss over it either) - but if you like it, go for it!

personally i like the fact that my dd's names are universally liked and heard of and in the top 100. James would have been the name for my dd1 had she been a boy!

Excellent choice. Its one of those names that doesn't try to define a child - he can be a posh James or a Jimmy or absolutely anything in between.

I think a good solid name does no harm. No one will ever pre-judge a James, nor ask how to spell it etc. It suits a baby and an old man. Ultimately, it is a name you like and that has family connections, and that's what matters. My brother & I were both given names that then sat at no 1 & 2 for many years and it did us no harm at all. Wierdly, as you get older it seems to matter less & less as you mix with people of wider ages (if that makes any sense)!!

Bames is a made up name, surely. I love James btw

As others have said, if the name James has a special meaning to your, then that's a great reason to choose it (assuming you like it too and it goes with your surname ).

It wouldn't be my choice, personally, though.