Alec?

[ApuskiDusky]

Just found out that dc2 will be a boy, and we're struggling a little for names. Was wondering about Alec.

I don't know if we should be go for Alexander and then abbreviate, and I am also wondering if it will be constantly mistaken for Alex to the point of aggravation. I like Alex but prefer Alec because it's not unisex, less popular, and I'm Scottish (though live in England so the baby won't be).

Thoughts?

I have an Alec and we love it. We are English, he was born there, and lots of people mistakenly called him "Alex" which annoyed me...
We have now moved to Scotland, where "Alec" is a bit more mainstream! But he is the only one I have met round here who is actually "Alec" on his birth certificate, all the others are older men called Alexander shortened to Alec.
I would recommend!! As you say, in England will be considered more unusual, HTH

Forgot to add, IMO, if you name him Alexander, he will be shortened to Alex in England automatically, but if you name Alec, that will be his name iyswim?
God, apologies, am pretty incoherent tonight!!

FIL was Alec (Alexander) with no scottish roots at all. Never got to meet him though which was sad.

Thanks for your thoughts; humptynumpty, very interesting to hear the difference between Scotland and England. I am concerned about having to correct people all the time, I don't want to come across as precious about it all, so I understand what you're saying about just making it as his name.

One of my work colleagues is Alec - don't know another. In England btw!
I dont think he has any bother with people calling him Alec.

That should be, bother with people calling him Alex

sorry but it reminds me of that Corrie character, Alec Gilroy here

If it wasn't for that, I'm sure I'd love it!

I really love the name Alec. Reminds me of Alec Guinness. Nicer than Alex, imo, especially with the Scottish connection.

My 5 year old son is named Alexander James, but we have always called him Alec from day 1! I am American, my husband is Scottish, and we live in Scotland.

"Alec" is an old-time Scottish name. A lot of folks have told me their granddad, greatgranddad, etc, had that name. All other little boys in Scotland seem to go by Alex these days, so my Alec will be the only "Alec with a C" in his class! I like that he will be different.

I love the name. Its more unique than Alex; its a cute name for a little boy and a strong name for a man; yes, there is a lot of confusion - I always have to say "Alec with a C" - so, only use the name if you dont mind the confusion!

My 3 year old is "Arran like the island" - so, I spend my life saying "Alec with a C and Arran like the island" lol!

Something to add to my above post. This past Christmas, I went through a bit of a crisis regarding the name "Alec" and thought, should I have given him another one of th nicknames? (someone had made a comment to me about choosing the wrong nickname) So...I joined a bunch of parents forums and asked people's perspectives. Heres what I heard:

Alec is old fashioned, classic, a laird in his castle with patches on his elbow, an oxford school boy, a working class glaswegian, a cool trendy boy, a nerdy bus driver, a sexy man, a darling little boy, unique, strong, masculine.

Basically, everyone had a different perspective! So, I was left with - I love it - my son loves it - there you go!

love alexander and alex but not alec sorry.

Love Alec! It's a family name and I've always vastly preferred it to Alex.

I think I would prefer Alec to Alex - go for it, if you're OK with the odd mispronunciation.

If you are having a boy, Alec is a lot less confusing than Alex. I personally do not like names that are ambiguous - I like to know if it's a boy or girl someone is talking of/about, rather than having to guess or ask. Naming your son Alec would cut out this often annoying problem. I have a nephew called Alexander and he gets called Alex (but MIL calls him Alec through her own choice really) - it is something that would get on my nerves tbh. That's why we're choosing boys names that are v masculine and not confusing to others.

I was working with a little boy called Alec in a school. He got called Alex EVERY single time.

One more thought - I found out in hispanic countries, they often call kids "Aleco"....I think thats cute, and sometimes call my Alec "Aleco"!

Based on my experience (in Scotland) I wouldn't. I initially called my son Alexander (Alex) and everyone - even some family members kept calling him Alec. My GP then told me she had called her son Alexander (Alec) and everyone kept calling him Alex! I now realise that quite a lot of people, certainly in Scotland see Alec and Alex as the "same name" and tbh I found it really irritating. I ended up changing my son's first name when he was 3 months old and keeping Alexander as a middle name. I wish I'd known this in advance lol! Good luck

magbags you've made a really good point there. This is basically what happens with my nephew - he gets called Alex and Alec depending on what relative is talking to him. I personally wouldn't be happy about that but each to their own.

Hi everyone - YES, its true, here in Scotland, people seem to assume Alec and Alex are the same name...some people, anyway! I dont mind too much, with my son, cuz Im someone who loves lots of names....so, Alec, Alex, Sandy, Alexander - I like them all! BUT because Alec "tends" to be an older name and Alex "tends" to be more young and trendy, I really like that my boy is Alec...he is the only 5 year old I know who goes by Alec with a C...I just love it!

Im very interested in the poster who said she changed the baby's name at 3 months...what did you end up calling him? Good for you for having the confidence to do what you felt comfortable with....

Zaidagal thank you . we changed his name to Felix and kept Alexander as a middle name. Names are such a personal choice and we are so glad we did what we knew was right for our LO in the end. Everyone gets the pronunciation right now lol.

Magbags - Felix Alexander sounds great together, too. I love the combination of the two "x"'s, it just fits! Felix is terrific.

Love discussing names!

The confusion here is that in Scotland, Alex is traditionally pronounced Alec. So really they are the same name. The spelling Alec has come around later because of the pronunciation. Sir Alex Ferguson's name is pronounced Alec. As was my grandad. In fact a friend just had a daughter and called her Alex and all her grandparents saw it written down and went "A girl called Alec??"
So yes. They are the same name really!

ZOMBIE THREAD 🚨

I really love Alec. I used to only know older Alec's and never really had an opinion on it, but have met a couple of little Alec's recently (all from different places) and it's really grown on me. It's sweet but a very strong name. I've never mistaken it for Alex. Also from Scotland!

Alec Guinness was just Alec.
Alexander is fine too, but if he's only ever going to be Alec, I'd just put Alec on the bc.