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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

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Original poster

Will it be Will?

21 replies

ToffeeAddict · 15/02/2010 13:00

Trying to get a view of the consensus on the name Will, but difficult to search as it brings up every post with the word 'will' in it!

Am due in a few weeks, and we really like it. Not William though. What's your opinion of the name?

Thanks

OP posts:

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mummyjackson · 15/02/2010 13:11

William with the nickname Will is nice but I wouldn't use it on its own. I'm sure most will agree with this.

mummyjackson · 15/02/2010 13:11

Wilfred
Wilbur
Willum

MultipleUnicorns · 15/02/2010 13:19

we have a Will but is short for William love it but not just Will on it own

Bucharest · 15/02/2010 13:20

It always sounds dreadfully wet to me.

Ziggurat · 15/02/2010 13:45

See, I'm not a big fan of William - it's just a bit blah to me - but I love the shortened Will.

I don't think you can really call a child just Will, though...

deaddei · 15/02/2010 13:47

I'm the same as Multiple Unicorns- I have a William but he decided when he was 6 he wanted to be called Will.
And he is.
Unless he's a little monkey, and then it's William !

Mrsshuvel · 15/02/2010 13:50

William shortened to Will is top of our boy list at the moment.

Wolfblass · 15/02/2010 14:06

William on the birth cert and Will for everyday.

Top of our list if we have another ds

yellowflowers · 15/02/2010 14:18

i have my eye on it as future number 1 name in baby name list - know several Williams already, probably because of Prince William

elliedodger · 15/02/2010 14:21

I LOVE the name William. It's the name of my dad, brother and grandfather so I had planned to carry on the tradition but I ended up with an OH with that name and he thinks it'll be too much to have another Will so I'll have to find an alternative.

Lovely name though - it's been in fashion for centuries.

MrsJohnDeere · 15/02/2010 14:33

Lovely name. I have one of those.

Always intended him to be known as Will rather than William, but he is more often than not known by his full name (and he prefers the longer version). One of his little friends always calls him Wilf for some reason.

MNHQ

OliviaMumsnet · 15/02/2010 14:37

Where there's a Will, there's a way

randomimposter · 15/02/2010 15:32

I have a William. He is Billy for now. I like Will as a grown name. BUT am NOT wild about William either .

I guess I really liked the variety that William gives you.... (also could be Liam) and the fact that he's named after Hammers legend William Arthur Bonds did it for me.... .

So I think Will(iam) is great!

shoobidoo · 16/02/2010 15:13

I don't understand the attraction of Will at all, I'm afraid.

Firstly it is a verb (I will), secondly it is a noun (the last will) and thirdly it is so close to willy.....

But in any case, I would not name a child just Will. It would have to be William or Willbur or some other proper name.

monkeypinkmonkey · 16/02/2010 15:32

I have a William and thought I'd call him WIll but never got round to it and he gets his full name (well when i'm not calling him willy woos )

BellasYummyMummy · 16/02/2010 15:40

william is on our list, i dont really love the name but i like the nn Will, i think its strong.

morethemerrier · 16/02/2010 20:50

We have a William, but shorten it to Will which we love and it really suits him.

We like the fact that he can alter William to suit when he is older, but I dont like Billy/Bill it just doesn't suit him! You wouldn't get that if he was 'Just Will!'

I think you can get away with Will in its own right though,as it lends itself to all ages, baby Will, Little Will, teenager etc!

If you can cope with having to correct people, as you will always get, "ah Will, short for William!" Go for it!

But as others have said, putting William on the birth cert gives you a bit of flexibility and you dont have to 'advertise' the fact that he has the more formal version of William on it if you want to avoid its usage!

MamaVoo · 16/02/2010 21:33

In the unlikely event that I have another Will would be my first choice of boys name. Not William. I think it's great and is a proper name in it's own right.

mumoverseas · 17/02/2010 08:45

Lovely name. A friend had a baby boy last week and named him Will (not William)

My lovely dad was William although everyone called him Bill. When my DS was born last year I gave him William as his middle name in memory of his lovely grandad that he will never meet but will hear all about

Original poster

ToffeeAddict · 17/02/2010 12:36

Hmm mixed responses then, am encouraged to read from some of the later posters that it's ok to use Will in it's own right (thanks morethemerrier, mumoverseas and MamaVoo!)

Nice to see that so many seem to like the name anyway, with the caveat that it is a nn.

Can't really see that Will is any different from say, Alfie/Archie/Bella and other shortened names which seem to be popular and accepted in their own right - just my view though. I am fairly certain we are going to use it.

The name William has all sorts of different connotations for me than the name Will, so I don't really want to use that just for the sake of having flexibility in future - can't say having just one name to choose from has never been a problem for me personally

OP posts:

mumoverseas · 17/02/2010 12:46

go for it. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, its what you and your DH think that counts.

Look forward to Will's birth announcement in due course

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