Zack vs Zachary (need help ASAP - induction today!)

LakeGenevaBride

I'm being induced in 3 hours and I'm having name confusion.  Here are our names for our twin boys:

Erik  Landon (Erik is a family name)

Zack  David (David is a family name)

Is it weird to not name our child the full "Zachary"?  I don't ever plan on calling him Zachary, so I was planning on his official name being Zack.  Or do you make the official name Zachary and use Zack as a nick name? 

MollyK0222

I would use Zachary as the official name.  He may want to use the fuller name later in life.  I wouldn't worry about not planning on calling only Zach, though, but by itself, it doesn't seem like a "full" name to me.

 

Good luck to you!

leah1615

great names! I would absolutely use the full name zachary even if you never plan on calling him that.  It's nice to have a formal name for things like wedding invitations, graduations, resumes, etc. 

MomsABoo

If you like the full name, use it, but if you don't even care for the full version i dont think its necessary.  I think Zach is perfectly acceptable alone. (Just like I think Jake is vs Jacob)

My girl name was Kate.  But I didnt like Katherine or Kathleen so I was going with just Kate.   

Mrs. TLC

i like just Zack, but my DH would say to give him a longer name so that later in life he has options. that's the problem we are having now with Max. he wants a longer name in case he wants to go by something different later, so i think we are going with Maddox

BabyS.

If you want Zack, go for it! He's your son - who cares what anyone else thinks!

Good luck today!!!

plunderb

I think it's best to give him options. He might never end up using the full name, which would be fine, but he may find the flexibility useful.

Also, I think it's weird to give one twin a full name and one a nickname. If you were naming the other twin Jack or Jake or Matt, it might make more sense.

BelleBaby

I'm all for naming kids what you plan to call them.  That's why Eli is just Eli.  We never planned on calling him Elijah or Elias or anything like that, we just wanted to call him Eli, so that's his official name.

I say name him Zack and leave it at that.  I love Zack David too.

SarahZ05

I always default to the full name when giving a legal name. You can call him Zack/Zach all his life but his official name should be the full version.

Temp984666312503071

I am a huge fan of giving a kid choices.  By giving him the name Zachary you are giving him more options on what he wants to be called.  Zack is a great nickname but when he is older and submitting resumes he will probably appreciate having a formal given name.

My first name is Jill.  Just Jill.  I have often wished my parents had named me the more formal JIllian so that I would have more choices. 

Good luck!!  Congrats on making it so far with your twins!!

still_a_bride

I would use Zack as the official name.  If you will never use Zachary there is no point in naming him that.  BTW, I love both Zack and Zachary!  Congratulations and good luck today!!

~denise~

Use a more formal name. That gives him more choices when he grows up. Also people might give him the side eye with formal resumes and applications if it just has Zack Smith instead of Zachary Smith.

PeridotEyes

I'm a fan of longer names so they can decide on what to use as adults. I also like Zachary & Eric together.

 

GL to you!

lovemytwoboys

I would definitely use Zachary, and I absolutely love the name Zachary David!

I'm all for naming them what you will call them (Eli, Kate, etc), but Zack just doesn't work for me. I don't think of it as a standalone name. 

Best wishes for a smooth delivery today!

jcsntms06

I like the full name Zachary better. And you can still call him Zack though. Good luck today.

cittycat

Full name

*Mrs*M*

MollyK0222:

I would use Zachary as the official name.  He may want to use the fuller name later in life.  I wouldn't worry about not planning on calling only Zach, though, but by itself, it doesn't seem like a "full" name to me.

 

Good luck to you!

CrazyToast

I am not sure when the world decided that we all had to have "full names" and "nicknames."  I have a full name that is 4 syllables and I HATE it when people shorten it.

I think it's completely ok to go with Zack without the Zachary.  If that's the name you like, that's the name you give your child.

J+R

I think that he needs a formal name... You can call him Zack, but I think that Zachary would be nice to have when he's an adult.

fraglette

MomsABoo:

If you like the full name, use it, but if you don't even care for the full version i dont think its necessary.  I think Zach is perfectly acceptable alone. (Just like I think Jake is vs Jacob)

My girl name was Kate.  But I didnt like Katherine or Kathleen so I was going with just Kate.   

I agree.

queenbone

I'd go with Zachary nn Zach.  But I grew up with a boy with those names so that is what looks "normal" to me.

queenbone

I just realized the other twin will be Erik, I don't like matchy matchy so I'd definitely spell them Erik and Zach so they don't have matching k's.

There were only 5 boys in my class and two of them were Zach and Eric. 

mcmann05

MollyK0222:

I would use Zachary as the official name.  He may want to use the fuller name later in life.  I wouldn't worry about not planning on calling only Zach, though, but by itself, it doesn't seem like a "full" name to me.

 

Good luck to you!

Probably too late but I agree. My cousin is Zachariah and called Zach.

MichelleL1118

I'd also go with Zachary on legal documents, because 1) when he graduates from school, regardless of what his records indicate his legal name is, the diploma will almost definitely be printed with Zachary; 2) when he applies for jobs & puts just Zach, many employers might believe he's either being lazy or doesn't understand proper etiquette, and therefore overlook his resume completely.

I have a friend with a legal name of Cindy.  She had to fight to get her diploma reprinted, and was told once that she had been overlooked for a promotion because someone in the higher-ups assumed she was being snotty by not putting her "legal name" of Cynthia on the transfer request. Her story has inspired me to NEVER use a traditional nickname as a legal name, no matter what we intend to call LO.   

JLGY

I would use full name Zachary.