Name dilemma - need advice

jarbatz · May 2011

So when I was 7 months pg w/ DD my dad went into the hospital for routine surgery and ended up having horrible complications and spent 5 months in ICU...we almost lost him a few times during the whole ordeal.

Before we even got married, we sort of decided if we had a boy we would name him after our fathers (DH's father passed away 2 years ago). So when my dad got sick, we shared this with him. Well, fast forward 1 year....we ended up having a girl, my dad has fully recovered and we're pg w/ #2.

My dad's name is William and we were going to call him Liam. I had no idea that Liam was becoming so popular but it feels like every day I hear of someone naming their boy Liam. I still love the name but really don't want our son (if we have a boy) to have 5 other classmates named the same as him.

But at the same time, we don't want to hurt my dad's feelings if we went with something else.

DH doesn't like any other nicknames for William, i.e. Will or Bill.

WWYD? Thoughts on Liam being super popular these days?

Maybe we'll get lucky again and have a girl! But I can't help being anxious about this already!

Ceridwen21 · May 2011

I agree that Liam is getting very popular. How about William as a middle name?

Moneypenny424 · May 2011

Since you said you'd name kids after both of your fathers, perhaps you can use DH's father's name as the first name and William as MN?

PhoebeJones3 · May 2011

I have always liked Liam, and yes its becoming popular.

IMO I would rather have a popular name, than a 'you-neek' name, or worst a bland name.

Its your son, so if in the end you still really like the name, I say go for it! Why miss out on something you love, just because others love it as well?!

melissa721 · May 2011

I'd still go with it. I love the name and it's not real popular where I live.

rubyjem00 · May 2011

I personally think that a name honoring someone trumps any issues of popularity, but that is just my opinion. I like the suggestion of using William as a middle name. But if you still love the name William with the nickname Liam, I say you use it.

krissyh21 · May 2011

I don't think it is popular enough to have 5 Liam's in class, so you should erase that worry, I could see if it was Aiden, but it is not. Dylan is ranked at about the same as Liam and I have not met another in my area with my sons name, and I do go to a lot of things with kids his age.

jarbatz · May 2011

Moneypenny424:

Since you said you'd name kids after both of your fathers, perhaps you can use DH's father's name as the first name and William as MN?

A great idea but here's the rub: DH's father's name was Eugene!!! EEK! So yea, there's no way we're using Eugene as the first name...I was OK with it as a MN. But I would feel bad suggesting William as a MN and not using DH's father's name at all.

Brodyrox30 · May 2011

I'm having the same dilemma as you. William is a huge family name for me: late brother's mn, dad's mn, and my great-grandfathers name (who didn't pass away until I was 13). I was thinking of going the Liam route, but it IS so popular. Especially where I live in Canada, it was the number 1 boys' name in 2010. So, I've decided to veto it as a fn, and use William as a mn. However, it would really bother me to have such a popular name for my child. If it's not a huge problem for you, and the family ties outweigh the "annoyance", then still use it! Also, my family has a tradition of two middle names. You could do that also. Use William and FILs names for the middles, and pick a different fn.

Nel11 · May 2011

I would use William as either the FN or MN... I could never tell my father I was naming my child after him and then not do it.

FWIW, I love the name William, and my favorite NN for it is Will.

JessandJeremy · May 2011

PhoebeJones3:
I have always liked Liam, and yes its becoming popular.
IMO I would rather have a popular name, than a 'you-neek' name, or worst a bland name.
Its your son, so if in the end you still really like the name, I say go for it! Why miss out on something you love, just because others love it as well?!

JessandJeremy · May 2011

PhoebeJones3:
I have always liked Liam, and yes its becoming popular.
IMO I would rather have a popular name, than a 'you-neek' name, or worst a bland name.
Its your son, so if in the end you still really like the name, I say go for it! Why miss out on something you love, just because others love it as well?!

JessandJeremy · May 2011

JessandJeremy:
PhoebeJones3:

I have always liked Liam, and yes its becoming popular.

IMO I would rather have a popular name, than a 'you-neek' name, or worst a bland name.

Its your son, so if in the end you still really like the name, I say go for it! Why miss out on something you love, just because others love it as well?!

Ooops.....this. As evidenced by my son's name. Liam is high on our list if we ever have a second boy.

joanithegreat · May 2011

I would still name your child William (with nn Liam). I personally wouldn't care if it was popular since it is honoring your father.

eminbmore · May 2011

rubyjem00:
I personally think that a name honoring someone trumps any issues of popularity, but that is just my opinion. I like the suggestion of using William as a middle name. But if you still love the name William with the nickname Liam, I say you use it.

I completely agree.

mlf625 · May 2011

rubyjem00:
I personally think that a name honoring someone trumps any issues of popularity, but that is just my opinion.

I agree 100%. And I also feel like there's a HUGE difference between classic/popular and trendy/popular. I'd name a child William or Emily, I'd never in a bazillion years name a kid Brayden or Madison. I'd go for it. It will mean a lot to you and your dad. And FWIW, I know a ton of kids and don't know one William/Liam. I know one little William, he goes by Will.

Temp965378937506476 · May 2011

I'd still name him William. I don't know any William/Will/Liams, and we're around kids all the time. I love William and it will never be "trendy". That was our boy name (William is my dad's name, too) and we were going to use Will as the nn. But... we keep having girls and have yet to use it.

apc1929 · May 2011

I don't think Liam is crazy popular and I would def. still use it. Its a great name. I really can't imagine going back on a name that you already told someone you would use after them??

SnoopyLuv · May 2011

I would check your state's list for popularity concerns. That said, if you like Liam, you like it so use it. I definitely would keep Eugene relegated to MN status.

jarbatz · May 2011

apc1929:
I don't think Liam is crazy popular and I would def. still use it. Its a great name. I really can't imagine going back on a name that you already told someone you would use after them??

I know....I feel like an a-hole for even making a big deal out of this. I wish now that we hadn't told my dad but it was a really emotional time for us and truly, we had settled on that name before my dad got sick so it wasn't like "oh he's probably going to die so we'll name him William". It seemed appropriate at the time to tell him though....I would have regretted not telling him, if we ended up losing him.

I think we will likely stick with our name choice if we have a boy...but I just needed to hear other people's input. So thanks to everyone for responding!

WifeofaMarine · May 2011

I love Liam (points at siggy). I know people say its popular, but I don't know anyone else IRL with this name.

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