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Liam vs. William vs. Will

Kate0034Kate0034 member
in Baby Names
We've known for awhile we wanted to name our first son William (family name with special significance). The question is what to call him...
I like classic names, but William is just SO generic. I always figured we would call him Liam. The origin of the nn is Irish, and we both have Irish heritage and are really into Irish culture. It was also something different and unique...

WAS. Now, as we all know...Top 10 list. Ughh! I hate trendy names. But I still love the name Liam. I actually don't know any Liams personally, but numbers show they're about to running around everywhere.

So do we stick with it? Or call him Will instead? Or just call him William? It's actually pretty unusual these days to meet a young William that actually goes by William...so would that be the most "unique" thing to do?
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Re: Liam vs. William vs. Will

  • Manderlin923Manderlin923 member
    I really dislike Liam...so I vote Will.
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  • macchiattomacchiatto member
    William has been #1 in my state for a while, so I know a lot of them. Most of the young Williams I know go by Will, but I also know a fair number who go by William (maybe 1/4 of them). I think going by full names is far more common these days than when we were kids. I know a lot of kids who go by Matthew, Andrew, Zachary, Samuel, Nathan, etc. rather than Matt, Andy, Zach, Sam, Nate, etc. ...
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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  • parenthood4parenthood4 member
    I love William! I like Will and Liam too though, so I don't think you can go wrong. I say use what feels right!
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  • chapstix7chapstix7 member
    I am probably the odd woman out, but I dislike William. It's a perfectly fine name, just not one I'm drawn too. I however really like Liam.
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  • RebeccaS6627RebeccaS6627 member
    I love Liam and Will.
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  • erinmserinms member
    William is great, and I really like Will. I just don't like Liam. It gets lumped in with Aiden to me.

    What about Billy? It is underused, cute for a little boy, and I knew a hot guy in college named Billy so it can grow up too.
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  • ashiscuteashiscute member
    I love William and like Will and Liam equally.  Who cares what's most unique?  Use what you like.  There are worse things than being 1 of 2 Liam's in your preschool.  
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  • Kate0034Kate0034 member
    macchiatto said:

    William has been #1 in my state for a while, so I know a lot of them. Most of the young Williams I know go by Will, but I also know a fair number who go by William (maybe 1/4 of them).

    That's good to know! There aren't many Williams in my area besides older men. But good to keep in mind that it's not that unique in other places.

    Thanks to everyone for the input!
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  • AthensMom2BAthensMom2B member
    I think you can't go wrong with Liam or Will but I slightly favor Will. It feels less trendy to me and seems like a more natural nick name for William.  
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  • LtlAngLLtlAngL member
    erinms said:

    William is great, and I really like Will. I just don't like Liam. It gets lumped in with Aiden to me.

    What about Billy? It is underused, cute for a little boy, and I knew a hot guy in college named Billy so it can grow up too.

    Exactly this, except I also knew a hot Billy in high school as well as one in college.


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  • macchiattomacchiatto member
    Kate0034 said:
    William has been #1 in my state for a while, so I know a lot of them. Most of the young Williams I know go by Will, but I also know a fair number who go by William (maybe 1/4 of them).
    That's good to know! There aren't many Williams in my area besides older men. But good to keep in mind that it's not that unique in other places. Thanks to everyone for the input!

    Yeah, nationally it is quite popular. It has been in the top 20 in the US at least since 1884 (probably before that), was in the top 10 for all but a few decades and has been top 5 since 2005, so nationwide there are a lot of Williams of all ages! :) 
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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  • NerdyLucyNerdyLucy member
    DH and I both like William.

    I like Liam, but I like Liam fine as a name on it's own,not as a nickname for William. 

    I do like Will as a nickname though. 

    William is also ranked #1 in my state, though I don't know many little Williams. 


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  • nikkitaplinnikkitaplin member
    we lost a baby boy at 20 weeks.  We named him Liam not knowing it was so popular.  If he was full term, we were going to do William as well.  I loved that he had a very formal name if he wanted but LOVED Liam.  I personally don't like Will but that is just my opinion but is a strong contender for a nickname...for obvious reasons.  Our boy is Liam Jameson...would have been William Jameson.  I say go with what you want..if there is another Liam in his class, he could go by William.  My daughter is Grace.  She had two other Grace's in her kindergarten class.  She had to go by Grace H.  to this day, she is still Grace H. and it kinda annoys me but it is what it is..lol
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