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Liam vs William name argument.


If you did not want to use William, would Liam be too close an association to use?  

  1. 1. If you did not want to use William, would Liam be too close an association to use?

    • Yes
      38
    • No
      231


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Will your family associate them and leave other members irritated that you didn't use their name? Stupid, but it would be an issue with my family. My sister named one son after both grandads by using derivatives of each first name for her son's first and middle. Something similar to Liam for William. But, she made it known that's what she was doing.

 

My in laws and parents don't know each other's names, so that really wouldn't be an issue unless we pointed it out. Which if we WANTED to name a dc after someone, we would do it and let the chips fall where they may. (ETA: autocorrect replaced chips with chinos! LOL we would hope everyone kept their pants on!)

 

Because the name William is pronounced "WILL-yum," not "wil-LIAM," so they don't sound the same. I have never thought of the name Liam and the name William as similar.

 

Tara

 

:001_huh: Yet there is nothing about it pronounced Bill. And nothing about Robert pronounced Bob. (dh HATES it when people presume to call him Bob.) And nothing about Richard pronounced Dick.

 

Again. I do not understand humans.:tongue_smilie:

 

I'm rather shocked people don't know this. Isn't the first thing a couple does when they are looking for names, to look up the meaning and origin and take that into consideration? I thought all parents did that?

 

Oh btw. Liam Neeson's actual birth name is William John Neeson. Liam is a nickname even for him. Tho I do think it sweet his parents named him after their parish priest.:)

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Which if we WANTED to name a dc after someone, we would do it and let the chips fall where they may. (ETA: autocorrect replaced chips with chinos! LOL we would hope everyone kept their pants on!)

 

I figured this, but didn't know why you didn't want to use it.

 

We purposefully didn't name after relatives. I love the name Liam and did not know it was a derivative of William. In doing research, and finding out it comes from William, we would not have used it because of it being a relatives name.

 

ETA: But this is a close relative. Beyond a sister/ niece/nephew-- names are fair game.

Edited by snickelfritz
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I tend not to think so, LOL, as he's been called William by so many people everywhere we go that he simply says, "That's fine, whatever...."

 

They sound completely different to me, too, so I'm not sure why this happens. Perhaps it's enough that there's an "um" at the end of both, I don't know....

 

Another mistake that is commonly made with his name is that people call him "Lime" with a long 'i' sound instead of long 'e'. This was a common occurrence in decades past in at least the Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee regions because there were men named Liam that I knew when I was growing up who were called "Lime" all their lives and I've since heard people here talk about this, too.....

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I'm rather shocked people don't know this. Isn't the first thing a couple does when they are looking for names, to look up the meaning and origin and take that into consideration? I thought all parents did that?

 

.:)

 

You asked us if we associated the name Liam with William. If we never considered Liam as a name for our sons, or if we never had sons, it's likely that we would be ignorant of the info in the baby name books, no? ;) We can't know the derivative of every name out there, Liam is fairly new in terms of popularity in the US, and the two names don't raise aural associations to most of us. I am quite sure those of us on this thread will associate Liam with William from here on out, though. :D

 

Sorry your dh got so much support. ;) It's been an interesting thread!

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You asked us if we associated the name Liam with William. If we never considered Liam as a name for our sons, or if we never had sons, it's likely that we would be ignorant of the info in the baby name books, no? ;) We can't know the derivative of every name out there, Liam is fairly new in terms of popularity in the US, and the two names don't raise aural associations to most of us. I am quite sure those of us on this thread will associate Liam with William from here on out, though. :D

 

Sorry your dh got so much support. ;) It's been an interesting thread!

 

 

Okay. I will give you that most people have not been baby naming for 16 years like I have. :). I have developed quite a mental list of names and meanings as a result. Most of them names we never used but remember from searching for the names we did use.

 

Indeed. Interesting.

 

Of course, he proclaimed he had the name last night. Then woke up this morning and took both it and the runner up off the table. Said they don't ring as being who this boy IS.

 

At least we still like the middle name. Of course, the way it's going I bet we will find son's first name and find the current middle name doesn't work with it.:tongue_smilie:

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What do you think of Liam at this point? :bigear:

 

Of course, he proclaimed he had the name last night. Then woke up this morning and took both it and the runner up off the table. Said they don't ring as being who this boy IS.

 

At least we still like the middle name. Of course, the way it's going I bet we will find son's first name and find the current middle name doesn't work with it.:tongue_smilie:

 

:)

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I don't think it is too close. I would personally never associate the name Liam with the name William. I think of them as two totally separate names.

:iagree:

 

I hear "William" and think "the Conqueror" (lol) and of a boy in my 7th grade English class.

 

I hear "Liam" and I think of the lovely Scottish gentleman that used to come to my kindergarten class two days a week and read to us for a half an hour or so. It may be because of that, but I love the name Liam. It's on our short list for boys names.

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All 3 of our children have names that are variations of relatives' names. My oldest DD's first name is the feminine version of my uncle's name and her middle name is the Irish variation of DH's grandma's name. DS has a first name that is a variation of DH's name and a middle name that is the German variation of my dad's name. My younger DD's first name is a diminutive of my aunt's name and her middle name is a variation of my grandma's name

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I'm rather shocked people don't know this. Isn't the first thing a couple does when they are looking for names, to look up the meaning and origin and take that into consideration? I thought all parents did that?

 

 

 

I don't know. I looked up my son's name, but only after I already decided on it (and got dh to agree). I don't care that it's derived from the god of wine. I named him after my father, who died when I was a teenager. As far as I'm concerned, that's the only history of his name I care about.

 

Some parents name a child after a relative. Some look at the meaning of a name, and it affects their decision. Others choose a name because they like the sound of it, or because it's popular (or the opposite, unique).

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I've never thought of Liam as having anything to do with William. Those names have completely different imagery to me. William is solid, the Protector, a very traditional name and that is how I think of it. Liam makes me think of Irish heritage; I think of a new-fashioned name; don't know any grandpas named Liam.

 

My son bears the middle name William, so obviously, i like it, but if I didn't like it, Liam would not get a "no" because of it.

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My in laws and parents don't know each other's names, so that really wouldn't be an issue unless we pointed it out. Which if we WANTED to name a dc after someone, we would do it and let the chips fall where they may. (ETA: autocorrect replaced chips with chinos! LOL we would hope everyone kept their pants on!)

 

 

 

 

 

I've never associated the two names.

 

But, my question is...how in the world could your inlaws and your parents not even know each other's names?!:confused::tongue_smilie:

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I've never associated the two names.

 

But, my question is...how in the world could your inlaws and your parents not even know each other's names?!:confused::tongue_smilie:

 

In the 21 years dh and I have known each other, our parents have been in the same room three times, once was our wedding. And 15 years ago my mother died and my dad moved out of state. I'm fairly sure my mil remembers my maiden name and that I was named for my mother. She might remember my dad's nickname everyone uses. I doubt my fil knows that much. I know my dad doesn't know their names bc he has never bothered to remember my married name.

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I think Liam is actually the Irish form of the name William, right?

 

If I already had a William, I wouldn't go for Liam.

If I had a relative I really didn't like named William, I wouldn't go for Liam.

If I was just trying to avoid repetition, I'd consider Liam. It sounds "just different enough."

:iagree:

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For me, it would be too close, IF I was uncomfortable or unwilling to name my child a family member's name.

 

For example, I would not want to name my son ANDREW (for good reasons, though it is a perfectly fine name), so if my husband liked the name DREW, that would still be too close for me.

 

I would think that I'd always hear people ask him (or me), "Oh, DREW? Is that short for ANDrew?" :glare: Ad nauseum, ad infinitum.

 

Same with WILLIAM. You will ;) have people ask him (or you), "Oh, LIAM? Is that short for WILLiam?" Perhaps not as much as with Drew, though.

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I have never associated William with Liam. It is a lovely name. But I think that moms should always get veto power on any name because we have to carry 'em and push 'em out.:tongue_smilie:

 

Oh, :iagree:with this, too. That didn't work so well for me though.

 

 

I knew Liam was a form of William, but that wouldn't stop me from using it unless it would provoke drama in the family.

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I'm with you, Martha. IMO, Liam is the same name as William. It *is* the Irish version of William.

 

If you already have a William, and you name this boy Liam, you might as well name the next boy Guillaume.

 

:iagree:And the one after that Guillermo. :D And the one after that Vilhelmus. :lol:

 

 

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/William

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Dh is currently reading thread.

To crow over his demolishing victory.:tongue_smilie:

 

He says it was not an "arguement".

 

Okay. Disagreement among two loving spouses. Whatever.:D

 

To Martha's Husband: If you're still reading....

 

Just my two cents, but the Mom has to be comfortable with the name.

 

Have you considered James?

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:iagree:And the one after that Guillermo. :D And the one after that Vilhelmus. :lol:

 

 

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/William

 

Should have named them all George!:D

 

To Martha's Husband: If you're still reading....

 

Just my two cents, but the Mom has to be comfortable with the name.

 

Have you considered James?

 

Yeah, Liam is completely taken off the table.

 

No J names. Letters A - E, J, K, M, P, R, and T are already taken.:)

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Should have named them all George!:D

 

 

 

Yeah, Liam is completely taken off the table.

 

No J names. Letters A - E, J, K, M, P, R, and T are already taken.:)

 

 

If I'd had a girl, I wanted to call her Georgina. She could be a Georgie, or a Gina, or of course, a Georgina.

 

Does it need to be a W name? What about Warren, or Wyatt?

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If I'd had a girl, I wanted to call her Georgina. She could be a Georgie, or a Gina, or of course, a Georgina.

 

I have a Georgina, she is Georgie. When I was a tomboy I thought that would be the coolest name, as I could be George. Loved that. We also call her GiGi and Geege.

 

My son is William, he sometimes says he is going to start being Liam in High School. It might be a British thing, but Liam and William are most definitely the same name.

 

What about Henry, Nicholas or Samuel?

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it's definitely too close, as Liam is the same name as William, so you are not just being difficult (you may in fact be acting difficult, but not over this lol!). Whether or not other people realize that is where the name comes from (and I find that surprising since they are spelled the same!) is not the point -- you will, and the relatives most likely at some point will realize it too.

 

After all this talk of Liam Nielson... what about Nielson as a name?

 

Mason

Marcus

Conner

Gavin

Brodie

Layne

Levi

Logan

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DS is a William who goes by Liam ... and it's amazing how many people have no idea that Liam is a nickname for William. If you like it, go for it.

Probably because more often than not Liam is a stand alone name. It isn't pronounced the same at the end of William. There you often get a Wil-yum while Liam is Lee-am. But then you know that don'tcha? ;)

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So you guys won't use a name if somebody else in the family has a name that starts with that same letter??

 

LOL my family sure doesn't worry about that! One of my brothers has a daughter named Alison, I have a daughter named Alexa, and my other brother has a son named Alec :D

 

And my son is named Benjamin Caleb and 9 months later one of those brothers named his son Caleb... neither of us cared that I'd already used it for a middle name.

 

And my other brother named his second son Zachary, even though we have a cousin named Zachary.

 

I think you should just go with whatever name you guys both agree that you like and/or has meaning to you. Who cares if someone else has the name or a name that starts with the same letter or whatever!

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None of the kids have first names that start with the same letter.

None of the kids are named after anyone we know, dead or alive, family or not. (Well one son's middle name is his dad's name.)

All of the kids first names are either biblical or saint names. Most of the middle names are too, but it isn't a requirement.

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None of the kids have first names that start with the same letter.

None of the kids are named after anyone we know, dead or alive, family or not. (Well one son's middle name is his dad's name.)

All of the kids first names are either biblical or saint names. Most of the middle names are too, but it isn't a requirement.

 

I know someone who named their new baby Hugo. It's growing on me. I think that's one of your safe letters, isn't it? (And there's even a St. Hugo. Who knew?)

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So you guys won't use a name if somebody else in the family has a name that starts with that same letter??

 

LOL my family sure doesn't worry about that! One of my brothers has a daughter named Alison, I have a daughter named Alexa, and my other brother has a son named Alec :D

 

And my son is named Benjamin Caleb and 9 months later one of those brothers named his son Caleb... neither of us cared that I'd already used it for a middle name.

 

And my other brother named his second son Zachary, even though we have a cousin named Zachary.

 

I think you should just go with whatever name you guys both agree that you like and/or has meaning to you. Who cares if someone else has the name or a name that starts with the same letter or whatever!

 

We are like that too. My SIL has a daughter named Alexis and we have a son named Alexander (and they are the same age). My dh has an aunt named Kyle and we have a son named Kyle. This second one is where we get a lot of grief though from that side of the family. I just remind them that their aunt has a boy's name. Ha! That usually makes them shut up quickly.

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Should have named them all George!:D

 

 

 

Yeah, Liam is completely taken off the table.

 

No J names. Letters A - E, J, K, M, P, R, and T are already taken.:)

 

Simon, Simeon, Noah, Stephen, Damian, Daniel, David, Dominic, Francis, Frederick, Gabriel, Gregory, Henry, Hugh, Isaac, Isaiah, Lawrence, Luke, Nicholas, Oliver, Sebastian, Vincent

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None of the kids have first names that start with the same letter.

 

 

We do the same thing. With just two so far, it hasn't been a big deal, but my dad & I have the same first initial, and it sometimes got confusing when mail would come addressed to "A. [maidenname]" so I don't want that.

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