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Alec vs Alex? Arran vs Aaron?


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#1 zaidagal

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Posted 21 April 2010 - 03:13 AM

Hi everyone! I love discussing baby names. My boys are 5 and 3 years old, and called Alexander James (Alec) and Arran Joseph Sinclair.

Im always having to tell people "Alec with a C" and "Arran like the Scottish island" lol!

Around Christmas, someone made a not-so-nice comment to me about calling my son "Alec" and not "Alex" and it just got me thinking about their names again, the meanings, the ramifications etc. So, I joined a few baby-naming websites. And here I am with you all!

Im an american living in Scotland, and love the Alec version, because its quite scottish and more unusual these days that the "x" version, and the name Alexander is an old family name. I love Arran (like the island) because we can see the Isle of Arran from my inlaws house, and we love the island. I also love all the variations - the biblical and arabic aaron, and the indian/south east asian Arun.

I guess my question for the group - do you know any young (under 10) Alec's or Arrans? And any general perceptions of the name? Its okay to be honest! Ive gotten such varied feedback as "Alec is very old fashioned, its trendy, its classic, its an old glaswegian name, its a posh oxford name" you name it, Ive heard it!

Thanks!

Zaidgal

#2 Mishada

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Posted 21 April 2010 - 04:49 AM

I've met a lot of people a version of Alexander: Alex, Alexis, Alexa, Alexandra, and an Alexandria. I've never met an Alec, but I've always prefered it to Alex. It just sounds smoother to me. I do not think it is trendy, old-fashioned, or posh. I just think it is a pleasant alternative to the very popular Alex. Especially since Alexis is gaining popularity as a girls name. It isn't hard to say, spell, or

I've never met an Arran either, though I have met an Aaron. Aaron is also my brother's middle name. I like it okay, though I'm not fond of Arron's spelling. However, you have a good reason to spell it that way, so I'm not complaining. I've never heard of the Scottish Island.

Also, why would anyone have "not so nice comments" about Alec instead of Alex? It isn't like you misspelled the name - just used a different version. It's your kid, and you didn't name him anything crazy or weird. The only objection I can possibly see for Alec is the nickname "Smart Alec." Though that isn't even that bad. By the way, I think I should mention that Alec is in my 2nd favorite boys name as William Alec. :P

#3 zaidagal

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Posted 21 April 2010 - 04:56 AM

Thanks Mishada 17! Lovely to hear your thoughts....I agree that Alec is a great alternative!

And your name - Heather - thats beautiful!

#4 Mishada

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Posted 21 April 2010 - 05:31 AM

Thanks Mishada 17! Lovely to hear your thoughts....I agree that Alec is a great alternative!

And your name - Heather - thats beautiful!


I just realized that I didn't finish my sentence in my post. I was going to say "It isn't hard to say, spell, or understand." Silly me, I got distracted.

I'm glad you like my name, but I've never been fond of it. I find it just a bit too girly-girl for me, though better than the other name my parents were considering. I was almost named Crystal. *shudders* I put it under my signature so people would know I'm a girl after I realized that my avatar and signature were very dark for this forum. I added wings to my avatar and roses to my signature, but they are a bit hard to see. :P I would prefer to go by something other than Heather, though. Mishada17 is a comination of my former favorite name (Misha), my favorite website (DeviantArt), and my favorite number. The avatar is my favorite TV character from my favorite show. It's my username on Deviantart, and I recycled my signature from there. Anyway, enough of my rant. I felt like explaining.

Just to reiterate - I love Alec and am very glad to say so. Alexander nn Alex is so boring/typical, while Alexander nn Alec is fun and not weird in the least. I'm pleased to meet you, and I hope you remain fascinated with baby names. :D

#5 zaidagal

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Posted 22 April 2010 - 12:43 AM

Hi again Mishada - Yes, I guess Heather is a girly name - but its also pretty, and scottish (yay!), and somewhat unusual. I think Mishada sounds FAB!

Its funny how some of us have such an interest in names...where they come from, how they sound, etc. I spent a lot of time researching my son Arrans name, and was so interested to find out that in different cutures it means "colours before the sunrise", "reddish-brown", "exalted one", and "mountain dweller"....

Again, thanks for the comments re Alec.....and I look forward to checking out more baby-name discussions!

A current favourite of mine, by the way, for a baby girl - Sorcha.....you can pronounce it Sorsha or Sorka...it means "radiant light" in gaelic.....

#6 Mishada

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Posted 22 April 2010 - 01:49 AM

A current favourite of mine, by the way, for a baby girl - Sorcha.....you can pronounce it Sorsha or Sorka...it means "radiant light" in gaelic.....


I love Gaelic names! My current favorite, as you can see from my signature, is Caoimhe. I love the look and sound (it is pronounced kee-va or kwee-va), and it means beauty or grace. Sorcha is gorgeous. <3 Really. I need to put in on my list. Gaelic names are so fun to learn about.

#7 zaidagal

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Posted 22 April 2010 - 02:48 AM

I think we are on the same page Mishada! I absolutely love Caoimhe and actually, for the first time, met a baby with that name around 2 months ago. It is sooooo pretty, the pronunciation. If I was going to have anothe baby - and it was a girl - that would be on my list, for sure!

All this baby name talk makes me want a third...sigh...but it doesnt look like its gonna happen. My husband and I are both 40 years old, and we seem to have out hands full with the two boys. But it would have been lovely....

Because we decided on no more kids, I decided I would sponsor two children abroad, to contribute to more childrens lives. Im now sponsoring a 9 year old boy from Honduras named Edin Alexander, and a 6 year old girl from Bangladesh named Kokoli. Kokoli means "preaching bird"...I just love that!

#8 Mishada

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Posted 22 April 2010 - 09:38 AM

I'm glad we are on the same page. :P I'm only 19 so I don't have any kids - and won't for a long time - but I love names. I got interesting in them on Y!Answers, and I kind of got sucked into it. My parents had one girl (Heather Elaine) and one boy (Lucas Aaron); that was enough for them. My best friend has 8 kids in her house, though 4 are her adopted cousins. It is a lot of kids, but I love going over there. Something is always going on. I would really like to have more kids than my parents did, maybe 4 to 6 would be ideal. I'm probably getting ahead of myself, though. Anyways, I've never met anybody named Caoimhe, or any traditional Gaelic names. At least as far as I can remember.

#9 zaidagal

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Posted 23 April 2010 - 02:42 AM

Hi Mishada - Think we are having a two way discussion here, lol! Its lovely to get to know you, and to hear your ideas.

I understand what you mean about wanting a larger family. There were 3 of us growing up (Im a middle child) and I always wanted at least 3 kids. Im settling for two, and I know its the right choice - but still makes me a bit sad. I do remind myself how lucky I am, though, to have these two beautiful boys in my life!

My brothers wife is getting ready to have her second baby, and they think its a girl. My brothers wife, Wakana, is Japanese, and they want to give the baby a Japanese name. So, Ive gotten permission to give them suggestions! Since I'll never get to name a baby girl myself, I want to have fun contributing to their childs name!

Think I'll post a question on this site - to try and get input from folks -

Talk soon!




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