my husband and I both love the name [name_m]Alby[/name_m] for our first child (a boy), but he is convinced that we should have [name_m]Albert[/name_m] on the birth certificate and call the child by the nickname [name_m]Alby[/name_m] as he would like the child’s name to be more traditional.
I’m not sold on [name_m]Albert[/name_m], i really don’t like the name. I’ve heard that [name_m]Alby[/name_m] is a traditional Gaelic name originating from [name_f]Ireland[/name_f] since the 1800s but haven’t been able to find much info on this. Does anyone know if that’s true? [name_m]Will[/name_m] use this as evidence to convince my husband if so!
What are other people’s thoughts on [name_m]Alby[/name_m] over [name_m]Albert[/name_m]?
I like [name_m]Alby[/name_m] and don’t love [name_m]Albert[/name_m], but it does have a nice meaning and a lot of history… I don’t know anything about the history of [name_m]Alby[/name_m] but it is worth digging further to see if you can find a connection that makes it feel more substantial to you. Good luck!
I like [name_m]Alby[/name_m] too, but personally I’d put [name_m]Albert[/name_m] on the birth certificate. Or how about [name_m]Albin[/name_m] or [name_m]Alban[/name_m]?
I think, whereas [name_m]Alby[/name_m] is a really cool name, he might think it sounds too NNish as an adult, so a respectable back-up as his legal name would be nice.
I would, personally, go with [name_m]Albion[/name_m]. It is a good strong manly name, but is still off the beaten path.
Other possibilities:
[name_m]Albern[/name_m]
[name_m]Alberik[/name_m]
[name_m]Alberto[/name_m] (classy alt. to [name_m]Albert[/name_m])
[name_m]Albus[/name_m] (retro vibe)
I love both names so if it were me I would do [name_m]Albert[/name_m] nn [name_m]Alby[/name_m] but it’s your baby so you both need to be comfortable with your choice. Maybe wait until he is born and see what suits him? I wish that I had waited a few more weeks to register our sons birth as we ended up changing the spelling in the first year as I was that unhappy with it.
If it’s any comfort my son is Zakariya nn [name_m]Zak[/name_m] yet I always introduce him as [name_m]Zak[/name_m] and could probably count on 1 hand how many times I’ve been asked if it was short for another name/what it was short for. Only my close family & friends know his name is actually Zakariya! And only Drs/officials have used his full name since he was born and he is now nearly 17mo.
I know an eight year old [name_m]Albie[/name_m] who’s name isn’t short for anything so I think it works and if all the spellings used in the UK were combined ([name_m]Albie[/name_m], [name_m]Alby[/name_m], Albi, Albey and [name_m]Albie[/name_m]-[name_u]James[/name_u]) it would sit around 97 so their are plenty of boys named just [name_m]Alby[/name_m] although neither name charts in the US at all which is where I’ assuming you are?. I wouldn’t but a name I don’t like on the birth certificate (for example I love the name [name_u]Alfie[/name_u] but cannot stand [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] so I’d happily use just that) it’s different if you like both names equally however.
I don’t get the formal name aspect since I’ve had two doctors who went by [name_f]Debbie[/name_f] professionally and I live in a country where we had a prime minister named just [name_u]Tony[/name_u], not everyone wishes for a formal name and honestly I know a few people who hate their formal name and wish their parents just went with a nickname. You don’t know how your child will feel in the future it’s best to just go with the name you love and if it’s just [name_m]Alby[/name_m] then thats fine
