Ok, so I’m pretty close to picking [name]Henry[/name] for our son’s name (due in early [name]November[/name]). There are two things hanging me up though, first, we don’t necessarily love the nicknames that come with and are trying to think of a different nickname that isn’t too far unrelated, but isn’t hank or harry, and second, I just can’t get a sense of what its popularity ranking means. I get that it is getting much more popular, but does that mean there will be a [name]Henry[/name] in every class? My husband’s name is [name]Sam[/name], and his name seemed to be similarly popular when we were born and I don’t think of it as being too too common, I don’t know.
Anyway, what do people think of [name]Huck[/name] as a nickname for [name]Henry[/name]? Any other nickname ideas?
I adore the name [name]Henry[/name] and I think [name]Huck[/name] is an adorable nickname. As for popularity, I don’t think it will be a big issue for him. He’s currently in the top 100, but the names on the popularity list are given to less kids than they were when we were younger. I read recently that the top names roughly equal 1 per 7 classrooms.
I go through birth announcements for my blog, names4real@wordpress.com and I don’t see a whole lot of [name]Henry[/name]'s. Good luck!
Re popularity, it might depend on where you live and your demographic – I mean who you most often come into contact with. I’m sure it is a fluke, because [name]Henry[/name] was even less popular 5 years ago when we chose it for our son (actually, had it chosen as my boy’s name ever since my 17 year old niece turned out to be a girl - she would have been [name]Henry[/name] otherwise!), but three out of the four boys in his daycare class were named [name]Henry[/name]. And all go by [name]Henry[/name], no nicknames. When my [name]Henry[/name] moved over to Montessori, we met two new [name]Henry[/name]'s . . . and I know of at least two more at other schools. I do really think this is somewhat of a fluke because [name]Jacob[/name] was number one, and we know of maybe one.
If you already have children, you probably have a good idea of what their friends’ names are, and what their younger siblings’ names are. If not, ask your friends with kids, and they’ll fill you in on what’s popular in your area and at the schools you are most likely to use.
Finally, I think [name]Huck[/name] is very cute, and if you call him [name]Huck[/name], it really doesn’t matter how popular [name]Henry[/name] is – yours will be most distinctive. AND, I might add, as much as I try to avoid super popular names, I’m still thrilled with [name]Henry[/name]'s name, and of course, could not imagine him as anything else!
I really love [name]Henry[/name]! It’s one of my all-time favorites, but I understand your concerns about popularity.
I do think that [name]Huck[/name] is cute in theory, but I worry that it may be a source of potential F_ck teasing.
Like [name]Dana[/name] said, when it comes to how many kids with the same name your child will encounter in his class, it’s all a matter of geography. You may have no Henrys in your area, but you may encounter 4 children named the less popular [name]Edward[/name], [name]Theodore[/name], or [name]Simon[/name].
If you’re concerned, perhaps you can read the class rosters from a local elementary school directory to get an idea of what names are more or less popular in your area.
Another option would be to visit the social security web site’s information on baby name rankings and use the “Popular names by state” search option.
When I first read [name]Huck[/name] as a nickname, I only thought of [name]Huck[/name] [name]Finn[/name] . . . then, I remembered it’s also a nickname for a politician, [name]Mike[/name] Huckabee, who may fade into obscurity or not - who knows? [name]Just[/name] thought I’d bring this up in case you hadn’t thought of it.
I like [name]Henry[/name] on it’s own, no nickname. Definitely not [name]Huck[/name] because of the obvious swear that rhymes with it. Maybe use a nickname that comes from his personality or something from his middle name.
[name]Henry[/name] is a fine name on it’s own and I don’t really feel it needs a nn. As already mentioned, popularity of a name may depend on where you live. If you’re in the states it came in at #78 last year, it’s not popular like [name]Ethan[/name], [name]Michael[/name] or [name]Jacob[/name] but it’s not unheard of either. I feel less concerned of over the popularity of boys names. I tend to lean to more classic names for boys and seek out less common names for girls. That’s just me.
We’re expecting our first in [name]November[/name] and have settled on [name]Henry[/name]. I have some concerns about popularity, but it’s a family name for us and (more importantly) we both [name]LOVE[/name] the name - not something I can say about any other boy’s name except [name]William[/name], which is [name]WAY[/name] more popular than [name]Henry[/name]. I guess what I’m saying is if you love the name enough to set aside worries about popularity, go for it!
I know of a family who has a 4-year-old named [name]Henry[/name], and they call him [name]Hen[/name] or [name]Henny[/name]. I think it has stemmed from just using [name]Hen[/name] as a “family” nickname, sort of like calling a [name]Valerie[/name] “V” for short. It’s not a true nickname, but a familliar term of endearment.
Thanks for the insight and advice everyone, I really appreciate it.
I don”t even know if we”ll end up needing a nickname, I”d rather he just go by [name]Henry[/name], which I think we love too much to let go even if it is a little popular, I just wanted to think of a nickname in case he wants something less formal later. I have a feeling he is stuck with Roo, which is what we”ve been calling him until he is born.
I hadn”t thought of the Huckabee connection, hopefully that will fade before this is an issue ”
I looked at my state”s rankings and it is 66 here, but I think it will be fine, so he may know a few other Henrys ”
[name]Glad[/name] you aren’t feeling too stressed about the popularity issue! I asked my [name]Henry[/name] (4 1/2) the other day what he thought about knowing so many other [name]Henry[/name]'s, and he said very earnestly, “It’s good – people must really like that name!” I’m having the same delimna myself actually, in considering [name]Charlie[/name] – its a family name and I do really like it, but both [name]Charles[/name] and [name]Charlie[/name] are popular, and I bet most of those boys named [name]Charles[/name] are going by [name]Charlie[/name]!
[name]Hank[/name] and [name]Harry[/name] are great nn’s for [name]Henry[/name]. I love [name]Henry[/name]. If you live somewhere other than the [name]East[/name] Coast, check out the popularity of [name]Henry[/name] in your state. Google ssa gov names and look up the 100 most popular names in your state. [name]Henry[/name] isn’t that popular in my state - [name]California[/name].
charlie is so cute though, it is hard to go wrong, especially if it is a family name.
I looked it up in [name]Colorado[/name] (where I live), it is 66th, so I guess it is even more popular here. It is funny how you can spend your whole life thinking about names and still not be able to make a final choice …
I have a sweet little cousin called [name]Henry[/name] [name]William[/name] who doesn’t really have any nicknames apart from his older sister’s version; Ehry (she’s only 3) but I knew a boy in primary school called [name]Henry[/name] and we all just called him [name]Hen[/name].
It isn’t that I don’t like [name]Harry[/name] or [name]Hank[/name], they just don’t feel right to me and I was trying to think of more options, I think between [name]Hen[/name], [name]Harry[/name], [name]Hank[/name], [name]Huck[/name] and whatever else pops up we’ll be fine if he ends up being more of a nickname kid.
We have a 20 month old named [name]Henry[/name], but he’s been exclusively [name]Hank[/name] since he was two days old. At first I didn’t care for it (nicknames sometimes are completely out of the parents’ control), but let me tell ya…I wish I had just put [name]Hank[/name] on the birth certificate at this point I [name]LOVE[/name] it so much. It totally fits a rough and tumble little boy and will suit an adult. Get nothing but compliments on it as well. You never know, it just might grow on you.
