We have a few boy names picked out for our baby but our favorite is [name]Randall[/name] after my husband father. We would call him [name]Rand[/name] for short. My only problem is I really want the middle name to be [name]Arthur[/name] after an uncle I grew up with but it would make his initials RAW. (Last name [name]Wood[/name]) Eek! I’ve tried to convince my husband to let us do [name]Arthur[/name] [name]Randall[/name] and just call him [name]Randall[/name] but he doesn’t not like that idea. The other middle name we have is [name]Cruz[/name] after my grandfather but I wasn’t nearly as close to him. What do you think?
As long as it’s not something like A.S.S., I think you’ll be okay.
I don’t think RAW is easy enough for a schoolyard bully to use as a weapon. You’re probably safe.
I liked the combo [name]Felix[/name] [name]Ulysses[/name] for a long time, before finally realising that the poor kids initials would have been, F.U.C.
In some cases, yes, initials (and what they spell) are important. You should be fine with RAW.
in some cases yes (like my husbands initials are [name]BO[/name] so people used to say he stinks)
but the odds of people knowing his middle name or seeing is initials spell out RAW are rare and raw isn’t that bad.
Ditto! You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.
Totally fine. And actually, I suspect there will be a period in his life where he and his friends will figure out what their initials are and he will be the coolest because they spell RAW – those are pretty darn cool initials. My initials growing up didn’t spell anything and I was always a tiny bit jealous of others’ whose initials did spell words.
That said, and you didn’t ask this, but I do like the flow of [name]Arthur[/name] [name]Randall[/name] better … but [name]Rand[/name] is SUCH a cool nn. Tough choice. Great name!!
I knew someone called [name]Randolph[/name] once, he used to get teased quite a lot and called randy - i’m not sure if this is the case in the US but randy means horny in the UK. I agree that [name]Arthur[/name] [name]Randall[/name] flows better.
The only time I can imagine initials being a big deal is either when it spells a ‘bad word’ or when a kid has a backpack with his/her initials on it, and the kid becomes associated with his backpack (which happens; I’m a teacher and see it all the time.) Most of the time the backpack isn’t a big deal either, unless it’s a potty word or something like F.A.T., D.U.M, N.R.D…
RAW isn’t something I’d worry about.