Thoughts on [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m]? It’s a family surname, and I love the idea of using a family surname as a first but most of the more usable ones have already been used or work better as a middle. I love nicknames, and i think that the nn [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] makes [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m] a lot more wearable, but I’d like other’s thoughts. Basically, I like the idea of the name but I don’t know how many eyebrows it would raise, so I don’t know if it should be just a GP/middle. (If it helps, I’m from and expect to continue living in an area where family surnames as firsts for boys is a pretty common practice) I’m not expecting; I’d just appreciate some opinions.
Thanks!
I don’t know that it would necessarily raise eyebrows, but I’m personally not a fan of [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m]. I’m not sure how else to describe it, but the “Flan” part just sounds sloppy to me when I say it. Almost like you were going for [name_m]Finnegan[/name_m] (which I love) but were trying to make it sound more original, and it just didn’t pan out right.
I do however think [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] is SO CUTE. I think you could totally use that on it’s own if you wanted to, and it is a surname, too.
Family surnames were very commonly used for both boys and girls in my family tree and I love the idea. They were usually used in the middle spot and I love the name [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m] but because you would prefer to call him something else I would put it in the middle spot. IMHO he would always be explaining that [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] isn’t his given name, etc., etc. and I can’t think of a shortened “natural” nickname for [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m].
I like [name_m]Flanagan[/name_m] for you, but I don’t think [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] makes sense as a nickname. The vowel sound isn’t there.
It sounds fine to me
Sure, it’s [name_m]FLANagan[/name_m], not FLYNegan, but if people can get [name_f]Mae[/name_f] from [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] and [name_f]Betty[/name_f] from [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] then you can make [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] work