Nicknames for Charles

Hello!

My husband and I are TTC, and it’s my husband’s family tradition to name the first-born son [name_m]Charles[/name_m], so I’ve been thinking about that lately. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband goes by [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], and I really don’t want my husband and son to go by the same name.

I’m worried that a boy named [name_m]Charles[/name_m] nowadays will be automatically nicknamed to [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] unless we come up with an alternative nicknames (and even then, [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] might be unavoidable.

Ideas I’ve come up with:
[name_u]Cal[/name_u]
[name_u]Chase[/name_u]
[name_u]Arlo[/name_u]
[name_m]Hal[/name_m]
[name_m]Chip[/name_m]

I feel like [name_m]Chuck[/name_m] is really dated, and I don’t like [name_m]Chas[/name_m]/Chaz or [name_m]Chad[/name_m]. Any other ideas? Or do you think it’s possible for [name_m]Charles[/name_m] to go by his full name? [name_m]Charles[/name_m] just seems like such a big name, especially for a baby/toddler, and it’s also kind of a mouthful and sort of hard to say, so I don’t know if I would even want to call my son just [name_m]Charles[/name_m] all the time.

Thoughts? Advice? Thanks for your help in advance!!

Maybe [name_m]Carl[/name_m]?

Arlo is fun and unexpected—good idea! [name_u]Chase[/name_u] is cool too. Maybe [name_u]Les[/name_u]? All the letters are there…

You could always have a nickname that’s not actually related to his name, like [name_u]Sonny[/name_u].

Or use the middle name. Like if it’s a J name, he could be CJ.

I wouldn’t hear [name_m]Charles[/name_m] as a toddler’s name and think “wow, that’s too heavy a name for a young child” and I’d think it was pretty cool to meet a child using the full name! But I can definitely see how that would be a bit much to use all the time.

If people try to shorten a name automatically a few corrections usually solve the issue! People used to try shortening my sister’s name to a common nickname often when she was younger and they usually only had to be told once that she preferred her full name. Often they’d ask upon meeting her if she preferred her name or the nickname and that was that!

I like your list, the only thing I could think to add is [name_f]Char[/name_f]? But I think [name_u]Chase[/name_u], [name_u]Arlo[/name_u], and [name_u]Cal[/name_u] are my favorite potential nicknames!

Cal and [name_u]Chase[/name_u] are my favorite of your options! I also like the idea of CJ if his middle or last name starts with J. Also, if it helps, I don’t think [name_m]Charles[/name_m] is “too much” for a young child.

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[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

Yes, I love [name_m]Charles[/name_m] nn [name_u]Cal[/name_u]! [name_u]Chase[/name_u] is also one of my [name_m]Charles[/name_m] nn favorites. I think that [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] & [name_m]Hal[/name_m] are a bit of a stretch, but cute names none the less. [name_m]Chip[/name_m] totally works, but just seems a little too jock in an 80s rom-com teen movie to me. Ones that haven’t been mentioned yet are…

[name_u]Chance[/name_u]

[name_m]Chet[/name_m]

[name_m]Cab[/name_m]

Maybe even [name_m]Cas[/name_m]?

What’s the mn? I wonder if you could make a nn based on the fn/mn combo. For example if his name were to be [name_m]Charles[/name_m] [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], you could call him [name_u]Cade[/name_u]. Or [name_m]Charles[/name_m] [name_u]Logan[/name_u] nn [name_m]Cole[/name_m]. You get the idea.

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps. :slight_smile:

I think if you refer to your son as [name_m]Charles[/name_m], people will call him that! I like your idea of [name_u]Cal[/name_u] the best. I guess as a stretch I’d say [name_u]Harley[/name_u], but that’s another name in itself and probably too similar to [name_u]Charlie[/name_u].I also agree with above posters that initials definitely could work. All in all, I think [name_m]Charles[/name_m] all on its own is probably the best!

I don’t think [name_m]Charles[/name_m] necessarily needs a nickname. You’ve already come up with some good ideas though! [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] is wonderful but it doesn’t feel intuitive to me as a nickname for [name_m]Charles[/name_m]. [name_u]Cal[/name_u] is great!

Char?
CJ
[name_u]Chase[/name_u]
[name_u]Arlo[/name_u]

I love the idea of [name_u]Chase[/name_u] the most because it feels like the most wearable to me. A family friend has a tradition of naming their sons [name_m]Robert[/name_m] but all of them go by their middle names. Maybe this would work for you?

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[name_u]Lee[/name_u]!

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Les?

My name is [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and I get called charlie.
I don’t wish to sound rude but I can’t see any of these nicknames working other than charlie/Charles.
So I agree with some posters that [name_m]Charles[/name_m] worked best with no nn.

Chase is unexpected but I like it, and not too much of a stretch for me - [name_m]Chas[/name_m]/Chaz is used as nickname for [name_m]Charles[/name_m] and it’s almost like a modernisation of that.

I think [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] will be the default to people wanting to shorten it but if you have another nickname in place - “we call him [name_u]Chase[/name_u], actually” - I think most people will get it. I’ve come across adult/teen [name_m]Charles[/name_m]’ who are just [name_m]Charles[/name_m], no nickname too so [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] certainly isn’t inevitable.

I feel that [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] is the most obvious nickname, so maybe just [name_u]Lee[/name_u].

I love [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]. It’s distinctive and brings [name_m]Charles[/name_m] to life. If you happen to like a J middle name, CJ could be an option, or CR if you like any R middles

I think most people would intuitively shorten it to [name_u]Charlie[/name_u]. A lot of these other nicknames might get you some weird looks… But you should go for what you like! I knew a [name_m]Charles[/name_m] in highschool and he never went by any nickname so I think that’s a viable option. But it sounds to me like you’re not a fan of “just [name_m]Charles[/name_m]”. [name_f]My[/name_f] suggestion would be to find a middle name you really love and have him go by that instead. Or, and maybe I’m crazy here, something like [name_m]Charles[/name_m] [name_u]Logan[/name_u] could be another way to get to [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]…

I absolutely love [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]. It’s unexpected but it definitely would work.

Thanks all!! I really appreciate all your feedback!! Lots to think about. I do like [name_u]Cal[/name_u], [name_u]Chase[/name_u], and [name_u]Arlo[/name_u]. I don’t particularly like CJ, but I know it’s another viable alternative. Some other creative suggestions too, I will have to consider those more!

If we can’t fall in love with any of these nicknames, my husband and I talked about it and we will consider moving [name_m]Charles[/name_m] to the middle name spot, or using it in the first name spot but calling our son by his middle name.

What about [name_u]Arly[/name_u]? Or [name_u]Arley[/name_u]?
[name_u]Arlo[/name_u] makes me thing [name_m]Carlo[/name_m] for some reason.

You have a lot of great suggestions here. [name_u]Lucky[/name_u] that [name_m]Charles[/name_m] has so many cute diminutives!