Today’s Name Sage question is quite the dilemma! They’ve always planned to name their son [name_m]John[/name_m], called [name_m]Jack[/name_m]. It’s a fifth generation family tradition.
But now they’re actually expecting a baby boy VERY soon … and their parents just adopted a senior cat named, yup, [name_m]Jack[/name_m].
Are there other [name_m]John[/name_m] nicknames to consider? [name_u]Or[/name_u] names like [name_m]Jack[/name_m] that might satisfy instead? [name_u]Read[/name_u] my answer here, but I’d love to know what you think, too.
Best,
[name_u]Abby[/name_u]
The Name [name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite option not mentioned by [name_u]Abby[/name_u] is JJ! So cute and spunky, and I don’t even think you need a J middle name to make it work. John-called-Jack is one of my very favorite names, so I hope you don’t lose it entirely.
[name_f]My[/name_f] cousin grew up with a cat which had his name as well, so I actually agree with [name_u]Abby[/name_u] – [name_m]Jack[/name_m] could still be worth considering!
Perhaps [name_u]Joey[/name_u], [name_m]Jona[/name_m] / [name_u]Jonah[/name_u], [name_u]Jan[/name_u], or [name_m]Hannes[/name_m] (stretch) would work too.
I’m definitely in the [name_m]Jack[/name_m] camp, or the initials camp if [name_m]Jack[/name_m] really is impossible, but it would be remiss of me not to mention my favourite [name_m]John[/name_m] nickname: Jonjo!
I’d also just say, as the owner of two well loved cats myself, they rarely actually get called their real names. I’d be mighty surprised if cat [name_m]Jack[/name_m] doesn’t have his own nickname by the time kid [name_m]Jack[/name_m] appears.
[name_f]My[/name_f] nephew is now the fifth consecutive generation to have the first name [name_m]John[/name_m] as well (and there are several others scattered throughout the family tree). In our family, many have gone by [name_m]John[/name_m] or a derivative nickname, but there are also many who have gone by their middle names instead. I think the latter option could be a good solution in this case–keeping the family tradition of [name_m]John[/name_m] in the first name slot with an entirely individual call name in the middle. (E.g. [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u], goes by Wyatt.) This option also allows the baby to choose whether to use [name_m]John[/name_m] as they get older (my brother, who has exclusively gone by his middle name his whole life, now uses [name_m]John[/name_m] professionally).
Stick w/Jack! If it were their cat who lived in their household…that may too much. But if it’s grandma & grandpa’s cat? That’s fine! The little fella will probably find it fun to share his name w/the kitty. [name_m]John[/name_m] nn [name_m]Jack[/name_m] is handsome & classic & completely worth keeping.
I recently posted about using [name_u]Jay[/name_u] as a nickname for [name_m]John[/name_m] and received lots of positive feedback for it so that’s my suggestion: [name_u]Jay[/name_u]! It’s so underused and such a handsome, cool name
I think they should keep [name_m]Jack[/name_m]! They can just call the kitty “Jack the cat” or something so it’s clear which [name_m]Jack[/name_m] is being referred to. I’m also surprised no one has brought up potentially renaming the cat. If it were a dog who was used to answering to a specific name, that would be understandable, but I don’t think a cat is likely to care too much about getting a new name. I also echo blueylit’s comment above about how cats often aren’t even called by their “real” names! I’m a certified cat lady myself (I have, uh, six), and I usually end up calling them things like [name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_u]Boo[/name_u], You Scruffy Boy, [name_f]Precious[/name_f] [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_m]Little[/name_m] Goober…the list goes on.
…That may just be me, though.
Alternatively, since [name_u]Bennett[/name_u] is unisex, they could potentially use that for a boy, too. I think [name_u]Bennett[/name_u] [name_m]John[/name_m] sounds nice.
Also wanted to add that [name_m]John[/name_m] is one of those names that has a million variations so perhaps another version of it would work? [name_u]Evan[/name_u], [name_u]Shane[/name_u], [name_u]Sean[/name_u], [name_m]Zane[/name_m], [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] all come to mind. [name_u]Or[/name_u] something like [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] called JP, JT, JD are all nice choices too. [name_u]Or[/name_u] what about [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Cormac[/name_m] “Mack” or [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Zachary[/name_m] “Zack” instead?
I agree with the majority, keep with John-called-Jack. The family tradition is clearly very important to them, and I wouldn’t give up on it. I might change my middle choice to something I would use as a nickname. I’m all down for many different nicknames as you grow up, and I don’t think it would be weird for say [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m] to be [name_m]Jack[/name_m] at home with mom and dad, JD with family to cut down on confusion, and [name_m]Dave[/name_m] or [name_u]Davie[/name_u] at school.
I would keep [name_m]John[/name_m] nn [name_m]Jack[/name_m]! It seems as if they have their heart set on it and the tradition is important, so I don’t think the cat is a good enough reason to give that up. I don’t see that as being confusing or awkward in the long term.
Maybe [name_m]John[/name_m] nn [name_m]Jax[/name_m] would work for them.
I also have a family line of Johns nn’d [name_m]Jack[/name_m], and when we chose [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] for our youngest I thought [name_m]Jax[/name_m] could work as a nickname that nodded to my grandfather (John/Jack) as well.
Good point RE: long term. It might be a little awkward in the immediate now. Like the new grandmother is talking to her sister, “Wait, what - didn’t you just adopt a cat named [name_m]Jack[/name_m]? And now your daughter named her son Jack?” But those moments are fleeting.
