Hi Berries -
Today’s Name Sage question is quite the dilemma! They’ve always planned to name their son John, called Jack. 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, Jack.
Are there other John nicknames to consider? Or names like Jack that might satisfy instead? Read my answer here, but I’d love to know what you think, too.
Best,
Abby
The Name Sage
[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.
haha! I’d say stick with [name_m]Jack[/name_m]. That senior cat won’t be around forever… Lol sorry cat…
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).
[name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] nn [name_m]Jonny[/name_m] or [name_m]Nate[/name_m] would be nice
Jono, [name_m]Jonny[/name_m], [name_m]Jonty[/name_m], [name_m]Joe[/name_m], JJ, [name_u]Jay[/name_u]!
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.
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.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps.
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, blueylit! It’s a little embarrassing how many silly nicknames we have for our dog …
Oh, [name_m]Jax[/name_m] is a really good idea!
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.
[name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Cormac[/name_m] called [name_u]Mack[/name_u] is brilliant!
Good suggestion!