We recently had a son, and named him [name_m]Paul[/name_m] after my grandfather. Problem is - and we honestly didn’t think of this until after we named him - is that our son has quickly become “[name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_m]Paul[/name_m]” or “[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Paul[/name_m]”, since my grandfather is still alive and a big part of our lives. My husband and I agree that this can’t really continue, so we’re on the search for a nickname for our son that we and the rest of our family can use on a day to day basis. (Think “[name_u]Billy[/name_u]” for a “[name_m]William[/name_m]”.) Unfortunately, there’s not really a good, distinctive nickname for [name_m]Paul[/name_m]… And we need something very soon before “[name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Paul[/name_m]” sticks!
I’ve been toying with any one-syllable nicknames that start with “P”, but nothing has really stuck. So far my favorite options are [name_u]Po[/name_u] (or [name_u]Poe[/name_u]), or [name_u]Pax[/name_u]. My husband doesn’t love [name_u]Po[/name_u], and I just found out that [name_u]Pax[/name_u] is the name of [name_f]Angelina[/name_f] [name_f]Jolie[/name_f]'s son, which makes it a bit too trendy for my liking.
Does anyone have any suggestions of versatile, short “P” names that can be used a substitute?
I wouldn’t say [name_u]Pax[/name_u] is trendy, you could use it without the association, I didn’t realize until you mentioned it! What about his middle name? [name_m]Paul[/name_m] is a toughy, I’m only coming up with [name_m]Paulie[/name_m], Pop, [name_m]Pal[/name_m], and [name_m]Paulo[/name_m].
[name_u]Ollie[/name_u] is a great suggestion. We know a [name_m]Paul[/name_m] father and [name_m]Paul[/name_m] son duo. The son goes by his first and middle name. He is always [name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_m]David[/name_m]. What is your [name_m]Paul[/name_m]'s middle name?
I also like the idea of [name_m]Paul[/name_m] and middle name. A name like [name_m]Paul[/name_m] seems pretty classic, and if that appears to be your style I would go with first and middle!
What is your son’s middle name and initial of your last name? I know a father/son named [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Joseph[/name_m]. The adult son goes by PJ. I know that your son is not a junior, but you may get away with PJ as in [name_m]Paul[/name_m] II. P2. PI.
I really like [name_u]Poe[/name_u] and [name_f]Pele[/name_f] as suggestions, but if hubby won’t go for then, I also thought of [name_m]Pal[/name_m], which happens to be the Hungarian version of the name [name_m]Paul[/name_m] & of course has the other meaning in English of “buddy”. Which brought me to the idea of “[name_m]Paul[/name_m]” in any other language, depending on which heritage you have or simply what name you might ilke. Nameberry’s list of international pauls 33 Variations of Paul | Nameberry
You could also look ar the nicknames given in other languages for variations of [name_m]Paul[/name_m]. For example, in Czech the nickname for [name_m]Pavel[/name_m] (Czech version of [name_m]Paul[/name_m]) is Paja (pronounced “pie-yuh” - like a slice of pie, plus the a at the end).
His is middle name a viable option? Both my aunt and my fiance go by their middle names with minimal trouble.[name_m]Pip[/name_m] both real cute but aren’t necessarily practical as adult names if you want the name to carry to adulthood. I have the same fear with [name_u]Po[/name_u]. My favorites are [name_u]Pax[/name_u] and [name_u]Ollie[/name_u]. I really don’t think [name_u]Pax[/name_u] is too trendy, I didn’t even know about the association.
Thank you all for the suggestions! He does have middle name ([name_u]Ray[/name_u]), but we’d prefer not to use it because it’s also the name of another family member. (I really didn’t make things easy on myself…). I’m not a huge fan of using initials as a nickname, either.
So far, along with [name_u]Poe[/name_u] and [name_u]Pax[/name_u], I really like the suggestion of [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] - something I would never have thought of! I’ll have to go through the list of foreign variations of [name_m]Paul[/name_m], too, good suggestion. If anyone has any other ideas, please send them along! Since [name_m]Paul[/name_m] has so few “real” nicknames, any short-and-sweet “P” name could be justified if it sounds nice to our ears. We’re hoping to introduce the nickname, whatever it will be, to the family over the holidays.
Can i just say I love the name [name_m]Paul[/name_m], good choice! Maybe the nickname doesn’t have to start with P… I was thinking ‘skip’ since the name skipped a generation? Or maybe just refer to grandpa [name_m]Paul[/name_m] by his prefered grabdfatherly nickname and your son could go by just [name_m]Paul[/name_m] ” I used to go by ‘little [name_f]Anna[/name_f]’ due to another older lady in our lives but I grew out of it quickly it seems. Good luck!
The boys in my family were nicknamed …
Skippy ([name_m]William[/name_m])
Bunky ([name_u]Douglas[/name_u])
[name_m]Chip[/name_m] (as in chip off the old block) ([name_m]Steven[/name_m])
[name_m]Brick[/name_m] (he had red hair) ([name_m]Charles[/name_m])
[name_m]Buddy[/name_m] (as in little brother)
P.D. ([name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_m]Daniel[/name_m])
P.J. ([name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u])
Does he have initials?
I have MANY who were just called by their middle names.