I’m looking to change my name, and I’ve narrowed it down to these two:
[name_u]William[/name_u]
pros: love the nickname [name_u]Will[/name_u], love how it’s classic and widely recognisable
cons: extremely popular, don’t love the possibility of being known by a first initial
[name_m]Desmond[/name_m]
pros: my favourite name ever, would definitely use it if not for
cons: generally considered very dated in the UK, where I’ll likely be moving to soon (this impression is what I’ve seen online anyway)
Which do you prefer? Also feel free to point out any pros/cons I’ve missed.
How would you feel about just [name_u]Will[/name_u]? It’s a common nickname for [name_u]William[/name_u], of course, so you’d still run into a few, but having it as your full name would set you apart from the others, and nicknames as full names are very normal and common in the UK!
I’m not from the UK so I can’t confirm the perception of [name_m]Desmond[/name_m], but from what I can tell it was never very popular, so I don’t imagine it would feel extremely dated - usually the names we associate as very dated in a negative way are ones that were very popular when they were most used. I’d ask some people from the UK for their opinions - I’m sure plenty of users on here will respond! Either way, I think the cool nicknames like [name_m]Des[/name_m] and Dessy modernize it, if you like either of those.
At the end of the day, I think it’s about how much it would bother you to have another [name_u]Will[/name_u] / [name_u]William[/name_u] in your building, at university, at work, etc. If you think it would really get to you to be referred to as [name_u]Will[/name_u] / [name_u]William[/name_u] (Last Name) sometimes, then [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is definitely the better choice here!
I’m not from the UK, so I can’t say how the name [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is thought of there. [name_u]William[/name_u] is extremely popular and is also the name of [name_u]Prince[/name_u] [name_u]William[/name_u], which could be a pro or a con.
I love both names almost equally, but I think [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is probably my favorite for this situation. Another pro to that name is that it has at least two nicknames— Des/Dez and Desi/Dezi— which balance it’s more formal form, if need be.
Good luck with the name change and with the move🙂!
I love [name_u]William[/name_u] and [name_u]Will[/name_u] [name_m]Classic[/name_m] for a reason, but yes they’re popular.
I’m in the UK and I’m afraid [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is very dated here. It’s definitely not a ‘cool’ name. I would be very surprised to meet a young person called [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] here.
Good luck with your name change, I hope you love whichever name you decide to go with!
I think [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] is more dated in [name_u]Ireland[/name_u] than perhaps in the UK, where it’s not particularly well-known.
[name_u]Will[/name_u] is a great nickname for [name_u]William[/name_u], especially since there are far too many “Liams” in the world. I also love the Welsh version, [name_m]Gwilym[/name_m].
Thanks for the insight! Would you say the name Desmond is dated to the point where it would significantly impact how people treated that person?
Because I’m aware that sometimes a name is strange / old-fashioned to the point where I immediately form an unfairly negative impression of the person before meeting them; do you think that’s the case for Desmond, or would it be a quick “that’s surprising” and you’d move on?
I don’t think I would judge them negatively but if I heard that someone was called [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] without meeting them I would definitely imagine they were in their 60s or older. There are a coupleof famous Desmond’s in the UK that are a very strong association with the name and the first things that come to mind (Des O’Connor and [name_m]Des[/name_m] Lynam) [name_m]Des[/name_m] O’Connor died a few years ago in his late 80s and [name_m]Des[/name_m] Lynam is 81.
I think I would be surprised meeting a younger [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] but would then I’d move on.
I hope this is helpful!
I strongly recommend that you not base (any) decisions on ‘the impressions you get from what you see online’, since that does not represent reality. Use [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] if it is the name you love.
[name_m]Classic[/name_m] for a reason, but yes they’re popular.