Atticus

[kathrynsarah]

Wow, a lot has happened since I looked at this last! I can't really comment on it all because I'm on my phone and it's very annoying to type on. Catloverd: do you know what, specifically, the Atticus you know was teased about concerning his name? Any specific names he was called? I don't know why exactly the teasing debate erupted, because as I said before, I will consider everything, including the teasing factor, before naming a child. I am not pregnant or ttc; simply trying to build my boys' list!

[kathrynsarah]

east93: can I ask where you are from and how many people you know with a son named Atticus? I have never heard of anyone talk about it as a potential baby name other than on this site. I am interested to see where it may be popular/used more.

[lori johnson]

Atticus is among Nameberry.com creators' "recommended best bets -- names [they] find to be particularly appealing" [source: "The Baby Name Bible" book (2007) by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran.

Loving the nicknames Ace or Gus as suggested by previous posters.

Atticus entered the top 1,000 [U.S. stats] in 2004 and has been steadily climbing ever since [currently at No. 462].

All said, it's a winner !

Source links: http://nameberry.com/babyname/Atticus [and] http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi

[jeska]

Honestly, I find Gus as a nickname for Atticus to be a pretty big stretch!

I know Atticus is not *only* found in TKAM, but it's about the only cultural reference that most people have for the name, in my experience. I think it would be like calling your son Gandalf or something (okay, maybe not...he was a wizard, LOL. But you get the drift - a name that is totally tied to one novel). The association is too singular and too strong, for my liking.

[mama333]

Hello fellow Atticus fans and kathrynsarah

im a huge fan of the name and am considering it for my third son who will be born at the end of August. (incidentally, sadly, i also LOVE the name August but have known two people with that name, a man named "augie" and a woman named "gussie" and both ruin the name for me, personally.)

BUT, my point is, one of the reasons Atticus is still at the top of our list is that my 7 year old son LOVES that name and feels its cool enough not to be "teasable." To us, it seems names are changing drastically and getting more creative and people are taking greater risks. If one were to poke their head into our 3 year old son's preschool and look at the roster of kids you'd see there's a huge trend for less common names. Ive seen a Zepplin, a Pirate, a Hendrix, a few Atlas', a few Augusts', a Dolphan, and even met a Citizen (a girl)...so Atticus is a wonderfully strong, moderately unique but not totally out there name in our book! Good luck! I love Rhys! i love Atticus! i love either combination!

FWIW, As for nick-names we are thinking of Kid or Kidder for his nn. Ive heard Kit be used but think Kid is cuter...

good luck!!

[catloverd]

@kathrynsarah

I personally only met the Atticus I know once, but he was a friend of my fiance's and he told me it's basically because the name stood out. It was weird/unusual in the area they lived in. It's not like another Emily or another John. He ended up hating his name and is a very depressed person.

Kids are cruel like that. I remember a girl named Jordan who was constantly teased for having a boy's name, she left the room crying once and I felt bad for her, but being a kid, I wasn't going to stand up for the person people are picking on. That only leads to you getting picked on. My cousin Jordan is the same way, she went by her middle name Paige to avoid the teasing.

If the name is common enough in your area, I think it will be fine, I just wanted to point that out. It's also a reason I avoid names like Eugene, Agnes, etc.... because those names will stand out in a school full of Olivia, Katie, David, Eric, etc....

I think people are wrong saying any name can be teased, because honestly, I never met a William or a Nathaniel that went home crying because they were being picked on for having a funny/odd name. Try remembering when you were a kid and think of the names that got teased.....

[kathrynsarah]

Thanks for letting me know! As of now, Atticus as a fn isn't even in my top 5, so it will probably end up being a mn, because I do really want to use it somehow.

[courtneymarie]

Atticus is DBF and my first choice for our (somewhat distant!) future baby boy for the same reason as you. I don't think that all names need nns, so I'm fine with just calling him Atticus. My family tends to call each other by first initials (think Gossip Girl style), so my thought was that if it absolutely has to be shortened, we can just call him A on occasion.

[kathrynsarah]

@courtneymarie: We defintely have very similar naming styles; I love Cora, Rose, Jude, Leo, and obviously Atticus from your list! I like names with multiple nicknames because they give kids options, but you're right, they aren't necessary. I think a nn for Atticus would just come naturally for me anyway, if I do decide to use it.

[sabrinafair]

I adore Atticus, and I think he doesn't need a NN.