I LOVE both Gabriel and Jeremiah. I think they are both absolutely fabulous and perfect sibling names to Benjamin. However, I REALLY dislike the nn Jerry. It sounds very dated to me. (Gerald nn Jerry is a family name for me, and as much as my parents wanted to carry on the tradition, they wouldn't because it was too dated, so my brother is Jeremy. I feel the same way, so Gerald/Jerry is not on my list, but Fitzgerald and Jeremiah are -- and I will not tolerate Jerry as a nickname for either.)
That said, in your case, I ESPECIALLY dislike the nn Jerry because the Ben & Jerry combination makes me cringe. It's really obvious and way too cutesy for me.
My vote went to Gabriel because I so dislike that combination. But if you were going to avoid the nn and just call him Jeremiah, then I'd be torn.
I honestly think that even if you never call him Jerry, other people will pick up on it and make the "Ben and Jerry" comments. It might be something that you can just laugh off and overlook, but it would drive me INSANE. But Jeremiah is a really fabulous name (and in spite of the stupid ice cream, it's perfect with Benjamin) so I understand the temptation. I'm not much for nicknames, if anything, I have a tendency to use double names or legnthen names (I used to call my brother Jeremy "Jeremiah" a lot). So my inclination is to not shorten it at all. But if you are inclined to nicknames, that's probably not going to work for you. And I can't think of any other nicknames for Jeremiah.
The more I think about it, the more I like Gabriel for you. Ben and Gabe are excellent and have none of the contextual issues.
I agree that the Ben and Jerry thing would be too much. I don't think it would be a terrible problem if you enforced a different nn, but I'd be at a loss as to what that might be. Jeremy, Jem, Remi or simply Jay (J) are the only ones that came to mind. Not sure if any would appeal to you. I actually like both names, aside from that.
Well my vote went to Jeremiah. Obviously, I'm partial to this name since I named my DS that. :-) He's only 18 months, but so far no one has ever tried to call him Jerry. In fact, I don't really care for that nn and it was one of my concerns in using Jeremiah. But everyone I talked to seemed kind of suprised. It hadn't occured to them as Jerry being a nickname of Jeremiah. So I'm not sure it would necessarily be a problem. Nicknames I have heard (for mine or other Jeremiah's) are: Jer, Jerems, Jem, Jay.
I have an older friend who has 3 boys all grown up now. She named them Jeremiah, Benjamin, and James but growing up they were Jeremy, Benny, and Jimmy. Jeremiah is the oldest and now as an adult he much prefers Jeremiah to his nn. Childhood friends still forget sometimes but he introduces himself as Jeremiah... Its a strong name. (one of his screen handles by the way contains "weepingprophet" pretty witty.) My brother is John Gabriel (goes by Gabe) and I like that too!
I LOVE both Gabriel and Jeremiah. I think they are both absolutely fabulous and perfect sibling names to Benjamin. However, I REALLY dislike the nn Jerry. It sounds very dated to me. (Gerald nn Jerry is a family name for me, and as much as my parents wanted to carry on the tradition, they wouldn't because it was too dated, so my brother is Jeremy. I feel the same way, so Gerald/Jerry is not on my list, but Fitzgerald and Jeremiah are -- and I will not tolerate Jerry as a nickname for either.)
That said, in your case, I ESPECIALLY dislike the nn Jerry because the Ben & Jerry combination makes me cringe. It's really obvious and way too cutesy for me.
My vote went to Gabriel because I so dislike that combination. But if you were going to avoid the nn and just call him Jeremiah, then I'd be torn.
I honestly think that even if you never call him Jerry, other people will pick up on it and make the "Ben and Jerry" comments. It might be something that you can just laugh off and overlook, but it would drive me INSANE. But Jeremiah is a really fabulous name (and in spite of the stupid ice cream, it's perfect with Benjamin) so I understand the temptation. I'm not much for nicknames, if anything, I have a tendency to use double names or legnthen names (I used to call my brother Jeremy "Jeremiah" a lot). So my inclination is to not shorten it at all. But if you are inclined to nicknames, that's probably not going to work for you. And I can't think of any other nicknames for Jeremiah.
The more I think about it, the more I like Gabriel for you. Ben and Gabe are excellent and have none of the contextual issues.
I agree that the Ben and Jerry thing would be too much. I don't think it would be a terrible problem if you enforced a different nn, but I'd be at a loss as to what that might be. Jeremy, Jem, Remi or simply Jay (J) are the only ones that came to mind. Not sure if any would appeal to you. I actually like both names, aside from that.
HTH
~Kelli
Powered by CGISpy.com
Well my vote went to Jeremiah. Obviously, I'm partial to this name since I named my DS that. :-) He's only 18 months, but so far no one has ever tried to call him Jerry. In fact, I don't really care for that nn and it was one of my concerns in using Jeremiah. But everyone I talked to seemed kind of suprised. It hadn't occured to them as Jerry being a nickname of Jeremiah. So I'm not sure it would necessarily be a problem. Nicknames I have heard (for mine or other Jeremiah's) are: Jer, Jerems, Jem, Jay.
Kristin
Joey-4
Jeremiah-18 months
Baby#3-3/22/07