DS is 14 months...help me spell his nn!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2004
DS is 14 months...help me spell his nn!
13
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 10:41am

Hi naming experts!


I haven't been to this board in a long while, but I'm really struggling with my son's nickname. My DH thinks I'm crazy (probably!). His name is Tobias Wade, and he is usually called Tobey. Since it's a nickname, we never had an "official" spelling, but started out spelling his nn with the "ey". Our reasoning behind this was because we live in a intellectual college town area, and baby naming is pretty progressive here—we had read about "Toby" being used as a girl's name, and figured people in our area would be likely to

Amy, mom to Nate (9), Calvin (7), and Tobias (4). You can find me at my blogs:

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-02-2006
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 11:29am
I think the nn should be spelled Toby. I have never seen it spelled Tobey. If I were using the name, I would definitely spell it Toby. I don't think it signifies that the child is a girl, Toby is unisex, I believe...
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 11:42am

First of all, I love all your boys' names. As for Tobey/Toby - I've never met a girl named Toby. I don't think of it as a unisex name, a few girls here and there might be starting to use it, but it's still all-boy to me.



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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-01-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 12:47pm

I would go with Toby

Tobey just looks kinda weird for some reason

good luck

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 1:07pm

I prefer Toby over Tobey. And I've never met a female Toby!!

It might take a while for your friends & family to get used to seeing "Toby" on correspondence but I think you should change it if it's bugging you like it is.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 1:21pm
I prefer Toby. Tobias and Toby are family names for me. My dad's aunt goes by Toby and Tobias is her last name.
I don't think it is too late to change now. The change would have to be made before Tobias started to write his own name though.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 1:48pm
Tobey does not look more masculine to me. Toby and Tobey both sound the same. Toby is easier to spell. I'd go with Toby!
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2006
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 2:28pm
I prefer Toby of those two choices (Toby or Tobey). However, the idea of Tobi just popped into my head. Just throwing it out there for you to consider. But since the name is Tobias, Tobi would actually be the literal shortening of that spelling wise. Despite my suggestion, I still like Toby best especially if you are going for a more classic appearance to it. Good luck and take care! :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-28-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 2:32pm

I know of only one girl named Toby and she spells it Tobi, she's probably 25 or 26, (a few years ahead of me in school). So to me, Toby is your best bet, and doesn't give me any hint that it might be a little girl instead of a little boy.

Whitney

Daisypath - Personal pictureDaisypath
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2006
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 3:02pm

The two females I know named Toby are each over 50 years old. So it's not a new phenomenon. When you chose the name Tobias, I'll assume you knew that it wasn't a "macho" kind of name to begin with. It's not Axel or Mario. So what do you care if a small handful of middle-age women share the spelling of his nickname?

Incidentally, all the guys I know with this name (that's one man my father's age, one I went to high school with and two I baby-sat for,) spell it Toby.

If you really like Old English names, note that the Old English spelling of Toby was Tobie (as in Sir Tobie Matthew).

Tobey looks wrong. It irks me a little that Tobey Maguire's name is spelt like that, but he's super famous so it doesn't really matter.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2004
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 3:14pm
Thanks everyone! Yes, Kate, I know Tobias is not the most manly name...I don't care! I don't mind him sharing the name with older women, or anyone else. I was just concerned that a trend may be forthcoming for baby girls...you know, it happens. Not likely of course. I think I really am leaning toward Toby! Keep the opinions coming! Oh, and Tobi is interesting, but just looks more feminine to me. We do call him Tobe though, which I also like!
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Amy, mom to Nate (9), Calvin (7), and Tobias (4). You can find me at my blogs:

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