EB writes:
My husband is a third, and if we have a baby boy, we will name him as a fourth, IV. My question is: What are some nicknames that we can call him having to do with the number four? For instance, a third might be called Trey, and a fifth might be called Quin. I have never heard of what a fourth might be called.
If you know of any good names for a fourth off the top of your head or if you don’t mind querying your readers, I would so appreciate any help you can give.
Oh, I’m so glad that someone has given me the opportunity to show off about a little-known naming rule! This rule was a huge source of conflict between me and my high school boyfriend (he was a III). Here is the rule: Only popes and royalty keep their placeholders permanently.
Let’s say Ronald Jones Sr. has a son named Ronald Jones Jr. and a grandson named Ronald Jones III. And then let’s say Ronald Jones Sr. shuffles off this mortal coil. As of his death, Ronald Jones Jr. becomes Ronald Jones Sr., and Ronald Jones III becomes Ronald Jones Jr. This means that in most families, there is no need (or only a brief need) for a IV, and this is one reason there are so few good established nicknames.
However, perhaps you have noticed that this naming rule is unfamiliar? It’s because people (MALE people) get all possessive about their dangley little suffixes, and also because they like the idea of their Illustrious Name stretching onward for generations, and how does anyone know how MANY generations unless we keep adding numbers? If you tried to apply the naming rule correctly at this point, you’d just confuse everyone. “But I always thought you were Ronald Jones JUNIOR!,” people would say, shocked and alarmed. “But wait! Shouldn’t your son be V?” The mail mix-ups would be astonishing.
This means we need nicknames for a IV, and there really aren’t many, are there? Unlike III, which gives us cute foreign variations such as Tres/Trey and the cute short form of triple “Trip,” the foreign versions of the number four tend to be more like “Quatre,” and the short form of quadruple would be “Quad.” Not much to harvest there. And even though “IV” could be pronounced “Eye-vee,” I don’t think we want to go that route either.
I wonder about Ivan. It’s a stretch, but so is “Trip,” really. Desperate times call for desperate measures, is what I’m saying. Ivan is a nice name, and it’s a neat visual play on IV.
Got any Dutch or German in your background? The Dutch/German word for four is “vier,” pronounced like “veer to the left.” Vier is…well, it’s unusual, name-wise! But it’s a good sound and I think it works. You would of course be constantly explaining it, but people are likely to (1) understand and (2) like it.
Or I wonder if you could just call him Fourth. It has a good sound, if you say it out loud. It makes me think of the boy’s name Ford, which I like (Douglas Adams fan).
I think if it were me, I would go for a different sort of nickname, based on the name instead of on the ranking. Your husband’s rank gets all the cute nicknames, unfortunately for your future son. If I wanted a four-related name, though, my top choice is Fourth.
Does anyone else have nicknames of the sort we’re looking for, related to the number four?
Would it be so bad to call him Trip? If he’s the third living then that seems reasonable. I think Trip sort of stands on its own nowadays, I doubt most people would even think, “Oh, he must be a third.”
I agree that the best nickname is probably better derived from the name itself, rather than relying on the IV thing.
Liam is a good name for the fourth
I like this name, what is the connection?
Liam is short for William
Any suggestions for a Phillip Jerome V? I don’t like “Phil”, “PJ”, “Vee” or “Quin/t”. I’d like to call him “Phillip”, but I know my husband’s family will default to “Phil” or “Philly”, which is what they call my FIL and husband. I like the idea of using these as two middle names, but husband does not.
I was thinking Quart is 1 fourth. And Court is a play on words for Quart. and doubles as a basketball nickname
Dru is good for Qua’dru’ple which means four
Oh, this is a tough one. What about the Greek four, Tetra? Maybe Tetro would sound more masculine? Or just Four?
The German one is actually more like “Fear” than “Veer,” which might not be an auspicious name.
Ive?
I know a four who goes by “Dusty,” but that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the number.
I always thought that “Chip” was for the fourth? I don’t have anything to back that up, just something I heard somewhere I think.
“Bud” or “Buddy” also seems to commonly be used for a Jr or a third or a fourth even if it has nothing to do with their name.
What about calling him Mars – as in the fourth planet. In Swedish, four is fyra. Or Q for Quad, or V for IV, or I read a cute suggestion of Cube.
I see that someone (Dallas) has already mentioned my idea, so I’ll just have to second it! I think calling him Q (short for Quad) would be really cute!
My dad is the third and did not make either of my brothers a fourth. BUT my uncle did! My cousin is Sherman IV, and since his mom is from Mexico, the family called him Quatro growing up.
Sadly, one of my brothers wants to have his son be V. I pray that my sister-in-law vetoes that decision.
The German word “vier” is pronounced exactly like the word fear. Don’t use that!
I personally like Vier and I don’t see an association with fear. Really any name can rhyme with anything if your vocabulary is big enough.
I would use it even if there was no Dutch or German in my background. I do happen to have German in my background, but my family has been in America so long, my German background has been so watered down and is not something I identify myself with usually.
I also really like the idea of Tetro. Tetra does sound feminine, but I even like Tetra for a girl.
And I like Quatro too. There is no Spanish speaking culture in my background, but I would still consider it.
The association is the vier is said as “Fear” with the German pronunciation. They aren’t rhymes, they’re homonyms.
Re “fear”- I guess, but countries generally convert pronunciation to their own alphabet, don’t they? I mean, not always, but in the U.S. we say “Volkswagon” and not “Folksvahgun.” We say “bratwurst,” not “bratvurst.”
Oh, man, you guys are coming up with good ones! Tetro! Q!
I know a 4th who also went by Dusty around family. In everyday life he went by his first name. I have no idea where Dusty comes from, but either we know the Dusty or maybe it is a legit nickname for a 4th.
Does it *have* to be a variation on four? Could it be another variation on the name? There are/were five generations of ‘John Christopher’ in my mom’s family, and they go/went by:
John
Bud
Jay
Chris
Jake
I vote for “Q”. Although… he may get called “Cue Ball” by other kids.
i actually knew a kid in college who went by “ivey.” i thought it was his last name for like a year until someone clued me in that it was actually for IV, because he was the fourth.
i LOVED the name, honestly. i’d never heard it before and thought it was really fun and unique. i vote ivey!
My husband’s the 3rd and called Trey, so we are just going to name our son (due in a month) IV (Ivey) as his first name :)
My husband’s the 3rd also and his family calls his Dad Eli, his brother JR or Eli (they come from different moms and are 20 yrs apart) and my husband Baby Eli. I’m thinking of calling my son Lee since he’s going to be the 4th (I’m due April 25,2017) but I’m still debating between some of the other suggestions also….
yep i’m a fourth and that’s what i go by lol, people also tend to think it’s “ivey” but i just spell it as “IV”
What a dilemma! I have to say, I don’t really like any of the nicknames, though. I couldn’t imagine calling my son Q or Tetro! But to each his own, I guess. I like the idea of shortening the actual name. I wish we knew what the name was so we could help! If I had to choose, though, I would probably go with either Ivey, Ivan, or Court (change Quart to “cort”?). Good luck!
I love Court
Odin. It means Wednesday. The fourth day. It’s a good name and I should know! It’s like Aiden and Owen mixed together.
I went to high school with someone who was a 4th and called “Four”. It actually made a nice name and wasn’t odd at all.
I like Oden/Odin, too! My two fave choices now are Oden or Court.
I could have written this question myself – I am very interested in this topic because my boyfriend is a III, and has always said that if he has a son, he wants him to be a IV. He wants to call him Ivey, a nickname that I’m less than crazy about.
But my question is, for all of you who know fourths, were they teased in school for their suffixes? Did they like being a fourth?
I had NO idea about that rankings thing! Wow!
I like the idea of nicknaming off of the name. For example I know a family of 4 williams.
Sr: William
Jr: Bill
3:Middle name: John
4: Liam
A fifth could be Will. Of course if you’re not working with an easy name that would be difficult. John could also be Jack, I think.
My husband is “Jack” or William John III. However, all of them have gone by Jack. When we go visit his side of the family it’s Big Jack (his dad) and Jackie (my husband). We have two girls so far but are working on our third and are really going for a boy. But I’m super stuck on a solution to his desire to carry on the IV.
Hm.
This whole thing is weird for me.
Why isn’t the kid just called his name or a nickname off the name (such as the Bill, Will, Liam example above?).
I don’t think I’m such a fan of making up a nickname that has nothing to do with his name. Being the fourth person born with that name in his family… well, I only see pretentious people actually saying to others, “Hi, I’m John William the Fourth”. Not many people these days will really get why you’re calling your kid “Four”. They’ll think he’s your fourth child or something.
I didn’t even know people were called “Trip” and “Trey” because of being a III, I just thought those were names.
I vote for just calling him a nickname off of the name you’re giving him.
Just one opinion, but I just don’t get calling a kid “Quatro” and such … unless it’s only for “in-the-home” purposes and not what you’re going to address him as in the outside world. In that scenario, “Quatro” away!
My nephew is a fourth. Unfortunately he has the “baby” version of his name “Little Jimmy” As he’s 23 now, it doesn’t fit. He doesn’t like it much now and less & less as he ages.
He also says he’ll NEVER keep the tradition going as it’s been a hassle all his life. Think Social Security paperwork, job references, etc. YIKES! So my vote is not to name him a IV (:-D Not offered as an option, I realize, but there ya go. I choose “IVey” if they must.
My friend Cassandra has a nphew who’s a IV. They call him IV- rhymes with give. Scroll down to the last graph in this entry. http://thealderins.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-birthday-lucy.html
http://thealderins.blogspot.com/2008/02/
happy-birthday-lucy.html
Oops. Hope you can somehow use that. The last one got cut off.
Egad IV nicknames are hard. I’ve also seen the different diminutives (William Bill Will Billy etc), and I knew a “Tripper” growing up (he LOVED that, let me tell you- no teasing AT ALL when your name makes you sound tremendously clumsy) but if this is a non-negotiable that the nickname must be related to the IV I like Court a lot.
Thanks for checking my blog! Yes, we have an IV in the family. Amazingly, we have met a couple other “IV’s” over the past few years. They both pronounced it as rhyming with GIVE as well, so I guess it is more common than we thought!
When he was a little baby, we called him “The Ivlet.” When we explain, that his name is derived from pronouncing the roman numeral for four, you often see the AHA! moment on their face. Good luck when you get your IV!
I know some people that named their little boy a fourth and (not kidding here) they call him Iv. Sounds just like it looks Iv (like If, but with a “va” sound instead). I always thought it sounded silly, but as the little boy has grown up it’s stuck and of course it’s made it less confusing to know who they’re talking about.
Perfect timing! I found your blog on the day when you were discussing a much-debated issue for my family. My side of the family follows your rule – when you die, you’re off the list and everyone moves up a notch. Otherwise, my brother would have been the fifth. My husband’s family obviously thinks they’re akin to kings and popes.
My husband is an IV. Oddly, even though he was the fourth, he was the first of the lot to go by his full first name – the first one went by his middle name, the second and third when by nicknames for the first name.
And since someone asked, my husband has always wished his parents hadn’t made him the fourth. He got teased about it in high school. Even his aunts and uncles made jokes about how pretensiously “regal” it sounds. And now that he’s in the same profession as his dad, it’s been annoying for him to always have to use sn awkward suffix that’s not always available as an option on forms.
Our son was actually born (as predicted by his great-grandfather) on the birthday of the original namebearer (his great-great-grandfather). Nonetheless, we did not cave into the pressure.
Our solution was to keep the same first name but change the middle name to something a bit more updated (original middle name was Ernest). So he’s still carrying the family first name, but has a unique middle name (which we call him by) and doesn’t have a suffix.
What about Iver?
I actually know someone who gave that name to his son as his given name. But I think it could be a nickname that relates to the IV thing.
One IV that I know in real life is Dru, short for “quadruple.” I suppose in this respect, Rupe could also work, which many will likely take as a diminutive of Rupert. But I’m guess you’ll have to explain any sort of IV-related nickname!
I think Cort/Court (“quart”) is also a cute one.
Oden, Court, or Dru. Definitely.
Thanks so much for posting my question, Swistle, and thank you to everyone for your input! I love, love, love Odin/Oden, and Dru, and Court, and Fourth is really cute, too! All three of the preceding men with this name are still living, so he truly would/will be a IV. The first name is just one syllable and so there is no shortening it, and all three of the other men go by that name, anyway. I don’t want to call my son the same name as my hubby and my father-in-law, hence why we need a nickname. I don’t like the middle name enough to call him by that name, and I just happen to like the number nicknames. You all have given me a lot to work with and I really appreciate it! I’ll keep you posted, Swistle… :)
I knew an Ivy in college…I thought he had a really unique name until I figured out he was actually John Something IV.
I didn’t know there was a rule where you could switch your suffix! Neat. After working in credit counseling, though, switching from “III” to “Jr.” might be really tough. People are already getting their credit histories confused with their fathers and sons all the time, so I’d bet it’s easier to stick with the suffix you were born with.
Since the first name is short one-syllable, how about adding the number related nicknames to the first name ala “John Q” or “John Four” to separate him from the rellies?
I have a friend who followed Davis Love III and used Drew from quaDRUple.
I knew a guy in HS named “Four” because he was the fourth. I thought he was really cool and it seemed to make sense to everyone.
I know a lot of fourth’s that go by the nickname Beau, which I think is cute! I have known one Cuatro and several who just go by one of their actual names (usually not the same as their dad).
As a second with the Nickname of Chip and having a son that is a third and a nickname of Trey. My vote is for Ivey.
To carry on the name is a tradition of celebrating a good man. I believe my father was a good man, I believe myself to be a good man and if my son believes the same about me and himself I will expect him to continue the tradition. It is a way to honor your father and continue a tradition of a “good name”. By good name I mean a name that has a good reputation.
As for paper work I have yet to have any major problems. Some minor things when getting a mortgage but nothing that took more than 15 minutes to clean up. I have seen more problems with people having identical names with strangers and people with popular last names.
People don’t have to get it. All in all the worst it could be is a good ice breaker when you don’t know what to say.
Fourth in different languages:
German – Vierte
French – Quarts
Four in different languages:
Dutch/German – Vier
Norwegian/Swedish – Fire
Misspelled – Forth
German – Ven
This is why I vote for Ivey – IV
Hope this helps.
I have been debating this question as well. My husband is a third, and i’ve never been fond of the “ranking” and i don’t like my husband’s full name, but it seems to be important to him. I had heard III’s going by “Trey” and IV’s going by “Trevor.” That sparked my imagination for nicknaming the IV “Trebor.” It actually works because the first name is Robert, and Trebor would be his first name spelled backwards.
But I’m really liking Cort!!!
I have a friend who is the Fourth and goes by Ford. I’m guessing his mother just tweaked Four for the Ford, but it’s always seemed normal and makes sense without being too “nicknamey”
Thought I’d add this. I am a 3rd and just found out my wife and I are having a boy. I concur there are not many options for nicknames. Therefore, I embarked on an extensive search. I am Irish and wanted if possible to have a nickname that was a direct play off of my first name or IV. Here’s what I found and I offer it up to others to use. The name is QUADE,it’s of Irish origin, we’ll pronounce it (KADE)not(KWADE). the name is a based on Quad and In Latin the name translates to “fourth” and is also defined as “the fourth child”! I like it, maybe you will as well.
This is what my son is doing for his baby boy also. My son is a 3rd & is Walter Larry (Then last name) & we call him Cole just as a nickname. It’s a long story but Cole was what I wanted to name him so we compromised. LOL Anyhow we’ve decided to go with Quade but spell & pronounce it as Cade.
Great suggestions, all! I’m in the same dilemma with my husband being a III. We have friends that have their IV go by “Quarter” and that seems to work for him. Really liking Cort/Court, Iver, and Quade/Kade. I also like the Odin suggestion, but our last name is Owen and that might be a little too matchy for usage.
I’ll add my thanks for this post! I had heard the rule about the change in suffix as well but my hubby doesn’t feel its necessary. He is in the same line of work as his father who was very well known in the community as the “jr” as was his grandfather as the “sr”. I’d also like to throw in a cultural difference I’ve observed. It seems to me there are many more Treys/Traes, Chips, Juniors, etc in the southern states than in the northern (just an observation from living in both areas). And I agree that it has more to do with respect for previous generations than trying to appear “royal”. I know my husband and I have great respect for his grandfather and father and that’s why we’ll continue his name. I’m still on the fence for a nickname though — my name is Courtney (called Court by a lot of people) so that might be strange for a young boy. I’m leaning towards Ivey tho.
Thanks again for sharing!
im a third and ive always said that if i had a kid (male or female) id name him or her James the IV.. for short i think it would be cool to go off the french pronounciation of 4 (quatre) when its said by a native speaker it sounds kinda like cat-ra. So if its a boy call him Cat and a girl can be James. If they want to get boring later on in life a boy could go to James since ive never answered to it and a girl could be Jamie if she wants to be boring.
I know this is quite old at this point, but I thought of one that hasn’t been mentioned. Quip seems like it’d be pretty cute to me–it’s more appropriate to someone who’s [Name] V, of course, but Quap sounds like crap (both literally and subjectively >>). And it suggests he’s witty, which’d be a bonus to me.
Does Angie not realize that vier is pronounced fear and that they aren’t just relating it… i don’t suggest using the german word vier but quatro and cube sound cute, quatro being my favorite. Also, some one I know is a living fourth and he just goes by his middle name jackson, although that is partly because he does not like the name monroe even though i think its a great name..well good luck anyway
I grew up with a guy named Quad
I need help here too! My husbands name is Palmer (III) and we’ll have a fouth. Any ideas on a nickname? They call my husband Palmer the Terd and I DO NOT want that for my son!
My husband is a III and we had discussed the “Dru” for Quadruple… Just a thought… You could spell it “Drew” if you liked. LOL
Quarry
my cousin is a III and goes by Trey. I also have a friend who is a III and goes my Tres. Growing up I also knew a Dos and a Cuatro, which is funny because all of them are white, not hispanic, but it works.
Quade, Quaide, or Quayde all mean fourth.
Despite the fact this thread has been going on for almost two years, I must post. My situation is even more dreadful. My father-in-law is the IV, my husband is the V, and if I were to have a son, years and years of debate has gotten us nowhere — my husband “insists” on naming a son the sixth (VI). I am certainly going to send him this posting, and look further into the dropping of the suffixes as to how many living males there are. (That would still make my potential son the third, and I’m just not feeling those nicknames). Anyway — what does anyone think of nicknames for a sixth???
Rowe! For 6th in a row. Love that!
For a VI, Hex would be my first suggestion–much easier to wear as a name than Sex! Roku is “six” in Japanese. Cube would be kind of neat, because a cube’s a six-sided polygon. I’m having trouble thinking of more (Hip like Trip? eeeeeh), but if I do, I’ll reply again.
…I’m George Henry Livermore IV. But you can call me Quarter.
I know this thread is old, but I’m an IV. We never seemed to have much of a plan in my family. Our name is Alexander, so we had a lot of variations on this.
Grandfather was Alec, but sometimes Alex and even Zander when he was younger for a bit.
Dad was Sandy when he was young, but then decided it was a dumb name in 3rd grade so tried to claim Alex which caused a lot of confusion on the phone between Alex and Alec are so simmilar.
When I was a kid I was called Little Sandy, then Big-little Sandy. (because the grandparents family never stopped calling dad Sandy)
I find that the IV isn’t a big deal on forms and airplane tickets and such because most people assume that if you don’t include the IV you’re still the same person. The only trouble I’ve had was getting mail to sandy and the post office didn’t believe it was a valid nickname for Alexander.
I find that my suffix is more of a curiosity over cocktails these days. It’s nice to not bring up my suffix every time that I introduce myself. We’re only pretentious behind closed doors in my family.
I was thinking “Quay” or “Quade”. Actually know a IV that has been called Quay all his life.
I am a Third and my family calls me Don. I am Filipino so we use Don like Spaniards do, as a title like: lord or gentleman. Started out as a joke, because my name is pretentious sounding (Arsenio Castro III), but it stuck.
My wide and I have talked about naming a theoretical son IV. Filipinos are big on nicknames (I don’t think I knew any of my aunts or uncles real names until I had to send them wedding invitations) so we have thought about it. We like IV (Ivy) and Pat (four in my native language, tagalog is apat, fourth is ikaapat)
Also about your assertion that when Senior dies Junior assumes the Senior title…I don’t know about that. We had to redo all the paperwork for closing a real estate deal because the paperwork didn’t include my III. All the lawyers in the room (co-op, seller, bank, buyer) agreed that Sr, Jr and III are 3 distinct people and that id you are “known as” (documents bearing your name) III you are III no matter if your namesakes are dead. My experience, your mileage may vary.
I really like Ivey! I think that is what I am going to call my little boy. My husband is a third and he is called Trey. I just think that Harold is so old fashion for the modern days. But now looking at all these comments Ivey is my favorite. I just couldnt call my son a number. I just think that would be to weird for me!
I know this is old, but my brother is the fourth and we called him Troy… We arrived at that because his mother is from Mexico, so quatro…troy. Sort of a long way to get there, but honestly most people never inquired and it wasn’t the big of a deal when people did ask. After our dad died, my brother started asking us to call him William.
I know this is old by now—BUT– I found this link trying to come up with a name for a IV.
My husband is Trey (he’s a III) and our son will be a fourth—I’m seriosuly NOT feeling Court—it sounds like a short version on Courtney…too feminine.
Ivey is ok—but the best two that I have found online are:
Anan (African) for fourth born
Judah (Biblical) fourth son of Abraham
I think I’m going with Judah—plus my husband has this infatuation with Bob Marley so it all kind of fits.
Quade, taken from Quad, is a good choice. I went to high school with a guy who was the fourth and went by Quade. Pronounced “Wade” but with the Q.
My name is Brittany and my husband is a III and he goes by trey. his name is laurens ferdinand schaad and we cant seem to agree on a name for a IV i like odin alot. not so much for him tho. any ideas?
i also would like to add that we are both Irish and German. :)
Great posts!!! I am a third and me and my gf are having a boy so this was a great debate for us as well, with some research we found out that when the tradition started there were no middle names. So we exchanged the middle name with her fathers first name ( makes both sides of the family happy ) and shorten the first name for his nickname and can technically still use the suffix iv without a nickname asociated with 4.
Great grandpa: Willis
Granpa: bill
Father: wilson
Son: will
i just found this post looking up the meaning of the name quin. my son will be francis john the fifth and we will be calling him quin, for fifth.
for what it’s worth i hope you went with “ivy” or IV i think it’s cute and it makes the most sense. regardless, i feel your pain! i’ve been over and over this for months trying to figure out what to call this boy!
taylor
I cant believe how long this thread has gone on…so great!
My husband is a III and his friends always joke that we will have an IV and call him “Quat.” Um no.
If we have an IV, I like Judah (mentioned above) and would call him Jude. But in all likelihood we would actually call him “Pal.” The original (my husband’s grandfather, whom I was never able to meet in this life) was nicknamed Pal and I think it would be a great tribute to him. So I like it for that reason and just because it sounds so friendly:)
To the poster above that talks about having a VI, my side of the family has one and they joked while his mom was pregnant that he would be nicknamed “Six.” Its actually kind of cool. Dont know if its really caught on though, they are more distant cousins so I dont see them a lot.
Hello. Dutch person here. I would just like to say that vier does not sound like fear. It sounds like the letter V with an r stuck to it: V-r or v-EE-r.
I suggest the Dutch Olivier (O-Lee-VEER): http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/olivier
My husband is the 3rd and all of his family members before him are still alive. I don’t agree with the changing of the numerals though because that would be VERY confusing for paperwork, birth certificates, financial matters, etc. III is tied to my husband’s SSN so he would never change to II or Junior.
My dilemma is the name is Miguel Angel. His grandfather is called Miguelito, his father is called Mike, my husband is called Mikey or Miggy by family but I call him Miguel, and there are no other nicknames for Miguel that I like. I have racked my brain but cannot come up with anything.
I’m not sure on IV(ey) as it sounds too much like a girl’s name to me. I was hoping to make a name from MAV IV (initials) like Mavy, maybe? Not sure yet, but this post has given me a lot to think about!
“Mavy” or “Mave” is awfully close to “Maeve,” an Irish girl’s name (and increasingly common in the US). Why not “Tito,” which is kind of a universal diminutive in Spanish?
I don’t like Tito – reminds me of the Jackson 5. Hmm… I still like Mavy – it sounds less girl like than Ivy. I’ll keep thinking and am open to other suggestions!
I have a friend who is a IV and goes by Ives. Sounds more masculine than Ivey to me. I realize this is a little late in the thread but another suggestion!
My boyfriend’s name is Ronald Lewis Riggles III, and everyone calls him Trey. I love the idea of generation names, and Trey doesn’t mind it. The only thing is that he hates his name, and has contemplated making Trey his legal name. But when I expressed my desires to name our son the IV, he was surprising receptive to the idea. I love the name Ronald! He’s okay with it – it’s Lewis that makes his skin crawl, so we couldn’t nickname our child Lewis. His father goes by Ron, so we couldn’t use that. To complicate things further, Ron’s father also goes by Ron. AND, my boyfriend’s mother’s stepfather (whew!) is also named Ron and goes by so. So, Ron is out of the question. Oh, and did I mention that my father’s name is Ronnie? (Goodness, so many Rons!) I once contemplated nicknaming the child Ronnie in homage to my father, but this would infuriate my mother (bad divorce) and I don’t like that name much. So, I started thinking. Maybe the fourth doesn’t need a nickname? Perhaps my child could just go by Ronald? How do you feel about abandoning the nicknames all together, or is it too much of a mouth-full?
My husband is James Leonard Martin III. He goes by Trey. His granddad goes by James, his dad by Jimmy, soooo when naming our son that left us with Leonard, Leon, Leo…no thanks. They are all still alive & even if they werent I’ve, never heard of bumping them off the list. Lol We went with TJ for my son, for Trey, Jr. even though he is really IV. LOL
My husband is a Jr. and my step son is a III. So there is Bill Jr. and then we call my step son Lil Bill and now I have a son that we named after my husband as well so he is the fourth. My husbands father is still alive so there are 4 Bills. We decided to call him Fourth. Everybody loves it and so do we. So unique and fits him perfectly. I would go with Fourth.
I am so sorry, but Swistle is totally wrong about this. My birth certificate reads Something Something Anderson II. So does my drivers license, Social Security Card, tax returns, etc., etc. That is my given NAME, my legal NAME, and it does not change even if someone dies. Maybe the Fifth Earle of Sandwich can become the Seventh Duke of Earle, but my name does not change. Ever. NEVER.
In case anyone is wondering, had I been named for my father, I would have been a Jr. and nicknamed Jay-Are. But I was named for my grandfather and as such, I am the second, nicknamed Deuce, thank you very much.
Deuce- I am not wrong. The government has allowed people to call themselves what they want to as long as their intent is not to deceive, and the government has understood that those of you with handmedown names would like to keep your suffixes; those concessions don’t make it RIGHT, just ALLOWED.
I am Sandy, a female, named after my great great grandfather Sandy. He wanted to name a boy, but girl after girl was being born, so I was tagged Sandy. Is there a way, an identifier, to carry the name on as with males?
Anonymous- As far as I know, numbers are used only for males—perhaps because traditionally only the male line was of any importance, and women changed their names with marriage rather than keeping them their whole lives.
My son is Sidney James Thomas Iv. He’s only 7months and when it comes to a Nickname for him I was thinking it was going to be hard. I just call him Sid or Son. lol
I will let the II and the III WORK THAT OUT!!! ;·)
I’m pregnant and married to a III, he’s insisting on a IV if this is a boy. Once, when the idea of a baby was hypothetical, a friend of his said we should call a boy “Rex” because no one but Kings got to carry a name past III. I love the name, but am afraid the friend pulled the idea from her butt. Any verification?
Swistle — you probably already know this but MIss Manners agrees with you!
^ Martin, Judith. (2005). Miss Manner’s Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. W. W. Norton. p. 55–6. Google preview retrieved 19 July 2009.
Although this is old, I wanted to add in case it helps others who stumble upon this searching for nicknames. My 3 favorite, normal sounding nicknames for the fourth are:
1) Rowe (or spelled “Ro”) for quatro or four-in-a-row : )
2) Drew (or spelled Dru) for quadruple
3) Ford as a take on fourth / four
I also like Chip (chip off the old block) and Beau as well.
I guess ill continue this thread for 2014. My husband is William 111. His family calls him Third. I call him by his last name which is Tatum. We live in the South. Dont know if thats relevant, AA descent.
GF: Bill
Dad: Jr.
Husband: Third/ Tatum (last name)
My husband is adamantadamant that our son be a IV. After reading this thread, (All of the replys), I think I like:
Fourth, Kade, Q, or Ill simply call him Will.
Good luck to you all and thanks for the info.
I can’t believe I’m the only one in all these comments to look at the Russian word for four, which is pronounced “cheteeree”, and see the potential for Chet.
You’re welcome.
My husband is the III and goes by Trey – I though of “Treyson” for our IV… kind of like how Johnson was John’s son – Treyson is Trey’s son. :-)
My name is Trey. And when I have a IV I will consider Treyson. I have been trying to figure out with to call my future son forever and this is the best one yet
Chip is a good name…..
Lol
I was highly amused by this, considering that I am a writer and I created a character named: Dr. Ivan Ivy IV. So many puns in one name. Add onto that the fact that he’s a part of a group of four glassses-wearing friends nicknamed the Four-I’s, and you have another pun. As for his nickname, if his lineage is ever references, is merely “The Fourth.” It’s said with the definitive article, so there’s an option for anyone considering nicknames. The main question would be whether or not you would want to capitalize the “the,” although it’s informal, so it shouldn’t matter that much.
It would make sense to me, using the definitive article. By that point, the suffix is uncommon enough that it’s pretty cool to evoke just how “elite” it sounds. There are a lot of Jr’s, but not a lot of IV’s.
My son is a third and we call him Trace, playing on the spelling for Tres. We like Drew or Court the best. I also like Rowe. I hope he carries on the name but it will be up to him and future wife in the end. I’ll at least pass on the discussion to them :)
I’m a fourth. Came here out of curiosity. I’ve always gone by “Dru” as in quaDRUple.
Any non Quin nicknames for the fifth boy of the same name? I’m not crazy about my child having to share a name as grandpa and dad and need some help.
I had a friend who called his son (a fifth) Nick, for nickel.
I’m in the same boat and am curious: what did you end up naming your son?
We named him Jack but added my husband’s first and middle name (so he has 2 middle names). It’s a perfect fit and the family was still happy. My daughter and nephews also have 2 middle names so it wasn’t an odd solution. Good luck to you!
Just found this site out of curiosity. We call my son “Kade”, but he is John, IV. He isn’t old enough to vote yet, but so far in school, etc, it hasn’t been an issue. He knows his name is John, so if it’s ever called on a roll or at a doctors office, he answers to it, but always tells them later “I go by Kade, it means the fourth”!!
I like Quinn for the fifth, but wouldn’t blame Kade if he didn’t want to keep the name going.
Thanks for the help Kade’s Mom! :-)
Four in Japanese is Yon (or Shi, tho that’s also the word for death, so they use Yon.)
I like the Russian suggestion
My son is FIFTH in a long line of James. They range from James, Jimmy, Jim, my husband B.J. or BIG Jim (got this nickname when he grew a foot taller than his Dad and Gramps when he was 14) We call my son L.J. or Little Jim. Gramps jokingly says soon it will be O.J. (Old Jim) and Y.J. (Young Jim) LOL don’t sweat the small stuff, it’ll all work out in the end – ya just gotta have a sense of humor about it.
I had a friend who’s son was a IV. His name was Richard (something something) IV and they called him Riv for short. The “R” from “Richard” and the “iv” from IV. I thought that was really clever. Everyone loved it.
As an update, my son, born 6 months ago (2016) would’ve been the 5th (V). I couldn’t get past not letting him have his own name and identity. His father’s family was disappointed and put a lot of pressure on me. My husband though was understanding and kind. Our compromise was a name that began with the same letter and my husband’s full name as his middle names (so my son has two middle names but my daughter does too- my maiden name- so it works out). My hubby and baby boy share the same initials, just an extra letter on my son’s. Incredibly happy with our decision! Good luck to everyone!
So wow this post has staying power!
My husband is a third and he goes by Tre’ our son is a fourth so he goes by Dru’ for quaDRUple
I know this post is a bit old at this point, but i stumbled accross it somehow.
So, my father’s side of the family has this going too. They are all named William, but so far they have all had thier own “nick names”. My Great Grandfather is where it started. His name is William Henry- he always went by Henry. My Grandfather WHJ Jr, went by Bill. My father, WHJ III, goes by Hank. My brother, WHJ IV, actually goes by William (or his friends will call him Will now that he’s an adult), and his son, WHJ V – who is almost 3 years old, goes by both Qhuinn (quin) and Liam, depending who is talking to him.
My husband is a fourth and goes by “Quad” and our son is a fifth and we call him Cinco.