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I like Nathaniel nn Nathan

I prefer Nathaniel, personally--first there's Nat from Little Men and Jo's Boys, who turned me onto the name in the first place, then dear Natty-boy of Bartimaeus, and then the eternally-sexy Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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Nathan, on the other hand, has Nathan Fillion of Firefly and not much else. Plus, every Nathan I've known has been a total jerk. So I definitely like Nathaniel better.

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Array

Well I think Nathaniel is nice, but I can't stand Nathan! Weird huh? Nathaniel just sounds more masculine and interesting to me.

I prefer just Nathan by itself. Skye's name was going to be Nathan if she was a boy.

I can't stand Nathan. It's so harsh. Nathaniel however is only of my favorite names. It's more elegant, mature, and less trendy. Plus, you could always shorten Nathaniel to Nathan (or Nate or Nat) if you wanted.

I prefer Nathan

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v

I know easily twice as many Nathaniels as I do Nathans, so if the ease that you're considering comes from it being a shorter name, I wouldn't worry about it. Nathaniel's a pretty easy one for people to grasp. If your preference for Nathan isn't that strong, and you both agree on Nathaniel, I recommend going with Nathan as a nickname.

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As a matter of interest, without exception every Nathaniel or Nathan I know goes by Nate. And after Christopher and variants of Eric, it easily competes to be one of the top most popular names of my personal acquaintances.

I love both names but tend toward Nathaniel as being more handsome, less trendy in sound, more possible nicknames (not just Nate, Nathan, Nat but also Niel / Neil or even Eli from the ending letters). I also love it's connection on my family tree (Nathan can also be found there but not as direct an ancestor). So anyway, Nathaniel is my suggestion.

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I know a Nathan who goes by Nathan, a Nathan who goes by Nate, a Nathaniel who goes by Nate, and a Nathaniel who goes by Nathan.

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Personally, I think Nathan is more handsome and, as you said, easier. Especially if you're going to call him Nate or Nathan anyway, just leave the '-iel' off, unless you're honoring or something...