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If you use it on its own, you lose the William connection and it turns into a word name - will as in free. And I don't like that! Stick to good old classic William.

def! i love Will on its own :)

I'm not really a fan of nicknames as names, and if you don't hate William, it would seem a better choice to me. Having said that, there are hundreds of far worse names than just Will out there, and at least it has a meaning as a word.

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The main drawback I can see is that if it was his full name, people might think he needed a nickname. And the obvious one is Willy, which is not good at all.

I think yes

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I myself like just Will on its own too. I think it definitely ok on its own. I agree, there are lots of other nickname that are seen as fine full names now. Why not Will indeed!

Leo has a history and etymology as a name in its own right, while Will doesn't. I don't like Will on its own, only as a nickname, for William or another name starting with the letters WIL.

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Funny, my grandson's name is Leo, but in his case it is a nickname for Leonidas, and my son's name is Will, in his case a nickname for William.

If you think that William is fine, go with that and call him Will. He might want the option later on in life to go by William.

If there's a will theres a way

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heh heh

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nah it's fine. I think of Will on its own as a word name. pretty cool.

The difference between Leo and Will is that Leo IS a name in its own right. Will isn't.

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I think Will is far too nicknamey to use as a full name. A kid should have a full name to fall back on.

No, definitely not. For me Will is much too short to stand on its own. Plus it's a very common word, which doesn't help it to try to be a full name. But I love love love Will as a nn for William. It's sooo handsome. And now you've made me sad again that I'll never be able to use my favorite boy's name ever. :P

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I'm not terribly comfortable with Leo as a name on its own, but the difference between the two is that 1) William is WAY more common than any other Leo- names, and 2) Leo can be a nn for several somewhat common names, while any other name besides William that Will could be short for are much much more uncommon.

This message was edited 2/20/2010, 5:26 PM

If it were my child, I would insist that the child have the option of having the formal name. You could also opt for Wilfred, which I personally ADORE. It is around No. 6 on my list.

I think it is very nice on it's own and I don't see a problem with using it.