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HelpRe: Sam
in reply to a message by Lily
I have a young friend who recently named a newborn son Sam, just Sam with a family name in the middle. And it's true that I don't know a single Samuel who goes by Samuel--they all get called Sam. (But then they have this more formal name up their sleeve). My young friend's choice of Sam as a full name has been a topic of discussion among mutual friends and family, with opinion probably equally divided about whether or not this was a tasteful choice. At least it's not as diminutive as Alfie, Bobby, or Bertie.......
I'd put using Sam as a given name in the same category as Jack being given as a full name--fully acceptable, rather confident, perhaps upper-middle class copying celebrity class? To me, the confident aspect of such a choice involves a total lack of pretension--the possibility that the name Sam would be completely adequate for a growing boy and grown man, that there would be no need for added complexity stemming from the name itself. It takes a degree of chutzpah to be comfortable with such a choice.
For the record, I really don't like Samson.
I'd put using Sam as a given name in the same category as Jack being given as a full name--fully acceptable, rather confident, perhaps upper-middle class copying celebrity class? To me, the confident aspect of such a choice involves a total lack of pretension--the possibility that the name Sam would be completely adequate for a growing boy and grown man, that there would be no need for added complexity stemming from the name itself. It takes a degree of chutzpah to be comfortable with such a choice.
For the record, I really don't like Samson.
This message was edited 2/22/2013, 4:20 AM
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