Malcolm

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

My fiance and I agreed that we both like Malcolm quite a lot. Unfortunately he's really hung up on using "Mal" as a nickname. (One guess why!)

What's your first thought if you met a kid who went by "Mal"?

I have french Canadian family, which may be part of my hang-up, but I just can't seem to get past it, since in so many languages it means bad/evil/trouble/pain/illness or similar.

Comments

[the-pyre.livejournal.com]

Could you try to think of it in a positive, cute way? Like when people say "oooh here comes trouble!", know what I mean?

I mean, I call my little one Monster and Booger, and I doubt that he'll actually think that he's some big scary Boogermonster when he's finally verbal.

[lorienellen.livejournal.com]

I think of the captain from Firefly.

[felicitea.livejournal.com]

I feel the same as you. No french speakers around me, but I'm wordy, and as soon as I saw "he's really hung up on using "Mal" as a nickname." my brain started pouring in with various words - Maladjusted, malnourished, malice, malady. I wouldn't go for it personally, especially not with french Canadian relatives

I've got no idea why he wants Mal as a nickname though. I'm guessing it's an american reference?

[ex-thegreyl.livejournal.com]

seconded

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I think of a girl I was friends with named Mallori that we called Mal. It seems feminine to me, but I don't get the same negative connotations you're getting.

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

My first thought if I met a kid that went by "Mal" would probably just be "that's cute". I mean, Capt. Mal Reynolds definitely occurred to me but it's not like I would necessarily assume the parents are Firefly/Serenity fans... and even so, I like Joss Whedon too so it's not like it's a bad thing.

I honestly did not think of the whole mal=bad thing even though my sister has a friend named Malhar whom they jokingly call "Badhar" AND I took 5 years of Spanish.

[frost.livejournal.com]

I didn't notice the "bad" thing until you said something and then my mind started providing words- malnourished, malice, etc. =x
(I don't know why your fiance wants to use Mal...)

My first thought? Personally, I think Mal sounds ugly. Mal reminds me of Mallard ducks, so when I read the name it tends to have that sort of duck quack-y quality to it, lol. =/

[retrodancekitty.livejournal.com]

I totally would have the same issues as you :/
I prefer Mac for Malcolm!

[blue-roan.livejournal.com]

I think Mac is a great suggestion. Mal seems very feminine and dull as a nickname :\

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

That's why he likes it ;)

I love the show, and don't mind THAT association, it's just the whole "bad" thing that bugs me.

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

He likes it because of the show "Firefly". Malcolm Reynolds was one of the main characters, and he went by "Mal".

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

I prefer Mac as well, it's my NN of choice. He's stuck on Mal. *sigh*

[bright-eyes-jh.livejournal.com]

I'm giggling because my husband and I have been having this exact same debate. We both are huge Firefly fans, so we struck upon Malcolm as a name idea one day and totally fell in love with it.

I don't mind using Mal, but I think other people who don't watch the show will just associate it with the Latin prefix, as you say. I think we're going to use up ending Mac, and maybe just using Mal at home.

[tokossel.livejournal.com]

hmm, my first kiss was with a boy whose nickname was Malo and I really liked it. I am French-speaking too, but there is the Saint Malo association to it more than anything! I like the name Amala/Mala too, which has the same 'problem', so I understand where you are coming from.
Mac is nicer than Mal, I agree!

[becomingun.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Malo. I knew a Malo in my teens.

[becomingun.livejournal.com]

Why don't you call him Mac and your husband can use Mal? My parents call me two different things. My mom calls me "Cookie" and my dad calls me "Spookie." They rhyme. He liked the sound, but he thought Cookie was too feminine.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I speak French too, but that meaning is, oddly, not the first thing I think of. It doesn't really sound wrong to me because I grew up on the Babysitter's Club Books, where this character Mallory frequently goes by the nickname Mal. It wasn't until later that I thought of the negative connotations.

That being said ... could you think of a different nickname you'd rather use instead? Or just use his full name? You can't control what other people will do, but it's better than nothing.

[j0yous.livejournal.com]

My grandfather and uncle are both named Malcolm, and are both called Mal. I can see why you're concerned about the root word, but I don't think about that when I talk about my grandfather and uncle. I like it as a name choice.

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

I speak Spanish as a first language where Mal LITERALLY means 'bad, illness' and I love the nickname... in fact I use it for Malachi >.> I have no idea why I don't have that association in my head. I guess it's because when I see my cute little cousin Malachi I can't link him to the meaning of the word in Spanish.

[malzers.livejournal.com]

My name is Malorie and I get called Mal. I personally love my nickname and very rarely does anyone make that connection. My name actually means "unfortunate" and I don't think much of it. :)
Not sure if that helps or not.