Needing Everyones Opinion

I knew a Jeremiah and a Rueben and they always just went by their full first names. I know I say my kids' names enough that they slip off my tongue effortlessly, even when I'm upset (and despite the fact that they have long names (3-4 syllables each). However, I agree with the other posters that I too mix up my kids', pets', and even husband's name sometimes. I guess it's payback for having laughed at my mom for doing it (she even mixes up my sister's husband's name and my husband's name every now and then).

I like all the names. I would get tongue tied no matter what( I do with Vatticus and Attolet too-I mean Violet and Atticus)

If these were my kids, they'd be:
Joe,
Jimmy or maybe James
Ruby (even if it was a boy) or Roobs or Sandwich
Zekers
But if they were someone else's kids, I wouldn't rename them, I'd call them what they went by.

Anything longer than 2 syllables will be broken down to one or two-it's sort of unavoidable.

If someone was introduced as Victoria, I would call her Victoria. If she was introduced as Vicky, I would call her Vicky.

As for nicknames for these
1. Josiah - ?
2. Jeremiah - Jerry
3. Rueben - Ruby
4. Ezekiel - Zeke

1. Josiah - I would call him Josiah
2. Jeremiah - I would call him Jeremiah...but others may call him Jeremy or Miah (I went to school with a boy that we call Miah)
3. Rueben - I would call him Rueben
4. Ezekiel - I would call him Ezekiel....but I am sure that others would call him "Zeke". This name was second place for my first son...Elijah won out.

I think that once you have more than one child in the house you are looking at yelling the wrong name. It just happens. My dad went down all FIVE of our names and then went back to the one he wanted to call. It was funny. I have two boys, not similarly named and a dog I always call everyone by the wrong name! :)

1. Josiah - From Day 1, this child will be called Josh or Joe by everyone else besides his mother. Josiah is a very uncommon name, and I think most people are uncomfortable with it. Everybody knows Josh and Joe. Josh is a swell guy. Hey, Joe, what do you know. Joe the Plumber. Joe Cool. Josiah sounds like a prophet.

2. Jeremiah - Most people will really want to call this child Jerry or Jeremy. It's more common than Josiah, so it's OK to be on the birth certificate, driver's license, diploma, degree, etc., but this is a Jerry in the making. And I agree, Jeremiah was a bullfrog is the first thing I think of.

3. Rueben - I can't think of any boy's nicknames for this except for Ben, but I would never refer to this child as anything but Rueben. Ruby is a girl's name. Rueben is also unusual, but OK. Two syllables - quick, easy, rolls off the tongue smooth. There will be a phase in school about "Rueben Rueben I've been thinking.. " and a "rueben sandwich" but that's about it. All kids get teased, unless you want to go with Matthew, Mark, Luke or John - wait, strike the last one.

4. Ezekial - like #1, this child will be called Zeke for the rest of his life, personally and professionally. I suppose in today's world you can try to pull off "E-Z", but Zeke is a classic. The full-monty "Ezekial" can be reserved for when the boy really gets in trouble and warrants the entire first-middle-last name salutation for the resulting lecture.

I haven't read other answers, but here's my two cents...
No matter what you name your child, there are some people who will call them a nickname, and others who won't. I'm personally not a nickname person, unless someone says "Call me ______." However, I have a friend who doesn't call one person she knows by their given name. Looking at your names and trying to think of nicknames, here's what I came up with:
1. Josiah - Joe
2. Jeremiah - Jer
3. Rueben - Ben
4. Ezekiel - Zeke
Probably not original! And no matter what your boys' names are, you will get tongue tied and call them the wrong name =) My two oldest are Jayden and Tyler, which are not close at all, yet I still jumble them all up when reprimanding them. I wouldn't let that possibility deter you if you really like a similar name. Good luck deciding!

Our youngest son is 4 months old. We STILL call him our older sons name from time to time. As does almost ALL our relatives! It's just habit to say "Jack". So now our little Alex gets called by his big brothers name from time to time. I'm sure we'll all get it straight soon!

We picked SHORT names that COULDN"T be shortened. We didn't want "nicknames" for our kids. Hannah, Jack, and Alex.

I have never understood why people use nicknames, name your child what you want to call them and what you expect others to call them :) LOL
I do think Josiah and Joshua and too close but that's just me :) Good Luck

1. Josiah - Joe, J
2. Jeremiah - Germ (that's what we call my nephew)
3. Rueben - Rooster (from True Grit)
4. Ezekiel - Zeek

I tend not to shorten a persons name unless, they say it's alright. I have been corrected by a person for doing so as a child, so it is a conscious effort as an adult. Some people like the name they are given in it's entirety and some like to include nicknames. It is a personal choice.
Having said that I am one of 5 cousins in my family and 4 of us have a name that starts with the letter D. My poor grandmother was always tongue tied when ever she tried to call for only one of us. I also have several pets and no matter what their names are, when I am frustrated, I get tongue tied as well. So Good Luck to you. :)

1. Josiah - Josiah
2. Jeremiah - Jeremy
3. Rueben - Ruben
4. Ezekiel -Zeke

I love the names.....I have two boys--Nicklas and Joshua. We don't let anyone shorten or nickname them. We correct anyone who calls them anything other than their given names (this includes, but is not limited to, Grandparents, GreatGrandma (she tried calling our oldest Nicky and hubby set her straight--kindly of course), teachers, friends). Our oldest, Nicklas, is now 5 and when people call him Nick, he tells them "I prefer Nicklas, thanks". He does the same for his little brother...my MIL called the baby Josh one day and Nicklas was quick to say "Grandma, my little brother's name is Joshua, not Josh". If you want the given name used all the time, you will have to spend some time correcting people....but they DO eventually get it. I only use nicknames for people when they've told me that's what they prefer...until then, I ALWAYS use their given name.

I don't nickname anyone because I think it's rude. People always want to call me Vicky and my daughter Sophie. If I wanted to be call Vicky or my my daughter Sophie, that is how I would introduce us. I would get tongue tied having kids with names that start with the same letter. My sister had a Joseph and a James. They were 4 years apart and she still mixed up their names all the time. The nicknames I would think off first would be:

1. Jo
2. None
3. None
4. E

1. Josiah - I have but called them by their given name.
2. Jeremiah - I know several people..Either given, Jerry, Jer
3. Rueben - Met one, he already had the nckname "rubio"
4. Ezekiel - Met one, called him Zeke (b/c he didn't like his given name, I did though)
My fav is Ezekiel or Josiah.
I don't think you would get them mixed up, and if you do could always blame then for makin' you crazy. =)

I am not copying the names because I am never really inclined toward nicknames anyway. I would NEVER nickname someone unless he or she introduced him or herself by a nickname or offered it. Our boys are Devin and Gareth and I mix their names up all the time (and throw in Gilbert, our cat, half the time), so Josiah and Joshua aren't so close I would find it strange at all. I think they sound pleasant together. I do not have nicknames for my boys because I just like their names and it would not occur to me to shorten them. I also get cranky when people try to shorten my first name. =)

I really like Reuben (also just love the sandwiches).

1. Josiah-Call him by that, no nickname
2. Jeremiah-my son's name actually...I call him by his name, but to friends and family I say "J" for short. Or sometimes I call him man-man....nothing to do with the name though.
3. Rueben-Call him by that, no nickname
4.Ezekiel-Probably nickname "Ziek"

I'd probably get the two tongue once in a while if I'm really frustrated or mad. I tongue tie my son's name every now and then..I just end up saying boy! lol.

1. Josiah - wouldn't confuse with Joshua and my favorite from the list
2. Jeremiah - was a bullfrog, he was a good friend of mine...yea that's really the first thing I think of...
3. Rueben - very old-man sounding or a sandwich. it's okay, not my favorite
4. Ezekiel - i think of the bread and would hate calling my husband that name, he would HAVE to have a nick name for sure but not sure what. Hopefully he would have a good middle name to go by...

Good luck, sorry if I offended, just giving my honest opinions of each name. I do like Josiah...

Joe
Jer
Reubs
Zeke

Haha, three of these names were on our short list. We loved Josiah, but didn't like Joe, or Joey. Jeremiah sounds nice and flows with middle names...but we didn't want a Jeremy. We ended up with an Ezekiel, who we call Zeke. So...I'm partial to that one :)

Oh...and yes. Joshua and Josiah are to close. Just, in my opinion.

We only call our daughters by there nicknames (Victoria=Vic,Emily=Emmie)
but I only introduce them by their given names. As for mixing them up I've called them by each others name so many times that it's comes out as Vimmie sometimes. I think as a mom we all end up calling one child by anothers at some point. As far as the nicknames you asked about.
1.Joe
2. jerry
3.Ben
4.Zeke

In my opinion Joshua and Josiah are too similar in the same household.

1. Josiah - no nickname
2. Jeremiah - Jeremy
3. Rueben - no nickname
4. Ezekiel - Zeke

First, if I don't nickname anyone unless that's what they are called, but I can see where Ezekiel would turn into Zeke. The others, who knows.

I have 3 and even though their names are not similar at all, I still get tongue tied when I'm trying to yell at them to get them all on the same page, so for sure Joshua and Josiah would be tough!

My 2 cents... ALL names can be shortened and you should expect any will be by your child's closest friends.

Josiah can be Joe.
Jeremiah can be Jer, Jerry, Jeremy.
Rueben can be Rube, Ruby.
Ezekiel can be Easy.

1. Josiah---JOE
2. Jeremiah---JEREMY for short or JER
3. Rueben
4. Ezekiel ---Zeke for short

Love the names and no I don't think I would get tongue tied saying joshua and josiah.....

M

1. Josiah- (I really like this one) none or Josh or "J"
2. Jeremiah- actually had a friend named this and we called him Jerm, but you could also do Jeremy or just "J"
3. Rueben- none or Rube or Ben
4. Ezekiel- (and this one) "E" or Zeke.

I tongue tie names all the time so I'm not a good one to ask.

If I'm pronouncing the first name correctly it sounds like it can be a girls name (Joe sigh A ). As for getting tongue tied...I have 4 kids and when you are in a hurry you will go through the whole list of names before you get the right one anyways : )
so don't let that be a factor.

1. Josiah (Jo)
2. Jeremiah (Jerry)
3. Rueben (Ben or Benny)
4. Ezekiel (Easy E just kidding or Z)

To answer your question, yes, I would get tongue tied with Joshua and Josiah.

I wouldn't nickname anyone unless they told me their nickname, but I think that you can shorten any of the above names, especially Ezekiel. BTW I LOVE Ezekiel. If my husband hadn't totally vetoed it, my little boy would be Zeke.

1. Josiah -Jo
2. Jeremiah- Jerry, Jer, Miah. (I had a friend that went by Miah)
3. Rueben- Ben
4. Ezekiel- Zeke

I think you will get tongue tied no matter what. lol. We have gone through 13 kids in my family, and we would ALWAYS get mixed up and tongue tied. lol)

1. Josiah - no nickname
2. Jeremiah - Jer. Or Jeremy maybe
3. Rueben - Rueb
4. Ezekiel - Zeke

Yes.

1. Josiah - Josey (this is my bro in law name)

2. Jeremiah - Prob call both Jeremiah and Jeremy

3. Ruben - woul call just Ruben

3. Ezekiel - would call Zeke (my FIL nickname hehe)

I am suprised with all the Joe nicknames gor Josiah. Maybe its just bc my bro In law name is Josiah and we all call him Josey. It fits him well. Good Luck

I always call someone by what they tell me to call them. My BIL introduced himself as his given name (which he prefers) and I call him that even though his family (including my hubby) calls him by a nickname out of habit from his youth.
My family has a nickname for my son that I don't use, but I don't particularly care. It is based on his initials and not a short version of his name.
The only nickname I see from your listed names is Jerry for Jeremiah.
And you can screw up the names when you are yelling at them, no matter how unlike they are - LOL. My 2 boys are completely different names and I still mess it up sometimes.

I think Rueben is the only name that I would use as is, not given a nickname. though some people might call him Ben. Jeremiah would be Jerry or Jer, Josiah would be Jo and Ezekiel would be Zeke (though God knows what nicknames other boys will come up with! I like nicknames though! I personally could never keep Joshua and Josiah straight, plus I would assume you are realted to the Duggar family!

I've known men and boys with these names... here are their nicknames:

1. Josiah - Jo-Jo, Jose

2. Jeremiah - Miah

3. Rueben - Rue, Rube

4. Ezekiel - Zeke, Kiel, E.Z. (pronounces easy)

1. Josiah-Joe
2. Jeremiah-Jer, Jeremy
3. Rueben-Ben, Rube
4. Ezekiel-E.Z., Zeke, El

I always call someone by their formal name unless they tell me they go by something else like a shortened name or a nick name or I get to know them and come up with a "term of endearment" which is my special name for this person (not everyone in my life has one though).

Joshua and Josiah would be a little tough when it came to calling them both at the same time. They may also get confused when you call them individually because the names are so similar. Also, when you are introducing them to other people or school or even when someone calls your house. It could be confusing.

Joshua and any of the others names would be better.

First, I will preface my answer with the fact that I don't tend to make up nicknames for people. I call them by the name they use to introduce themselves to me. So someone I met named Josiah would be Josiah. If they introduced themselves as Josie, then that is what I would call them. The same applied to all the names. I will list to the side, the possible/probable nicknames that come to mind:

1. Josiah: Josie, Si (long "i")
2. Jeremiah: Jerry, Jeremy
3. Rueben: ? (unless it was slang like dude or man... then "Rube")
4. Ezekiel: Zeke

1. Josiah - I'd nick name him Joe probably
2. Jeremiah - I'd nick name him Jerry probably
3. Rueben - I'd call him Rueben, no nickname. But a nick name would be Ben.
4. Ezekiel - I'd nick name him Zeek probably.

1. Josiah- I would probably call him Jos as pet name, but not a full time nick name
2. Jeremiah- no nick name
3. Rueben- no nick name
4. Ezekiel- I would call him Zeek.

Personally, I would have trouble not turning into a tongue tied mess with two boys named Joshua and Josiah. They are too similar for me to be able to keep them verbally straight.

I realy don't think Joshua and Josiah will be a tongue tied problem. Although the "Jos" is the same, the sound is very different..."sh" opposed to "s" sound.
Possible nicknames
1. Josiah : Joe, Joey, Jozey
2. Jeremiah: Jerry
3. Rueben: ??
4. Ezekiel: "Z", Zeke

I have a friend whose son's name is Josiah and I've never heard her call him a nickname.

1. Josiah- probably Jo for short
2. Jeremiah- my brother's name, no nickname
3. Rueben- most likely just Reuben, but could see others saying "Ben"
4. Ezekiel- Zeke

Of course, I wouldn't just go and shorten somebody's name or call them by a nickname unless told it was ok.

As far as getting tongue tied with Joshua & Josiah- in all likelihood- yes. I do, however, call my husband, kids, and dog all by each other's names. Not similar in the least, just me and my mommy brain.

My Josh is called Josh or Joshua, depending on the situation, etc.
(You can see his photo at my Mamapedia profile.)
When his sister was small, she called him DOSHIE.
And his wife, in tender moments, calls him JOSHIE.

I wouldn't yell at my boys.
But if I had both a Joshua and a Josiah,
I wouldn't mix up the names
because the SH sound is different from the S sound.
And, FWIW, the S in Josiah is pronounced more like a Z.

Moms do mix up their kids names, even when they aren't similar.

I believe Reubens are often nicknamed Rube;
some in older generations were called Ruby.

Ezekiels are often called Zeke.

I'm not answering this as what I would call them.
I'm just saying what kinds of things other people say.

I generally call people by the name they prefer to be called.
For example, friends named David who don't want to be called Dave --
I call them David. etc.

1. Josiah
2. Jeremiah
3. Rueben
4. Ezekiel

1. Josiah- might call him Joe, probably call him Josiah
2. Jeremiah- I see the Jer or Jerry, but the traditional Scottish nickname is Jemmy, which I really think is cute.
3. Rueben- Rube or Ben
4. Ezekiel- Zeke for sure, long version reserved for full name yelling.

As for tongue tying Joshua and Josiah, it get my kids named mixed up and they aren't anything alike. Go with what you like.