A hero called Tony

I’ve noticed that names are very different in the UK and USA. One of my lovely beta readers for Boys of Summer pointed out to me that, to her, the name “Tony” sounds lower class and probably Italian. To me it sounds posh British (short for Anthony).

I would like my hero to have a name that sounds both posh and British, so I thought I’d better ask what everyone thinks, to make sure:

1. Does ‘Tony’ sound posh and British to you?
2. Would ‘Alec’ be better?
3. If you don’t like either, can you suggest a different posh-sounding shortening of the name of someone famous for ruling vast tracts of land? (EG Tony is from Marc Anthony and Alec from Alexander the Great.)

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Val Kovalin
14 years ago

Sure, Tony sounds posh and British to me. I just finished watching the DVD The Queen, so I'm thinking of Tony Blair. Alec is fine, too, but I think you go with Tony if you prefer. Just for fun, posh British names that you'd never find in the USA: Rupert, Nigel, Felix, Clive, and Digory (minor character from The Chronicles of Narnia).

Leslie
14 years ago

I am married to a Tony who is named after the Saint and doesn't have a drop of Italian blood in his veins. In fact, he didn't know Tony was a nickname for Anthony until he was 6 years old. Even so, to American ears, Tony does sound very Italian. Val has a good list of name we Americans think sound very British; I'd add Colin and Cedric, too.

L

Val Kovalin
14 years ago

I'm afraid I always read the name Martin as Martian! That's probably just me, though. Too much science fiction in childhood, ha, ha!

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