We are narrowing down our name choices, and the two frontrunners right now for our second daughter are [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Beatrix[/name]. The one thing that gives me pause is that I’m not a huge fan of the nicknames associated with these names. I especially REALLY don’t want an [name]Ellie[/name] or an [name]Ella[/name] - not only are this names super popular, but both my husband and I have cousins named [name]Ellie[/name]!
Our older daughter’s name is [name]Penelope[/name], and we call her [name]Penn[/name]. We have had some trouble with my in-laws, who insist on calling her [name]Penny[/name], even though we’ve told them time and time again that we call her [name]Penn[/name] or [name]Penelope[/name].
I guess I have two questions: do you think it’s inevitable that a child named [name]Eloise[/name] will be called [name]Ellie[/name] or [name]Ella[/name], and that a child named [name]Beatrix[/name] will be called [name]Bea[/name] or [name]Trixie[/name]? [name]Do[/name] you have “outside the box” nickname suggestions? And how do you avoid having your child stuck with an unwanted nickname as they get older and go to school?
I think [name]Beatrix[/name] would be especially difficult. You can’t control other people’s nicknaming of your child, I believe it is a losing battle, which is why we just gave up on a registered name. Unfortunately, [name]Beatrix[/name] will most definitely be called [name]Bea[/name] or [name]Trixie[/name] at some point, by somebody. [name]Eloise[/name] is a bit easier to avoid [name]Ella[/name]. [name]Louis[/name] seems a more natural nickname.
This is a tough one. I also have a name on my list that is causing me the same problem. As far as [name]Eloise[/name] goes, it would be so cute to nn her “[name]Lulu[/name].” It sounds so sweet! With [name]Beatrix[/name], I agree that people will probably use the nn that you hate bc there aren’t many nickname options for that name. I would say [name]Eloise[/name] would be the safest bet, but unfortunately people will call them whatever nn they want. So with that in mind I would focus on choosing the name you like best without worrying about the nn issue bc there will always be a few people who will call them whatever they want despite your wishes.
Unfortunately, you will never really be able to control what nicknames other people call your children by. But you can control what you yourself call them and if you are firm in avoiding the dreaded nicknames yourself, she’ll probably grow up preferring to be called what she’s been called most in her life: her full name. So if the occasional person dubs her [name]Bea[/name] or [name]Ellie[/name] she might not mind or she might correct them. Really, it’s her name so after the first few years of her life she’ll be able to make her own preferences known. If you won’t be able to accept her preferring one of those nicknames down the line, then I’d suggest avoiding choosing those names.
Between the two names I think you’d probably have the most success with everyone calling her by the full name with [name]Eloise[/name]. Especially since there’s already an [name]Ellie[/name] on each side of your family.
My [name]SIL[/name] faced a similar dilemma when she chose to go with her preferred name [name]Constance[/name] for her daughter. She can’t stand the nickname [name]Connie[/name] and is adamant that no one call her that. My [name]MIL[/name] does anyway. Not much she can do until [name]Constance[/name] is old enough to correct grandma herself.
My vote is for [name]Eloise[/name]. For a nickname you can call her [name]Elsie[/name], [name]Louise[/name], Lo or Elllis. I think there are a ton of nicknames for [name]Eloise[/name]!
[name]Beatrix[/name] is a bit harder to pronounce and to create a nickname.
[name]Penelope[/name] & [name]Eloise[/name] just GO together!
Unfortunately I don’t think you can avoid nicknames, the most you can do is correct them and hope for the best.
For the most part I always got [name]Stephanie[/name] growing up and rarely got [name]Steph[/name]. (I get that a lot more now) My parents always insisted my brother and I were called by our full names. The odd time I had people call for [name]Steph[/name] and my father would say there wasn’t anyone with that name in the house. (They figured it out pretty quickly) I think it partly has to do with how they are introduced and how familiar you are with that person. I had a friend [name]Angela[/name] in highschool who wondered why everyone always called her [name]Angela[/name] and not Ang or [name]Angie[/name]. I told her she always introduced herself as [name]Angela[/name] so that’s why we called her that, lol.
Call them by their full names at home, correct people when you can and hope for the best. (I’m not a fan of nicknames either and tend to shy away with names that have typical cutesy nn)
Good [name]Luck[/name]
