I am trying to figure out what is the best nickname for my daughter [name]Annabelle[/name]. There are so many options, but nothing jumps out as what I should call her so thought I would get your input. Here are the ones I have come up with and what I feel about them:
[name]Anna[/name] or [name]Annie[/name]-simple and classic but not my favorite for some reason
[name]Belle[/name], Bells or [name]Bella[/name]-I like [name]Belle[/name] since it is a southern name, but not sure I see calling my daughter this. [name]Bella[/name] reminds me too much of twilight and all the [name]Isabella[/name]'s running around out there.
[name]Ellie[/name] or [name]Ella[/name]- I adore, but here there are so many running around out there, but think it is not an obvious nn which I like
4.[name]Bebe[/name]-I like because we call her daddy B and it is cute
[name]Nell[/name]/[name]Nellie[/name]-ok, but not sure I’m all that crazy about it.
[name]Annie[/name] B -cute
So that is what I have come up with. [name]Do[/name] you have any favorites or even any more that I may not have listed? [name]Do[/name] you know any [name]Annabelle[/name]'s? What do they go by? Her daddy says he will just call her [name]Annabelle[/name], but I adore nicknames and just want to see what the best one should be. Thanks for your help!Look forward to hearing your thoughts!
I was seriously going to suggest [name]Bebe[/name] before I saw this! That’s definitely my favorite and I can see her using it in her teens and 20s too as a fun nickname.
I like [name]Belle[/name], but not [name]Bella[/name]. I just think it’s sweet! [name]Anna[/name] is nice too. [name]Annie[/name] B (or [name]Anna[/name] B) sounds fun.
Also know this, you never know what will happen with a nickname. We named my daughter [name]Anneliese[/name], meaning to call her by the full name, but knowing that we could use [name]Anna[/name] whenever we needed to (especially with my 90+ year old grandparents). We have never called her [name]Anna[/name]. We call her [name]Liese[/name] or Liesey a lot. That was never even on our radar as a nickname before.
(Also, I tend to call her [name]Gillian[/name] or [name]Gilly[/name] from her middle name more than anything else, and both her Daddy and I often call her [name]Piper[/name], which is a long story.)
My favorite would be [name]Annie[/name], but I saw that you’re not crazy about that. [name]Annie[/name] B is really cute, though! Bells is fun, too. I think [name]Ella[/name]/[name]Ellie[/name] is a little bit of a stretch as a nn for [name]Annabelle[/name].
I agree with pp that you may be surprised with which nn seems to stick or which new one evolves as you spend time with your LO!
My personal favorite is [name]Anna[/name] ([name]Annabella[/name] nn [name]Anna[/name] is [name]WAY[/name] high up on my list) but it’s more important what you like, and you don’t seem to love [name]Anna[/name].
[name]How[/name] old is your daughter? If she hasn’t been born yet, I’d say wait till her birthday and decide which seems to fit her best. If not, I think I’d pick [name]Bebe[/name]. You seem to like that best, and if Dad’s calling her Be, it seems to make the most sense. But remember, she may grow up and decide she likes something else better. She’s lucky that she’s got such a flexible name that she can do that!
I have an [name]Annabel[/name] and also couldn’t decide (before she was born) what we would use for a nn. Besides the ones you mentioned I also considered [name]Ali[/name] and AJ (middle name is [name]Jane[/name]). I wasn’t crazy about the idea of [name]Belle[/name] and wasn’t in love with [name]Annie[/name]. Now that she is getting close to a year old she is mostly A-bel, Annabelly (my 3 yr olds favorite) or just Belly. We use [name]Anna[/name] B some too. I still call her AJ at times and I guess plan on using [name]Anna[/name] at school if she wants to shorten it. I like [name]Annie[/name] more now, since I met an adorable 5 yr old with this name but it doesn’t “fit” my daughter. That’s the great thing about long names - so many options!
Thanks all for your feedback. I guess i failed to mention that [name]Annabelle[/name] is here already. She is 5 months old. It is hard for me to call her by her name, with this being my first child I just call her baby girl, princess, etc. [name]Annabelle[/name] seems like such a long name for such a little baby. So I am trying to come up with a shortened version nickname to see if one fits her until I can see her as [name]Annabelle[/name]. Does that make sense? I don’t know why this is so hard for me.
Anyways, thanks again for your help. I really appreciated hearing from those of you with [name]Annabel[/name]'s at home. My DH says he will probably just call her [name]Annabelle[/name](his family doesn’t shorten names), but I come from a family of nicknames, as a term of endearment. [name]Annabelle[/name] is a family name and my GGGrandmother [name]Annabelle[/name] was only known as Bellie or Belly (my gma is not sure how they spelled it). This may not be a good name for DD though if she is anything like I was, a little on the chunky side I guess I should just see what comes naturally, but I do want a nn that has staying power and one good one that she can utilize, like my niece [name]Abigail[/name] always goes by [name]Abby[/name]. I always go by [name]Kim[/name]…I even like the idea of calling her [name]Gracie[/name] because of her middle name, but i don’t want to confuse my poor child.
I do agree that there are many options with this name, and that is partially why we chose it. That may have been a bad decision for someone like me who is OCD when it comes to making decisions!
Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks so much!
What about [name]Billie[/name]? Seems natural to me since it’s so close to Bellie, but it gets rid of all the “Belly” baggage. Plus it’s so cool! Or what about [name]Aggie[/name], for her initials [name]AG[/name]? Maybe too close to your niece [name]Abby[/name], but I still think it’s a good option. There’s also Bells, and I know this is a stretch, but I could see [name]Bonnie[/name] working since [name]Belle[/name] means beautiful and [name]Bonnie[/name] means pretty. Good luck!
I already replied- but since she is here already - I like [name]Bebe[/name]. It’s a natural transition from [name]Baby/name and is adorable. I also like BG (said like the Band). My sister in law is [name]Rebekah[/name] but goes by BB for the kids to be able to say it. All her neices and nephews love saying BB so I know other kids would catch on quick to calling your [name]Annabelle[/name] BB.
[name]Just[/name] so you know,I felt the exact same way when we brought my [name]Annabel[/name] home. I kept thinking “I should have named her [name]Bailey[/name]” or some other cutesy nn. I had a really hard time calling her [name]Annabel[/name] at first so I called her [name]Baby[/name]. At 5 months I had to ask my 3 yr old and husband to start using her name - we were all only calling her baby.
I think hearing other people use her name helped. She is older now and it doesn’t fell so long. She is [name]Annabel[/name]. (and A-bel, and Belly and [name]Anna[/name] B and the list goes on and on… )
Oh and Annabear - that’s another one we use!
~[name]Kate[/name]
[name]Kate[/name],
Thanks for sharing your personal experience. That makes me feel so much better, having read your words. My cousin had a baby in [name]December[/name] and she uses her name all the time when referring to her. I felt so bad that mine wasn’t coming naturally. I will have to start forcing myself to use her name, b/c they say babies start to recognize their name around 5-6 months and my poor baby won’t even know hers. I know what you mean about thinking maybe we should have done a cutesie name, but we have chosen a classic timeless name and not a trendy one and I know my daughter will grow into it and I will be glad that I chose it. I think I will just put the nn on the back burner for now and let it come naturally and just concentrate on using her name. Thanks for your help!
This issue may have been more or less resolved, but I thought a cute and easy transition nickname for [name]Annabelle[/name] instead of calling her baby would be [name]Abie[/name]/[name]Abey[/name]/[name]Aby[/name]. (pronounced like baby without the B)
It’s just a phonetic spelling of the initials A.B. for [name]Anna[/name]-[name]Belle[/name]. I think it’s cute, and very reminiscent of a nn such as [name]Annie[/name] or [name]Abby[/name] but special to [name]Annabelle[/name].
My aunt goes by [name]Acey[/name] or [name]Ace[/name] since her initials are A.C.
