My DH and I agree that [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] is our current front runner but we love it just as it is. We’re not keen on the nicknames, except potentially [name_m]Dot[/name_m]. [name_m]Will[/name_m] [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] inevitably be shortened or not? (For reference, we’re in the US but after living in [name_f]Australia[/name_f] for several years, I think I’ve been trained to assume that everything will be shortened 
.)
A child choosing their own nickname is perfectly fine with us, but we wouldn’t initiate it.
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I think it can remain just [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]. [name_m]You[/name_m] might need to hold that boundary if someone says [name_m]Dot[/name_m] or [name_f]Dottie[/name_f]. Personally, I don’t use a nickname unless someone refers to themselves with it or uses it exclusively when talking about their child. While [name_m]Dot[/name_m] is an obvious nickname I don’t think the name itself is common enough these days to make people immediately go for the nickname.
My daughter has a [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] in her class and it’s always [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] so I think it’s perfectly reasonable to assume [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] could work as well.
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[name_f]Love[/name_f] Dorothy!!
[name_f]Via[/name_f] volunteering I encounter a lot of girls under 12 and most of them with classic names don’t seem to have nicknames these days. We’ve had several Charlottes who are ‘just Charlotte’, for example. It surprises me because my experience as a kid in [name_m]England[/name_m] was that most people showed up at school with a pre-established nickname or got nicknamed at school (I knew one ‘just Charlotte’ but most of them were Charli/Charlie/Lottie, and some people would even end up with multiple nicknames eg Rebeccas would often get called [name_f]Becky[/name_f], [name_f]Bex[/name_f], and Rebz interchangeably). But it seems like times are changing and it’s more common to use a full name all the time. Can’t speak for the Aussies though, maybe some of the Australian berries will be able to give their thoughts!
I also have an elderly aunt [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] who is almost exclusively [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], but [name_m]Dot[/name_m] to a few friends and family members.
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I don’t see why [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] couldn’t just be [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]
Yes. I think in the US people will be unaccustomed to meeting a child named [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] and wouldn’t automatically shorten it. At least in my area I don’t find that people really shorten other people’s names anymore unless they’re told “I go by [name_m]Chris[/name_m] not Christopher” etc.
From a US perspective, I think [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] can be just [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]! While there are established nicknames like [name_m]Dot[/name_m], [name_f]Dottie[/name_f], [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], and [name_m]Dory[/name_m], I don’t think any of them are so common that they’d be used by default (unlike something like, say, El- names where I think [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] is essentially inevitable). Unless you initiate a nickname, I don’t think people will automatically use one for [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f].
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my great grandma was always Dorothy, she never shortened it. i think that if she was able to do it, living in a very nickname-y place and era, a girl now can too 
I think that a [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] can just be [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], and probably wouldn’t get nicknamed! To me, the nicknames for [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] aren’t necessarily intuitive. Yes, [name_m]Dot[/name_m] and [name_f]Dora[/name_f] are commonly used, but since the sound is a bit different from [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] as a full name, I don’t think it would be instinctive to use them. Hopefully that makes sense? In my mind, they’re different from, say, [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] “Jess” or [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] “Jen”, where the nickname is clearly a shorter form of the name. [name_m]The[/name_m] nicknames for [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] that I can think of (Dodie, [name_m]Dot[/name_m], Dora..) are pieced together from slightly more scrambled letters, and there for I don’t think they would come to mind unless [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] specifically said she goes by one.
[name_m]The[/name_m] young [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] that I know doesn’t use a nickname and it’s never been a problem!
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Guilty (Aussie) as charged!
We would very likely shorten but even here, there are people who are able to insist on full names; and the trend seems to be as in UK, where it’s less assumed your kid will be OK with nicknames - my 17 year old nephew for eg is always Att1cus, because he parents exclusively call him that and he’s never suggested anything else. My daughter (9) gets her full name only from her friends. I’m guessing that’ll change in a few years but it’s not as likely as it was in my generation and for now she only gets nicknames at home. She has several full name friends - including Charlotte & (four syllable) Amelia. The parents can really set the rule - until the kid starts to enjoy nicknames with their friends. But even then the parents’ naming pattern has a long reach.
US even more likely to be able to set exception of full name - and fortunately, if a nickname is intuited at all, Dot is one of only a few likely nicknames for Dorothy and it’s super cute and ages really well. I personally love when it’s say 60% the full name & 40% nickname but you could go for and assert a different ratio. Good luck!
I think definitely!
I live in the US and I am a [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] who is just [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. When I was little I went through a phase where I decided that I was just [name_f]Greta[/name_f], and no one was allowed to call me [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. Now, I’m just [name_f]Margaret[/name_f].
Throughout high school teachers would always ask me if I had a nickname. I always told them no, just [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. There were a few (mostly my freshman year) who called me [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] or [name_f]Mags[/name_f] anyway and I never corrected them cuz it was too much of a hassle. But it was restricted to those few teachers and I never got nicknamed by anyone else. In short, [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] can definitely be just [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]. There are some people who might nickname her anyway, and she might choose to go by a nickname, but it is totally possible for her to be just [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]!
Unless a [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] referred to themselves as a nickname, I’d just use [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] myself. And while [name_f]Dora[/name_f], [name_f]Dottie[/name_f], [name_m]Dot[/name_m], [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], [name_f]Dori[/name_f] etc. are used and known for [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], I don’t think it’s so easily slipped into as [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] → [name_m]Sam[/name_m], [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] → [name_m]Ben[/name_m], [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] → [name_f]Izzy[/name_f]? If that makes any sense
I guess I’d consider where you are right now – do people automatically nickname?
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I know a toddler named [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] and her sibling has a longer name with a nickname but [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] is just [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] so I think it is absolutely doable with no nickname.
I think she could absolutely be [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f]! [name_m]You[/name_m] may have to correct people occasionally, but for the most part people will refer to your child by the name you introduce them as! (I say this as a Meg@n who has only gotten “Meg” a handful of times.) I think if you call her [name_m]Dot[/name_m] you are opening the door to [name_f]Dottie[/name_f].
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From [name_m]America[/name_m]. It could be different now but a lot of nicknames are established in early childhood so if you don’t it could just remain [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] . [name_m]The[/name_m] one caveat I would add is that nicknames can also develop at some point stage when they go to school. Sometimes the child themselves or a friend starts it . I can’t speak for other countries but that’s my experience.
Yes, definitely. It is somewhat up to the parent to ALWAYS use the full name and to correct those who try to shorten it or use a nickname. My feeling is that there is no need to shorten a two syllable name. Longer names are a different story. And, for all intents and purposes, [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] is usually said basically as a two syllable name.
Personally. I had a [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] that remained [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] into adulthood. My [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], unfortunately, eventually became [name_f]Liz[/name_f] or [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f].
Yes! My great-grandma was a Dorothy. She never went by a nickname ever. Btw my gg pronounced the name with 3 syllables (door-oh-thee).