So on my list of names, most of them are very formal with cute/simple nicknames. Some I believe to be more straightforward (hypothetical example, Johnny/John), others are a bit unique (hypothetical example, Margaret/Peggy).
Growing up I never had a nickname, my parents didn’t like the idea of my brother and my name being shortened… come to think of it, nn’s are very rare in my family.
I’m just wondering if I could hear anyone else’s experience growing up using a nn. Did you strictly go by your nn, and use formal names only for documents, paperwork, etc? Was it very fluid going back and forth to both names? Did you hate having a nn? Or would you have preferred just one name to have been chosen from the start and avoid confusion? Growing up, was it easy for teachers to use your nn or did they call you by your formal name?
Thanks!
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I never had a nn either. I remember being so frustrated that my initials are so close to AJ, that I almost had awesome nn but alas it was not meant to be.
I had children try to give me an insulting nn. I refused to acknowledge their invitations to play until they used my proper name.
That’s the closest I can provide for an nn experience.
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I have a nickname, but prefer to be called by my full first name. Some of my closest friends sometimes call me by my initial (M), or a different ‘fun’ nickname I’m not really a fan of. I never went strictly by a nickname, although I do know a [name_f]Joanna[/name_f] who goes exclusively by [name_u]Jojo[/name_u]. Everyone, even teachers, call her that. In my experience, there are some people who go only by a nickname, and teachers can usually adapt to that. There’s a [name_u]Theo[/name_u] I know who’s so established as a [name_u]Theo[/name_u] that no teacher gets the idea that his real name is [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]. But because my name is rather short and doesn’t really need a nickname, I’ve never really had one.
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[name_f]My[/name_f] parents named me a long classic name with the intention of always calling me by a specific nickname, but when I started school I insisted on going by my formal name, which as I grew older ended up turning into a different nickname for it at school which neither I nor my parents particularly liked. In later education and at work etc I learned to introduce myself by my preferred nickname. I quite like the flexibility of using both my formal name and my nickname, but it can sometimes get confusing (eg at work I use my nickname with people I know well but prefer to use my formal name with those I don’t and it can get difficult when I’m being introduced by someone else etc)
A friend of mine later told me that they specifically named their children un-nicknameable names because the confusion people had about my name irritated them!
Sorry this got long.
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter has a name that could easily be nicknamed but never is and I like that, but in general I’m drawn to long names that have short snappy nicknames, especially for boys.
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I have always went by a nickname to the point that any attempt to go by my full name is awkward (Antonina is just my berry alias 
my real name is more common). I still am glad I have my full name even if I never use it. I think it is so pretty and it is kind of like having a nice middle name or something because it is still my name whether I use it every day or not.
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I could understand that. Thanks for sharing
Oh wow! Thats interesting.
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I always go by my full name but sometimes my family calls me a nickname and I like it this way.
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[name_f]My[/name_f] younger brother and I weren’t allowed to have nicknames growing up, and my mom refuses to recognize we have them to this day. [name_f]My[/name_f] older (half) brother has always had a nickname, as does every other person in the family.
For my older brother, he goes by a shortened version of his name, but will respond to his full first name – his full first name is always used on legal papers.
For my younger brother, he goes interchangeably between his full first name and his nickname, a shortened version of his first name. He always uses his full first name on his paperwork.
For me, I tried to use a NN when I was young, but it never took because of my mom. As I started working, I have moved over to using my NN with people who haven’t known me since I was (A) in school or (B) through my family. Most people outside of those two groups don’t know my actual name, but I use it on any legal paperwork. I don’t hide my name, but most people can’t get it when they look at it, even after several years of knowing me. Both NNs I’ve used in my life are common nicknames for my name.
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[name_f]My[/name_f] problem is that some of my names on my list are classic, and others are more vintage. Which clash unless if they receive similar style nicknames.
I’m also the type of person that wants to use a name, just for the sake of using a name. (Hypothetical example, let’s say I really like the name [name_u]Berkley[/name_u], but I’d rather use [name_m]Buck[/name_m] as a nn, just because I like both names equally and want to be able to use them on a potential kid, but would probably only refer to that kid as [name_m]Buck[/name_m], because [name_u]Berkley[/name_u] can sometimes be a mouthful on a day to day basis, imo). Does that make sense? 
To me it does…
So lets say we announce the baby’s name after he’s born, “Berkley George”, but tell family/friends that we only want to use [name_m]Buck[/name_m] as a given name. Because to me, [name_m]Buck[/name_m] as their legal name seems incomplete to me, which is why I would use [name_u]Berkley[/name_u] as a longer more formal name… and Im sure that would cause confusion to everyone, including the kid while growing up, but I’m so puzzled.
That’s where I’m at right now.
So its interesting to see how some people have had positive responses with growing up using a nn, and others find it confusing.
I grew up with people calling me both my full first name and my nickname. Teachers usually used my nickname on their own, but if they didn’t, it was definitely easy getting them to switch to it! I still have people who use both names, but I actually would rather just have them use my nickname. I’m definitely grateful I had one to fall back on when I started disliking my name, I even wish I had a name that had more than one nickname option.
I am very glad that my parents gave me a name with a nickname. I know they loved the name they chose for me, but I did not. I struggled with that a lot. So having a nickname option to use helped that. As much as I love some names that don’t have nicknames, I don’t think I’d ever give my kids one of them. I’d want them to have the option to go by a nickname if they didn’t like their full name for whatever reason.
also, nicknames are extremely common in my family! Almost everyone has a nickname that gets used sometimes. I think that also helped influence the way I felt about nicknames.
[name_f]My[/name_f] opinion is to definitely use the formal name with nickname possibilities, because at least it gives your child the option. They may choose to use their full first name exclusively (I’ve known people with commonly nicknamed names who had no issue going by their full first), or they may choose to use both, or even only their nickname. I also think it helps because some people don’t feel the same about their name at different parts of their life. For example, when I was very young, I preferred my full name only. As I got older, I liked being called both, and now I prefer just my nickname. I know that might change again someday, as well. Switching between names was never confusing to anyone, by the way!
Okay, sorry this got so long! 
hope this helped a little!!!
(also, just wanted to add that I know some people don’t like nicknames, and purposely give their children names that cant be nicknamed. I’m not judging them at all, I know that’s a personal preference! I’d just never do that myself!!)
I totally get it. [name_f]My[/name_f] name sounds classic out loud, but doesn’t look like it on paper. [name_f]My[/name_f] brothers’ names are much more classic. Our NNs actually tend to make the names fit together much better than our names alone do (on paper).
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Thanks for sharing! That definitely helped me out. I can totally understand with what you’re saying.
For me, growing up with an un-nicknameable name, I felt kind of trapped. I personally didn’t care for my name growing up, for the reason of it being so popular and because I didn’t really care for the name style. But I’ve warmed up to it over time.
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I’m so glad it could! I’m sorry you felt that way. I can completely relate to why you didnt like your name. I’m glad you were able to warm up to yours! I never warmed up to mine, in fact I just grew to dislike it more. so definitely grateful for my nickname! 
By the way, I read your scenario, and it seemed perfectly normal and not confusing at all to me! I’ve seen most people use a formal name on the birth certificate, and just use a nickname more often (especially when the child is younger, before they can decide on their own). I can see why it might be a little more strange for someone who doesnt use nicknames regularly, but I’m sure everyone would grow used to it the longer they used it for!
one more thing I want to add, is I think it’s okay if your children’s full names don’t go together 100%. I’ve met so many families where the children have wildly different names. I know it’s usually not a popular opinion on here though. To me, I think loving the name is much more important than fitting in exactly with their siblings names! Especially because once they’re older, they’ll be their own person with their own life!
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[name_f]My[/name_f] brother was specifically named to always be called a nickname (two of his initials, like C.J. or P.J.). He never goes by his full name in any circumstance.
I was given a three syllable, somewhat unique name and many nicknames grew out of it naturally. The one most used by my family is also what I prefer to be called. [name_f]My[/name_f] friends throughout school called me this name and my teachers either called me it or my full name. When I introduce myself as an adult, I almost always use this nickname, unless someone needs to look something up about me using my full name. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband also calls me this name, or [name_u]Scottie[/name_u], which is a long-time nickname that has nothing to do with my actual name.
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Thank you! It’s tough, because being a member on nameberry I love names in general. And I love when they’re cohesive…but the names that I’ve fallen in love with for my potential kids are very 50/50 style wise. Its the reason why I’m so indecisive and have been back and forth with names for years… but I keep coming back to these mix-matched names. That’s why I think nn’s are the way to go. And again, I love the nn’s equally.
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I felt that way for awhile, especially after seeing how important it was to a lot of users on here. Then I realized that I like names that are extremely different from each other (just as an example, I love both [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] & [name_u]Wren[/name_u] for boys!). I struggled with that for awhile before realizing I cared more about loving the name, than I did about worrying if they sounded right together. Like I said, they’ll only be known as a sibset for a short while, the rest of their lives they’ll be their own person! I think the nickname idea sounds perfect for you!! If that’s the way you want to go, don’t let other people not liking nicknames stop you!
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[name_f]My[/name_f] girls names that I intend to use are very spunky and more short, international names. [name_f]My[/name_f] boys names are longer and much more recognized here where I live (well, most of them). The boys’ names have nicknames that tend to tie them to the girls’ names more so.
The way I see it, I would rather love the names my kids are given than to try and make them fit together and regret what I chose. Besides, I love the nicknames just as much as the names 
.
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I had two nicknames growing up. Where we lived practically everyone has a nickname, you can’t avoid it. So I was called one nickname by other children in my class, my grandparents etc. The other nickname was only used by my twin brother and occasionally by my father. My mother always used my full name though, she still does.
Now that I’m older I switch between the first nickname and my full name all the time. At work I go by my full name, my patients use it and because of that my co-workers do too. My friends, SO and some of my family use my first nickname. My twin brother still uses the other nickname he gave me as a child.
I have four sons and the only one that we call by a nickname regularly is Leonid (Lenya). The other three get a nickname sometimes, but they mostly go by their full name. With Leonid I think it’s 50/50.
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I grew up with nicknames but they were mostly used at home. It wasn’t confusing to be one thing to one group of people and another to the rest of the world. The way my parents explained it, school and work were places for learning and business so you had to be more formal but home was more laid back. For instance, your teacher may be Mr. [name_m]Smith[/name_m] where required but [name_m]John[/name_m] amongst his friends.
The only real thing that irritated me was that my parents spelled my nickname differently and one parent couldn’t pronounce it well (think saying [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] instead of Allie). Small annoyance though. I signed them differently depending on which parent was involved.
I grew out of my nicknames after elementary school (so 12-13 ish). I prefer my full name but I don’t mind being called anything else. When it came to my son’s name, I didn’t want to stack the cards one way or the other. I know some people have a fit if someone tries to call their kid a nickname and I know others who put formal names on the BC but exclusively use nicknames. I wanted to be rather neutral. His name is two syllables already. Between his first and two middle names, he has a TON of choices.
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Eh. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Isis[/name_f], I never really used nicknames much to be honest with you. If I did, it was [name_u]Ice[/name_u]. Which is cool I guess. Otherwise my name is only 4 letters so there’s no point in shortening it.
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