[name]Every[/name] time I tell someone my son’s name is [name]Elijah[/name] they invariably seem to think his name is [name]Isaiah[/name] or [name]Josiah[/name] or even [name]Joshua[/name]. I’ve even had people ask me how I spell it like I made it up or something. Also once they understand that his name is [name]Elijah[/name] they all want to call him [name]Eli[/name]. I didn’t name him [name]Eli[/name]. [name]Eli[/name] is a perfectly good name all of its own. If I wanted him to be called [name]Eli[/name], I would have named him [name]Eli[/name]. Not [name]Elijah[/name]. Sorry I just had to vent.
I’m sorry people misunderstand his name, but I don’t think you can be so mad about people calling him [name]Eli[/name]. Nicknames are a sign of affection, and [name]Eli[/name] is a perfectly understandable nickname for [name]Elijah[/name]. Now that you have named your son, it’s his name - not yours. He may very well end up preferring being called [name]Eli[/name] to [name]Elijah[/name]. People who like a certain nickname almost always use the full form of the name, so it’s not self-explanatory that you don’t like a nick name.
That’s crazy! [name]Elijah[/name] is a wonderful name. Good choice! I’m sorry people confuse it, but once you gently correct them they should get the picture. It’s really surprising when names with lots of history and background get questioned, where as made up names like [name]Kaylee[/name] and [name]Brayden[/name] are thought of as perfectly normal- so frustrating! When my mom used to introduce me when I was little people would always call me [name]Elisa[/name] or [name]Alissa[/name] or [name]Elizabeth[/name] (my name is [name]Lisa[/name]) and my mom would always get annoyed and correct them. I mean, [name]Lisa[/name]'s not really an unfamiliar name as it was super popular when my parents (and other adults their age!) were kids. Also, when it comes to nicknames, unfortunately they can’t really be avoided. They are a sign of affection, and also they’re often used for the purpose of convenience. My grandma used to always call my cousin [name]Alexandra[/name] “[name]Lexi[/name]” even though my aunt and uncle insisted on [name]Alexandra[/name], but my grandma felt “it was a big name for a little girl”. [name]Elijah[/name] is three syllables, so shortening it is a natural response. One way to gently combat this is if someone says “Oh, how is little [name]Eli[/name] doing these days?”, you can respond with “[name]Elijah[/name] is doing great, thanks for asking” and they should get the picture. [name]Hope[/name] that helps!
[name]Elijah[/name] is a great name! I’m sorry people act confused by it. [name]Count[/name] me in as someone who would not only call him [name]Elijah[/name], but who would ENJOY saying his name. I would not ask you how to spell it. (I grew up with Bible stories, and the name has been familiar to me from a fairly young age, and I’ve always liked it a lot.)
That just seems so odd to me - it would be like messing up [name]Sean[/name]. So it looks like you get the fun job of educating everyone in your area about the name, [name]Elijah[/name] (which is a great name by the way).
And yeah, we have an [name]Emmeline[/name], and there are a few people who try to shorten it, but we just correct them. After a while they stop.
[name]Elijah[/name] is a fantastic name! 
For what it’s worth, I don’t think that [name]Isaiah[/name], [name]Josiah[/name], or [name]Joshua[/name] sound like [name]Elijah[/name], with the exception of the -iah (in [name]Joshua[/name]'s case, -a/h) ending. [name]Elijah[/name]'s spelling is pretty straightforward-- it’s not like it’s Eelyejuhh or anything (thank goodness it’s not!). You would think that if a name ranked #21, most people would understand it without much difficulty… If you correct them, the nicknaming will eventually stop (of course, if your son chooses to go by [name]Eli[/name] later on, that’s different…). My name is three syllables, people usually try calling me by nicknames, but they normally stop when I ask them to (unless they’re trying to annoy me-- and succeeding).
If it makes you feel any better, over at Yahoo! Answers, someone thought that [name]Nathaniel[/name] was a made-up combination of [name]Nathan[/name] and [name]Daniel[/name]…
Actually that does make me feel better. And to clarify its not nicknames in general I have a problem with. Its the pervasive sense that all Elijahs are called [name]Eli[/name]. [name]Elijah[/name] has many many many nicknames for a one year old. Probably in part because we forbid calling him [name]Eli[/name]. He also goes by: Mr. E, Mr. L, LJ, Boo, Lijah, Bug, and his 11 year old cousin calls him the amazing fantastic stupendous Mr. L.
I understand your frustration - my son is [name]Josiah[/name], and he’s been called [name]Joshua[/name] and [name]Isaiah[/name] too, quite frequently, in fact! [name]Elijah[/name] seems completely different to me though. People must tend to lump all Old Testament-style together or something.