So my question today, does you child go by the nickname/shortened name that you planned for him or her?
My baby [name]Emmeline[/name] was supposed to be [name]Emmy[/name], all through my pregnancy she was [name]Emmy[/name]. However as she has grown she doesn’t fit the pretty, delicate and ladylike image I had in my head for a daughter of mine. At 8 months she is loud and feisty and stubborn, she’s very pretty but she has a whole lot of personality! In short, [name]Emmy[/name] never fit her the way I pictured it, so she is [name]Milly[/name]. [name]Milly[/name] Mouse, Silly [name]Milly[/name] any kind of [name]Milly[/name] really but she is most definitely [name]Milly[/name]!
I guess I was just wondering if anyone had had the same idea in their head and it was put to rest by your little person… I’d find it quite it quite interesting!
My child hasn’t been born yet, but I can tell you my nickname is not one my mother chose for me. She named me [name]Alexandra[/name] - and really wanted me to go by [name]Alexandra[/name]. (She still calls me [name]Alexandra[/name]). If people really wanted to use a NN she suggested [name]Allie[/name], when I was a baby.
I’ve been going by “[name]Alex[/name]” since I was in 7th grade. My mother is the ONLY person who calls me [name]Alexandra[/name].
We didn’t pre-choose nicknames for the boy, but did for [name]Calla[/name]/[name]Calli[/name] and yes we use it regularly. She and the boys also have non-name connected nicknames as per my signature.
My baby will be born in [name]May[/name] so I don’t know yet:) I plan to call her [name]Nelly[/name], but I will see.
I know a few kids who go by nicknames not related to their names at all though.
Fables was supposed to be [name]Fae[/name] sometimes but she gets Fabes & ‘[name]Princess[/name] Faberella’
We planned on calling [name]Amity[/name] ‘[name]Ami[/name]’ which we do sometimes but my nephew can’t really say her name properly and he just calls her Mitty and it’s kind of stuck.
My name is [name]Amanda[/name] and my parents planned on me going by [name]Mandy[/name], but when somebody called me [name]Mandy[/name] for the first time, I threatened to punch them. Hah. (I was a feisty one.)
I was calling my daughter [name]Miki[/name] before she was even born, and luckily once she was born it fit her.
I knew I ran the chance of having my son called [name]Chris[/name], but [name]Christian[/name] was important to me so I used it anyway swearing I wouldn’t let anyone call him [name]Chris[/name]. until he was a year old we always called him [name]Trout[/name] or [name]Christian[/name] then slowly people outside our house started calling him [name]Chris[/name] and it is the name he decided he wanted to be called. Now most of the time he goes by [name]Chris[/name] and it fits him well.
Kuyper was going to be Kuy… and I am the only one who calls him that. Everyone else uses his full name.
[name]Zane[/name] never had something picked out since, well, [name]Zane[/name] does not lead to one. He however is call [name]Zane[/name]-ard, Zaney, Zano and Zanner. The funny thing is that even some of the old stoic/serious men at church call him Zanner. It makes me smile and I have to hide a giggle every time.
And though not children, Our min pin was named Cheerio. I only OKed the name because I thought [name]Rio[/name] was a cute NN… and we have never used it.
We hadn’t planned on nicknames before the birth, it wasn’t something that occurred to me. Her name has naturally been shortened to [name]Ami[/name] (pronounced Am-ee, not [name]Amy[/name]) and [name]Melly[/name]. I saw an online [name]Amelie[/name] who goes by [name]Lilou[/name] which I think is really cool but I don’t think it would suit my girl, and as [name]Ami[/name] and [name]Melly[/name] are already so established, I won’t introduce any new nicknames.
I’ve been wondering about this very topic, actually…It always seemed a bit strange to me that when posting their names for future children, people included the planned nickname(s) in parentheses. But in my mind, nicknames are something that develop organically over time - they’re not something you can officially “decide” ahead of time. That sort of planning always seemed pointless to me. I highly doubt when they named me [name]Victoria[/name] my parents said, “Ok, she’ll be Tortuga and Tortellini.” But that’s exactly what happened!
In a similar vein, people sometimes post that they want to get to a certain nickname via their child’s full name. Again - how can they be sure that that particular nickname is the one that will emerge as the actual nickname? I just feel like nicknames shouldn’t be forced. They come naturally.
I somewhat agree. I think there are NNs based on the actual name and then some NNs based off of an experience/memory. (I assume that Totuga and Tortellini fall under that) I know many kiddos that use the predetermined NN along with their fun family given NNs.
My mom named my sister [name]Samantha[/name], desperately hoping she wouldn’t become [name]Sam[/name] or [name]Sammy[/name]. We ended up calling her Mantha most of the time. And she is the one who came up with my nickname. Apparently Courtin was easier to say than [name]Courtney[/name].
My [name]Adeline[/name] was supposed to be [name]Della[/name] because of the proliferation of Addies her age. But when she was born and we told my mom the name, she told us about my beloved great-grandma [name]Frances[/name]’ sister [name]Addie[/name], and how much she loved and talked about her, so [name]Addie[/name] stuck when she was younger. Now that she is sick, so ONLY wants to be called [name]Adeline[/name], which is fine with me.
My parents hated the nickname [name]Izzy[/name], and always wanted me to go by [name]Isabella[/name]. I have never, ever been called [name]Bella[/name] except by some relatives as kind of a playful term, not a real nickname. My mom and some of my other relatives call me [name]Lina[/name] or [name]Linni[/name] or what sounds like “lean” at home, but sure enough, by the time I was in grade five I was [name]Izzy[/name] at school and that was it. Some people at my school have even been surprised to hear my full name! I used to discourage it, but about a year ago I just gave up and started introducing myself as [name]Izzy[/name] all the time, and calling myself [name]Isabella[/name] feels like a refreshing change.
My brother [name]Sebastian[/name] has a weird and totally unexpected nickname; I think he got it because it was what he used to call me before he could say [name]Isabella[/name].
I agree. I’m sure there are many parents that name their kids [name]Margaret[/name] or [name]Charles[/name] knowing they’ll be going by [name]Maggie[/name] or [name]Charlie[/name]. They’ll have other fun nicknames as they grow up, but I think those nicknames fall under a different category. In my mind the predetermined nicknames are the ones your child will introduce themselves as, I’m assuming you wouldn’t introduce yourself as Tortellini (fun nickname) but I know most Michaels would introduce themselves as [name]Mike[/name] (name derived nickname).
