Just wondering what other people think of nicknames that are nothing to do with the full name. Like I just saw a post talking about a decision between Charlotte and Flora and someone mentioned Lottie as a nickname and I thought that could be a good nickname for Flora. Even though it shares letters with Charlotte, it feels more similar to Flora in my opinion. What does anyone else think of giving people nicknames that don’t come from their actual name?
- I love it
- I guess it could be okay
- I literally don’t care and am completely indifferent
- Not really a fan
- I hate this idea with such a passion that I will hunt you down and destroy you for even mentioning it
Please elaborate. I made a poll on the Writer’s corner where I usually hang out and people just selected ‘I have another idea not mentioned here’ and did nothing else. There is no other idea option here. If you want to suggest another idea, you will have to tell me so yourself [evil laughing]. And yes, I know I am only going to use this for just writing probably exactly one time but I feel like it’s more relevant to parents so… if you want a preview of what it’s like to communicate with an awkward teenager, this post should help, I guess.
So my husband is from Mexico. Most people’s nicknames have nothing to do with their actual name, but more personality traits or characteristics. One of my husband’s nicknames is “Chivo”, which is the word for goat in Mexico. He has a beard like a goat. Some of his friends I don’t even know their real names because they are never called by them.
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I feel like as long as it is out of caring and done with respect…nick name till you are blue in the face.
Whether or not the nickname stems from their actual name or not doesn’t matter to me. If they like the nickname and it suits them, then I would say it works. If it doesn’t suit them or the person with it doesn’t like it (such as a nickname given to them by family or friends), then it doesn’t work.
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I think in cases like @jenni_lynn91’s that’s totally cool; I’m just not a fan of choosing [name_u]Charles[/name_u] for a child with the intention of calling him [name_u]Pip[/name_u]. [name_u]Or[/name_u] choosing [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] but wanting to call her [name_f]Kat[/name_f].
If those nicknames arise naturally, super fun, but if they’re chosen even before the child is born, I just don’t get that?
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Ok Im not really going to hunt you down but I don’t like random nicknames. “We named her [name_f]Flora[/name_f] but always intended to call her Lottie” makes no sense to me and sounds annoying to explain. Exception would be if theres a cute story from the persons life explaining the randomness. “His brother couldn’t say brother and called him [name_m]Bubba[/name_m] and it stuck but his real name is John” makes sense.
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I understand your points for the most part, but there are a few instances where choosing an unrelated nickname before the child is born can make all the difference. In my case, we have 9 people with a [name_u]Chris[/name_u] / [name_u]Kris[/name_u]- nickname. If I name my son [name_m]Christopher[/name_m] or [name_u]Christian[/name_u] (honor names that I love), I don’t want my child to share their nickname with those 9 other people. While [name_u]Kit[/name_u] would be reasonable (and while I do like it), it is too close to another name being used in our family. Therefore, I would want to find and introduce a different nickname from birth to differentiate my child from everyone else. If other nicknames evolve I’d be fine with it, but if he sticks with the nickname we chose I’d be great with that as well.
BTW In many people’s cases, as well as my own with the above example, using the middle name instead isn’t an option as that too may have the same issues with less nickname possibilities.
That’s a totally valid reason to use a different nickname then, I just find it strange if it’s completely unrelated/related to a different name.
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I think nicknames can be completely unrelated to the given name, as long as they come about in a spontaneous way. If you name your child [name_f]Flora[/name_f] with the intention of calling her [name_f]Lottie[/name_f], then I think it’s better to go with [name_f]Lottie[/name_f], [name_f]Lotte[/name_f], [name_f]Lotta[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] etc. as a given name. But if you name your baby [name_f]Flora[/name_f] and you spontaneously develop a nickname for her that has nothing to do with the original name (like Lottie), that’s completely different.
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My gut instinct is to be totally against the idea because I don’t understand why anyone would want to go by a second name completely different to their real name, and also, wouldn’t that get confusing?
But it’s kind of hard for me to form an opinion on this because I go by a nickname among my family that sounds nothing like my real name (not of my accord; of theirs, but I’ve never objected to the idea because it’s a normal part of our culture I’ve just grown up with and accepted without question). The full story is here (Do you have nicknames? - #28 by TheTempest171) but in summary, in my culture, it’s custom to choose a nickname for a child that is independent of their legal name and only family will call them by this name. My parents didn’t necessarily care for this custom, but did it to fulfil traditional requirements for my name after they chose my legal name and couldn’t change it.
That’s why I voted ‘not really a fan’… I don’t have any major objections to it that make me absolutely hate it; I just don’t see why it’s necessary or is a good idea. Of course, I think of this differently than someone having a nickname derived from their middle name (because their middle name is still technically part of their full name) but having an unofficial name with no obvious connection to the real name at all just doesn’t sound appealing to me. It sounds confusing. An example of this is, I know the Nameberry description for the name Victoria suggests Plum as a nickname (in response to the excessive use of Vicky and Tori) . I love Vicky and Tori, but totally understand the desire to have a less-popular nickname. Although, I’m not sure I can see Plum as a plausible nickname for Victoria because it sounds nothing like Victoria! I’m aware the reason it was suggested was because of the Victoria plum, but I still believe nickname by sound is more practical than nickname by meaning or association. Of course, this is just my opinion and I understand people might think or feel differently about how to choose a nickname based on a name, and that’s fine. This is just what I think and feel.
not really an answer but the ‘i hate this idea with such a passion that i will hunt you down and destroy you for even mentioning it’ is sending me i cant stop laughing
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