I have a 9 month old son who is legally named [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] but my husband and I have only ever called him [name_m]Jack[/name_m] since he’s been born. I had a change of heart when I was 7 months pregnant but my husband didn’t want to go through telling everyone we changed the name and changing all the monogrammed stuff so he asked if we could just call him [name_m]Jack[/name_m]. I agreed but [name_m]Jack[/name_m] and [name_m]Jackson[/name_m], to me, are two separate names.
I want to legally change his name to just [name_m]Jack[/name_m] and my husband is fine with that since it’s all we call him. His family though is very upset and thinks I’m over reacting. They call him [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] from time to time and ignore our wishes to only call him [name_m]Jack[/name_m]. They say that since it is his name they’re going to call him [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] if they want.
I guess I don’t want anyone ever to call him [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] because he’s [name_m]Jack[/name_m]. If he grew up and told me that he wanted to be called [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] it would upset me.
You and your husband should be the only ones making that decision. If his relatives want to call him [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] as a “family-only” nickname, there’s nothing wrong with that, but if the two of you really want his name to be just [name_m]Jack[/name_m], then [name_m]Jack[/name_m] he should be.
Many people go through life with a formal name and an informal nn that everyone uses. My coworker, who we’ve only ever called [name_u]Penny[/name_u], is officially named [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. My mum is [name_f]Julianna[/name_f], but always went by [name_u]Jules[/name_u]. She doesn’t mind it, in fact she likes having a “proper” name she can use if she chooses. So I don’t think your son will mind very much being called [name_m]Jack[/name_m] when his official certs say [name_m]Jackson[/name_m]…to me, [name_m]Jack[/name_m] is a natural nn of [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] anyways. If I were you, I’d leave it up to him whether he prefers [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] or [name_m]Jack[/name_m].
That said, if you feel that strongly about not wanting the -son there AT ALL, then it’s entirely your right to change it and you shouldn’t let anyone else’s wishes stop you.
It sounds like you both want to change it and agree that your son is a “[name_m]Jack[/name_m]”, not a “[name_m]Jackson[/name_m]”. I think you should go ahead and change it. Like you, I also think [name_m]Jack[/name_m] and [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] are two totally different names… [name_m]Jack[/name_m] is fine as a stand-alone (not like you’re going from [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] to just “J”, or to a nickname, like in the case of [name_u]Penny[/name_u] or [name_u]Jules[/name_u] mentioned above) and has a very different tone from [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] (I personally much prefer [name_m]Jack[/name_m] as well )
If your family is going to be immature and say “If [name_m]Jackson[/name_m]'s on his birth certificate then that’s what we’re calling him, even though you just said not to”, it’s totally appropriate to take it in to your own hands and change it, if you want.
