Name Rants

General Name Discussion
2694

I know your first name, and based on this… I’m assuming your middle is Elizabeth. :smiling_face:

From what I know of this name (which is minimal but important, as it’s also my middle name and great-gran’s name), Lily is as old a nickname for Elizabeth as Lizzy and Bess — even though it’s not so common. In fact, my great-gran Elizabeth was nicknamed Lily and Lil! She went by those throughout her life.

There is Lily (of ‘lilium’ origin) and there is Elizabeth (of, well, other origin), but in sound, they’ve been linked for centuries. I imagine this is like the link between Matilda and Millie, or between Penelope and Pip. They’ve been used as nicknames for these full names, but they’re not in direct relation to one another in terms of origin.

Also, FWIW… I think your name and middle are delightful together, even as someone who’s named after an Elizabeth nn Lily! They don’t feel like “Moon Moon” at all, to me, and on the contrary I think they compliment each other with grace. I love your names!

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2695
Summary

It is lol

Tysm! Sometimes I wonder if it would bother other berries. In my case, Lily is for lillium, the flower, because my parents are gardeners. Elizabeth is for my great grandma Ethel, who died before I was born (it has all of the letters–ELizabETH, and my mom thought it was more timeless than the original).

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2696
Summary

Genuinely made this face: :face_holding_back_tears:

These origins are so marvelous. I love creative honors, and these are just perfect! Your flower name and your ‘containing the letters of’ name are both so cool as honors. Lily, can you tell I’m swooning an unreasonable amount?

Thanks for sharing x

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2697

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I really think it could be a good idea to choose at least one name with a couple of nickname options - especially if one of the names is very popular. Both my first and middle names are quite short (two-syllables) and they were chosen because they were popular back then in the early 2000s. I have always disliked both my names, but they are both have basically no realistic nickname options that I can use instead and I’m stuck with it! I wish I had some variation that I could use, as my name is so common that I could probably list nearly 20 other people that I know with the same name as me.

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2698

[name_u]Ray[/name_u] and Chelly could be nicknames for [name_f]Rachel[/name_f]!

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2699

thank you for the suggestion - but I really don’t like basically any of the nicknames that can be given for [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], they just don’t really fit my style and they just don’t feel usable for me. I’ve always leaned towards classic/vintage names that sound pretty, but that can’t be got with [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] sadly. thank you for trying to help me out though :smiling_face:

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2700

[name_f]Ellie[/name_f]? [name_u]Or[/name_u] just [name_f]Elle[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f].

I mean, my friend [name_f]Raquel[/name_f] went by [name_u]Rae[/name_u], I think that is somehow vintage.

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2701

hmm… [name_f]Ella[/name_f] is quite pretty - just not sure if I could get away with it? it’s a very popular name where I’m from too. Where I live, [name_u]Ray[/name_u] is sort of an old man name - so I’m not sure about it either, maybe I’d like it better if it didn’t have that association. thanks again though, but at this point I might just change my name! :joy:

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2702

Last thing: There are a lot of nicknames that are used on girls (especially in the Victorian times) without them needing to be necessarily to be for a particular name, like [name_f]Honey[/name_f]:

[name_f]Queenie[/name_f]
[name_f]Dolly[/name_f]
[name_f]Birdie[/name_f] / [name_u]Bird[/name_u]
[name_u]Pip[/name_u]
[name_f]Bibi[/name_f]
[name_u]Red[/name_u] / Reddie
[name_u]Bear[/name_u]
[name_u]Merle[/name_u] (originally a nickname for people who spoke a lot or for people with dark hair)
[name_f]Flower[/name_f]
[name_f]Lulu[/name_f]
[name_u]Sparrow[/name_u]
Chessy
[name_u]Tally[/name_u]
[name_f]Dot[/name_f]
[name_f]Ketty[/name_f]
[name_f]Ginger[/name_f]
[name_f]Buffy[/name_f]
[name_f]Cherry[/name_f]
[name_u]Lou[/name_u] / [name_f]Lilou[/name_f]
[name_f]Posey[/name_f]
Riri
[name_f]Daisy[/name_f]
[name_u]Sunny[/name_u]
[name_f]Kiki[/name_f]
[name_f]Nonie[/name_f]

I tried…

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2703

thank you so much for all your efforts! :heartpulse: I love so many of these: birdie, dolly, dot, daisy… love them! only wish that I could get away with using them.

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2704

Anything can be a nickname, actually.

[name_f]My[/name_f] friend [name_f]Luna[/name_f] goes by [name_u]Moon[/name_u], lol. I call my friend [name_f]Lina[/name_f] “Banana”. XD

[name_f]My[/name_f] brother [name_m]Brian[/name_m] hates his name and uses “Bibi”. He sometimes uses [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m] as a preferred name / nickname at Starbucks, lol.

I know a guy named [name_m]Riccardo[/name_m] who goes by [name_f]Kiki[/name_f]! And a [name_f]Flaminia[/name_f] “Minnet”.

And I use “Clem” which is a totally unrelated nickname to my name. I simply use it for the sound and because I like oranges, and my friends decided it is not a problem to use that.

Maybe it is because quirky nicknames are not a problem here, but I think there is no problem with using a totally different nickname.

5 Likes
2705

oh I love that! you’ve definitely given me something to think about there, I might try one of your suggestions out sometime - I really love [name_f]Birdie[/name_f]. quirky nicknames are really not a thing where I live, but hey, maybe I’ll start a trend! thank you for all your suggestions, much appreciated :heart:

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2706

Sure! Don’t be that scared lol. I mean, quirky names are a thing here, somehow, but I think [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] “Birdie” won’t be that bad. You can always say:

“Hey! [name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], but I usually go by [name_f]Birdie[/name_f]. Please call me [name_f]Birdie[/name_f]. Nice to meet you!”

[name_u]Or[/name_u] just

“Hey! I am [name_f]Birdie[/name_f], nice to meet you.”

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2708

I really wish I could get behind using my last name in a hyphenated name with one of my spouse’s last names (he has a hyphenated name and plans to pass on just one of the names since his sister passed the other to her kids), but mine really just seems too long for that. We are considering some ways to combine for future children, but I don’t love any option. I want there to be an option that I love, but there isn’t, and that stresses me out more than the rest of the naming we hope to someday get to do.

Separately, while I am usually annoyed by how few names I like for boys, the upside is that it makes real life name selection easier.

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2709

I went through the exact same feeling with changing my name. I never intended to, I wanted to keep my own or double-barrel, but ended up with someone whose surname was the same number of syllables as mine and rhymes :crazy_face: ultimately I just changed mine to his which I’m always going to be frustrated by!

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2710
Summary

Thanks for relating! Thankfully we have very very different last names, so I just kept mine. But deciding on something for future children…it feels like no good options. I do like to joke that because my spouse’s last name is two names that can also be first names, we could just use his names as middle names and give them my last name.

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2711

I mean you say joke but that genuinely sounds like a sensible option! :sweat_smile:

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2712

You should copy this response to the ‘Jessica’ thread. I agree so much!

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2713

Which thread?

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2714

‘Need help finding a nickname for Jessica’. I think it’s under girl names? Maybe you have already replied tho. But your thoughts are exactly my thoughts, only wayyy better said and you have great examples - she should just pick her a totally new nickname! :blush:

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