[name_m]Hi[/name_m]!
I read somewhere that in [name_f]Italy[/name_f] no one would give [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] the nickname ‘[name_u]Izzy[/name_u]’ or ‘[name_f]Bella[/name_f]’, it would only be ‘[name_u]Isa[/name_u]’. Does anyone know if that’s correct?
I’m Italian, so I guess I can help you.
The only nickname I’ve ever seen any [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] being called as was [name_u]Isa[/name_u] (or stuff that didn’t come from her first name), although it isn’t the most common of names so I don’t meet many. [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] would be considered weird but it’s not impossible to pronounce, so I guess someone could call themselves with such a nickname.
I would consider [name_f]Bella[/name_f] to be an unusual name/nickname if I ever were to encounter it, and it wouldn’t be my first though if I were to nickname an [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], but it does exist here, too. Perhaps an [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] would confuse less if she introduced herself as “[name_f]Isabella[/name_f] but you can call me [name_f]Bella[/name_f]” rather than just [name_f]Bella[/name_f].
I mean, it’s unusual but it’s not non-existent. Keep in mind that the name Crocifissa (crucified) exists; at least [name_f]Bella[/name_f] has a positive meaning…
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you live in [name_f]Italy[/name_f], is that why you are wondering? I’m not sure if that’s the norm as I don’t speak Italian and have never lived in [name_f]Italy[/name_f], but just thought I would chime in that I do know a young girl named [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] who goes by [name_u]Isa[/name_u]. We live in the United States in an English-speaking community. As an English-speaking American, I thought it was a nice change from [name_f]Bella[/name_f]/[name_u]Izzy[/name_u] but didn’t seem like a stretch to me or odd in any way despite the variation in pronunciation.
I don’t live in [name_f]Italy[/name_f] or speak Italian, but in my first language (Portuguese), “bella” also means beautiful (spelled “bela”). And I have a friend named [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and nicknamed [name_f]Bella[/name_f]. She was “[name_u]Isa[/name_u]”, but then she met her now-BFF [name_f]Isadora[/name_f], also [name_u]Isa[/name_u], and there was NO [name_m]WAY[/name_m] that [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] would go by [name_f]Dora[/name_f] (her words, not mine). Now they are [name_f]Bella[/name_f] and [name_u]Isa[/name_u]. . Maybe [name_f]Bel[/name_f] as a nn?