I’m interested in people’s feedback on having a nickname that starts with a different letter than their acutal first name. Has this been a problem, confusing, or difficult to explain?
I’m guessing most people called [name]Liz[/name] are fine because people assume her real name is [name]Elizabeth[/name]. But what about a [name]Nora[/name] that is actually [name]Eleanor[/name] or [name]Lena[/name] that is acutally [name]Helena[/name]?
I don’t think its a problem at all. It makes sense in most cases and makes for an interesting story sometimes. I have been called [name]Nina[/name] and my name is [name]Stefanie[/name] - its a family nickname and I love it, actually. It feels more personal/ special than my other family nickname, which is [name]Steffi[/name].
I agree that it wouldn’t really be that problematic. A lot of people’s nicknames are that way now (hello, [name]Isabella[/name] nn [name]Bella[/name]!), and it would just take a polite, “Oh, [name]Madeleine[/name] goes by [name]Leni[/name], not [name]Maddie[/name]” to set them straight. Apparently I love this idea, because I have more nns based off of the middle or end of a name ([name]Isabelle[/name] nn [name]Bella[/name], [name]Olivia[/name] nn [name]Liv[/name], [name]Genevieve[/name] nn [name]Evie[/name], [name]Eleni[/name]/[name]Helena[/name] nn [name]Leni[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] nn [name]Lola[/name], [name]Josephine[/name] nn [name]Posey[/name]) on my short list than nns that start with the same first letter ([name]Arianne[/name] nn [name]Ari[/name], [name]Liliana[/name] nn [name]Lily[/name], [name]Lydia[/name] nn [name]Lydie[/name], and [name]Genevieve[/name] nn [name]Ginny[/name]…
For boys, though, it’s the opposite. I don’t love many boys’ names with nicknames, but of the four names that I would use with nicknames, 3 of them ([name]Asher[/name] nn [name]Ash[/name], [name]Grayson[/name] nn [name]Gray[/name], and [name]Beckett[/name] nn [name]Beck[/name]) have the nn based on the first part of the name. The only one that isn’t is [name]Lincoln[/name] nn [name]Cole[/name].
We have a [name]Wren[/name] who goes by [name]Birdie[/name], and an [name]Eloise[/name] who goes by [name]Lola[/name]. So far, there have been no problems with this, and i don’t foresee anything to pop up in the future - a nickname is a nickname whether it makes sense or not!
xo [name]Viv[/name]
I don’t think it’s that difficult. I’ve had a number of names on my list with nicknames to go along with them where the nn doesn’t start with the same letter. [name]Isadora[/name] “[name]Sadie[/name]” & [name]Rosemary[/name] “[name]Molly[/name]” come to mind quickly as examples.
When [name]Rosemary[/name] with the nickname [name]Molly[/name] was my favourite name, my boyfriend at the time was named [name]Mackenzie[/name] and always went by [name]Mack[/name]. Trying to explain how you get [name]Molly[/name] from [name]Rosemary[/name] went right over his head because [name]Mackenzie[/name]->[name]Mack[/name] is so straightforward. The name I go by has absolutely nothing to do with my legal name (and it started off as a nickname) so I’m really lenient.
Yes! [name]Love[/name] the way you put it [name]Viv[/name]!
Thanks for the feedback so far! I think most berries will think think unexpected nicknames are creative but I’m wondering if the rest of the world will not get it (like how lucialucentum said explaining [name]Molly[/name] from [name]Rosemary[/name] went over her boyfriend’s head).
Is there anyone out there that acutally has one of these non-traditional nicknames with a different starting letter from your first name?
I love nicknames that have a different letter than first names!
In my group of friends at school, I’m the only one that goes by a different lettered nickname. My name is [name]Nikita[/name], but I usually go by Key. I love this, and nobody has difficulty with it, as far as I know.
I think namelovers will understand, but the rest of the population will not. If you want to stay away from problematic names, stick with a nn that is easily recognizable. I understand [name]Molly[/name] from [name]Rosemary[/name], but the rest of my family would think im insane. Haha
[name]Ive[/name] had to deal with this in honoring family names. Grandma [name]Jean[/name] would not understand [name]Jane[/name] is in her honor, so [name]Jean[/name] it is! Haha
I have [name]Bella[/name] for [name]Isabel[/name], and most people expect [name]Isabella[/name], but it doesn’t matter. Actually, for 4 years I attended a school in PA, (then we moved) and although everyone called me [name]Isabel[/name] (or the occasional [name]Izzy[/name]/[name]Bella[/name]) all of my forms and such were printed [name]Isabella[/name]. People assumed that I just went by [name]Isabel[/name]. My mother was always so furious, crossing out the -la on every report card, permission slip, ect.
Back to the topic, I love a lot of nns for names that don’t start with the same letter.
Examples:
[name]Abraham[/name] ‘[name]Bram[/name]’
[name]August/name ‘[name]Gus[/name]’
[name]Sebastian[/name] ‘[name]Bastian[/name]’
I also know a family with a dad who wanted only the MOST popular names, and a mom with very stylish tastes. I love their compromise. A 13 year old [name]Matthew[/name] “[name]Hughie[/name]”, 10 year old [name]Emily[/name] “[name]Milly[/name]”, and 9 year old [name]Michael[/name] ‘[name]Hale[/name]’. People are often surprised to learn their real names, but it’s a good compromise in my eyes.
Well my names is [name]Mercedes[/name] and my nickname is [name]Sadie[/name] which throws some people off because it is spelled differently than how it is in [name]Mercedes[/name] but some people also don’t understand how to get [name]Sadie[/name] out of [name]Mercedes[/name]
My daughter’s name is [name]Helena[/name] but she is called [name]Lena[/name] pretty much exclusively. Some people don’t understand it, mostly because we pronounce the vowel in the nickname differently than the full name. Starting with different letters doesn’t seem to throw them off as much as the difference in pronunciation. We also don’t buy as many monogrammed items as we might otherwise, I think, or items personalized with just an initial. Since we mostly call her [name]Lena[/name] it feels a little weird to get an H, but an L doesn’t seem right, either, since it isn’t actually her initial. When it does come up for other people it’s usually very minor. For example, at her birthday someone gave her a little bear holding a capital L. When [name]Lena[/name] opened it the giver whispered to me, “Was it okay to get L instead of H?” Of course it was fine, and someday [name]Lena[/name] will know the difference–at age two she just knows L as her first initial. (She also thinks “Mommy” starts with J because of my J coffee mug–J for my first name.)
I like that compromise idea, [name]Isabel[/name]. Very clever!
I don’t think it’s an issue at all.
I’m liking the idea of a [name]Melody[/name] nn [name]Elle[/name] instead of [name]Mel[/name].
It happens, it’s not an issue in my eyes. 
Of all the nickname worries, this is one I definitely dont see a problem with. Lots of nicknames are easily and obviously derived from a name without sharing the same first letter. No biggie.
I honestly don’t get why you don’t just name the kid [name]Nora[/name] or [name]Lena[/name]? If that’s what you are going to call her, why bother giving her a name she’ll never use? I find nicknames silly. [name]Nora[/name] and [name]Lena[/name] are find names on their own.
Nicknames are supposed to endear people and sound cute. It’s much easier to be [name]Adelaide[/name] on the job application and [name]Laidey[/name] around your friends than be [name]Laidey[/name] all the time, because [name]Laidey[/name] can sound quite cutesy on its own and won’t be taken seriously.
I don’t have a nickname and I am perfectly fine being [name]Diana[/name] all the time. I have friends that have nicknames, but wish their mother had just given them the nickname. I have to agree though, [name]Kathryn[/name] is not the best of names, so she prefers [name]Katie[/name] and uses [name]Katie[/name] all the time at work and among friends. She hates [name]Kathryn[/name]. I get that some people like nicknames, my sister’s name is [name]Melissa[/name], and a lot of her friends call her [name]Mel[/name], but we call her [name]Melissa[/name].
I just mean that if you as the parent plan on not calling her [name]Kathryn[/name], but [name]Katie[/name], why give the name [name]Kathryn[/name]? Plus if you call them by that nickname all the time, the people at work are likely to call you [name]Katie[/name], not [name]Kathryn[/name]. [name]Kathryn[/name] would just be a written name, never spoken. It would be kind of useless since it’ll never be used? That’s all I am saying…
There are also cutesy nicknames that don’t have to deal with the child’s name. My parents called us “sweetie pie” or “honey bee”
This is just my opinion though. And I think [name]Nora[/name] and [name]Lena[/name] are fine on their own. My husband to be has a niece whose name is [name]Nora[/name].