My best friend’s son’s named [name]Matthew[/name], named after his father. He’s getting to the age where people are starting to shorten his name, and she’d really prefer that he not go by [name]Matt[/name] since his father does and it could get confusing. So, are there any other nicknames for the name [name]Matthew[/name]?
Hmm, maybe the “thew” could morph into [name]Hugh[/name]? Or [name]Theo[/name]? Otherwise I’d suggest a nickname that doesn’t have to do with his name, like [name]Ace[/name] or [name]Blue[/name] (if his eyes are blue, etc). Or could they/you pull something from his middle instead?
Possible ideas:
[name]Mateo[/name] / [name]Teo[/name]
Mato / Matto
Mao / [name]Meo[/name]
[name]Huey[/name] (from the [name]Hew[/name] part) --> [name]Dewey[/name]?
Maybe an unrelated nickname would work better? Or from the middle name?
Would [name]Math[/name] be too close to [name]Matt[/name]? I think it’s really sweet. Otherwise [name]Hew[/name] prn [name]Hugh[/name] could work, and I second the ideas of Hewy/Hewey/[name]Huey[/name], [name]Teo[/name] or [name]Theo[/name].
Good luck!
My older brother’s name is [name]Matthew[/name], and I’ve called him Thew for years, because everyone else uses the nn [name]Matt[/name]! I usually call him by his full name (which I love as a boys name), but I do often call him Thew or Thew-Thew (an older nn I gave him YEARS ago). I also agree with the pp, you could go with [name]Hew[/name] ([name]Hugh[/name]) as well, I think that’s nice! My brother has never been called [name]Matty[/name] by anyone as far as I know, but I do think it’s a very cute nn for [name]Matthew[/name].
Best,
[name]Leslie[/name]
Unfortunately, she is not likely going to have a say. She should just keep calling him [name]Matthew[/name] and that will stick for her. But his friends likely will keep calling him [name]Matt[/name]. I think [name]Huey[/name] is a cute nickname. But, I don’t think it will stick.
She can push the issue and when people call him [name]Matt[/name], correct them “No, it’s [name]Matthew[/name]”. His school friends will call him whatever they call him but when it comes to adults she can control what they call him. If she doesn’t want to correct people and force the issue but really doesn’t want him called [name]Matt[/name] then she could come up with a nn completely unrelated to his given name (based on personality or a physical trait). I also like the suggestion of Thew.
I agree with Jersey_Gray. I know my mom did not want my brother [name]Matthew[/name] to be called [name]Matt[/name], and he wasn’t called [name]Matt[/name] until he got to middle school, really, and it was because of his classmates/friends that the nn came about for him personally and, unfortunately, stuck.
26 year old [name_m]Matt[/name_m] here with a last name starting with “D”.
From my experience, virtually all of your close family ( and I mean anyone who you see more than once a year ). [name_m]Will[/name_m] call him [name_m]Matthew[/name_m]. That is his name, he signs it on his forms, his mother chose that name and in my case she has never called my anything but [name_m]Matthew[/name_m].
He’ll refer to himself as [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] for quite a few years ( think of all the paperwork you sign or write your name on in school, it becomes habit ). Most likely he will learn to sign his name “[name_m]Matthew[/name_m].”
There are studies out there that show that people tend to remember names with 5 letters more than any others – followed by 4 and then 6. I found that around 7 or 8 people who I met would call me [name_m]Matt[/name_m], I suppose because it’s easier to say, write, remember, and most 8 year old boys won’t let anyone call them “[name_u]Matty[/name_u]”. So [name_m]Matt[/name_m] becomes the name that I and I think most [name_m]Matthews[/name_m] begin to call themselves everywhere except legal documents that say “Full Name” on them. I even ended up changing my signature to [name_m]Matt[/name_m] because for me personally I found “hew” difficult to write in cursive.
One day that [name_m]Matt[/name_m] is going to grow into a teenager. Pardon my vanity but girls generally found me to be attractive, and what they ended up calling me always revolved around how they viewed my personality. Girls who found me attractive but who I never pursued would call me “[name_u]Matty[/name_u]” or even “[name_u]Matty[/name_u] D”. Girls who I dated ( which I assume means they found me attractive ) would always gradually come to call me “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]” again. I think perhaps it is because with the girls I dated I always tended to “dominate”. I don’t mean like aggressively or anything negative like that, i’m talking about the tendency for the guy in the relationship to play the role of the man and “[name_u]Matty[/name_u]” seemed more feminine. My girlfriends would even switch to “[name_u]Matty[/name_u]” when something embarrassed me or my pride 
All perfectly harmless teasing of course.
The girls who were interested in me but I wasn’t dating or close friends with all called me “[name_u]Matty[/name_u]” or “[name_u]Matty[/name_u] D” because I am very laid back, empathetic, and even a little shy with those I don’t know. [name_m]Even[/name_m] my close guy friends would call me “[name_u]Matty[/name_u] D” ( always with an emphasis on the dominating D at the end because anything else seemed effeminate on their part ).
Now that I am 26 I found myself on this page because I am torn as to what to refer to myself as once again. As a man now almost no one calls me "[name_u]Matty[/name_u]"and I have even found that when I quiz most girls they say that they prefer the name “[name_m]Matthew[/name_m]” over “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]”. Almost any new acquaintances generally end up calling me whatever I tell them my name is. I honestly can’t decide. I think if you asked, virtually everyone would say that “[name_m]Matthew[/name_m]” is a more attractive and pleasing to say name. Yet now that my career is in full swing I have to fight for even things that seem silly to gain an edge, and there are studies showing that people with shorter names earn more money http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2013/05/07/study-says-shorter-names-earn-more/ I guess in some funny way it seems to all come back to those days on the soccer field at 7-8 years old when people started calling me “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]” because it was easier to remember, even if I objected.
Sorry for the rambling, just thought I would give some friendly insight on someone who’s grown up as one for 26 years now.
( To make matters worse, there is a study showing people with popular names make more money as well. As a millennial, “[name_m]Matthew[/name_m]” is the 2-4th most popular name in my entire peer group because it was that the 2-4th most popular name picked from 1980 to 1999 for guys. However, almost no one actually names their kid “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]”. So the choice is more difficult – [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] was the most popular name chose at birth but it seems “[name_m]Matt[/name_m]” ends up becoming the more popular name and also gives an edge by being within that 4-6 letter range.) Sigh