Respondents: 40 (This poll is closed)
For me it depends on the name. With [name]Guinevere[/name], for example, I love both the full name and the nickname [name]Gwen[/name], and so if I ever used it I would definitely plan on [name]Gwen[/name] as the nickname. However, with [name]Georgiana[/name], another favourite, I don’t have particularly strong feelings about any of the possible nicknames so I would probably just wait and see what sprung up naturally. Similarly with [name]Elizabeth[/name], I love too many of the possible nicknames equally so I would have to see what clicked.
I love nicknames, and for the names I love I have preferred ones that I would use, but new nicknames always pop up even when you least expect it. So I would say a combo of planning and spontaneity!
I chose other, because you can like a nickname all you want…it doesn’t mean your daughter or son will.
My recommendation is don’t choose a name [name]JUST[/name] because you like the nickname for it. Example, don’t name your kid [name]Elizabeth[/name] just because you like [name]Libby[/name]. Your kid might decide they’d rather go by [name]Elizabeth[/name]. So make sure you like the full name too.
I think it’s a little of both.
With a name like [name]Elizabeth[/name] that has TONS of nicknames I would probably think of a few that I liked–[name]Lizzy[/name], [name]Libby[/name], [name]Beth[/name]–and plan to use those and plan to discourage the use of others if I could–[name]Liza[/name], [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Betty[/name].
When it comes down to it, it’s really about the kid who lives with the name. Maybe [name]Betty[/name] feels really natural and fun to them and they adore it. Or maybe when they’re little another nickname just seems to work and sticks and it wasn’t what you thought.
I think you can plan, but you have to go with the flow and not fight what works.
With a name like [name]Jillian[/name], where there’s basically one obvious nickname and no other ones that seem natural and adult. I personally wouldn’t pick the name if I hated the obvious nickname, but if another nickname seemed to fit the child I might use it–like Jiji–and I might discourage it if I didn’t like it.
I’m on the fence about choosing nicknames as full names. I doubt I would name my child [name]Hank[/name] even if I liked it better than [name]Henry[/name] and we planned to use [name]Hank[/name] all the time, because I’m all for giving kids options if they want them.
I was named [name]Kimberly[/name] and have almost never been called anything except [name]Kim[/name] (aside from my grandmother). But I sorta like the idea that I could use [name]Kimberly[/name] or [name]Kay[/name] or something else if I really wanted to.
I love long names with a multitude of nickname options and I have favorite nicknames I plan to use. As they get older they will likely choose their own nickname that fits their personality and I am totally open to using whatever nickname they choose or whatever their name “morphs” into…
I prefer organic, it just seems more “natural” lol
With names that have tons of nicknames, I’d stick to one, but let it form naturally, so like you name your daughter [name]Catherine[/name], well just call her that till you find yourself saying “[name]Cathy[/name]” or “[name]Cate[/name]” for short. Does that make sense? It’s kind of like how our cat Mittens became Mittzy. It just slipped and we liked Mittzy better so that’s her name.
I feel like if you plan ahead, then it’s kind of like, well what’s the point naming her [name]Catherine[/name]? [name]Just[/name] call her [name]Cate[/name] if that’s what you “plan” to call her.
I never had a nickname until later in high school when a couple friends started calling me D or [name]Di[/name] for short. It made it seem more special since they created it for me on a whim. I personally don’t plan on using nicknames for my children, mainly because I already like shorter names, lol, but if their friends give them one later, then that is fine.
I found out unexpectedly that I am not a nickname person. My daughter is [name]Matilda[/name], and when I chose the name I liked the fact that there were a lot of nickname possibilities. But now I just use [name]Matilda[/name] and don’t see myself using any nicknames. I’ve sort of “tried out” some nicknames and none of them seem to really fit. So if she does end up with a nickname it will just come about organically.
There are names, such as [name]Samuel[/name], for example that the nickname [name]Sam[/name] is so evident that its almost unavoidable. [name]Every[/name] [name]Samuel[/name] I know, even if they usually go by the full form, have been called [name]Sam[/name] too.
But there are names, that don’t have obvious nicknames, so the nicknames just come on their own. Ill use [name]Connor[/name] because I have a personal story for this, one of my best friends is named [name]Connor[/name], and there isn’t an obvious nickname for his name, but over time, I grew into the habit of calling him [name]Connie[/name], which I’m sure he loves (lol) but its not an obvious nn, and its one that just formed on its own, organically, as you said.
If you love the name [name]Nicholas[/name], but hate [name]Nick[/name], you can call him [name]Cole[/name], its a bit of a stretch but it works, but It would be pretty hard to have a [name]Matthew[/name] that won’t ever get called [name]Matt[/name].
I really believe it depends on the name.
I think [name]Cat[/name] said it well.
It should develop organically, unless the nickname is staring at you (Like [name]Gwen[/name] names for example). That being said, my boyfriend and I are trying to come up with names at the moment, and when we found middles for our [name]Fiammetta[/name] combo we realized her initials would be FOO (without surname) and I thought that would be a cute nickname. But it was a complete accident, and she might not be a Foo.
But that’s my opinion. I think there’s a divide between Northern [name]America[/name] and Europe on this one. Here people call their children what they’re going to be called, and nicknames (if they’re based on the name) are very traditional ([name]Harry[/name] from [name]Henry[/name], [name]Ted[/name] from [name]Edward[/name], [name]Sadie[/name] from [name]Sara[/name] and so on).
I agree with pp that a mix of planning & spontaneity is best. I make sure that I like all the nn options of names on my shortlist, so whilst I might have a favourite nn that I ‘plan’ on using, I’d be happy if other options or even a nn unrelated to the name are used instead. I’d also never use a full name just to get a nickname (although, equally, I’d never use just a nn), I’d have to adore the name in full too.
Also, I always wish that I’d been properly nicknamed by my parents, so I plan partly to ensure my children at least have the option.
Honestly, I personally really dislike when people choose a nickname beforehand. To me, if you’re planning on calling your child solely by their nickname, you should just make that their legal first name.
I think it all depends on the name. I would plan to call [name]Elena[/name] “[name]Ella[/name]” because I was so torn in deciding between them. Now with a name like [name]Theodore[/name] I would just use whatever felt the most natural, be it [name]Theo[/name], [name]Teddy[/name], or whatever.
I tend to prefer the full names for things, but since I realise people tend to naturally shorten things, I like to have nicknames ready for use in my back pocket, if that makes sense? For example, with the name [name]Magdalene[/name], I’m not a huge fan of [name]Maggie[/name], but I recognise people might feel [name]Magdalene[/name] is too many syllables to say at one time. So that’s why I have [name]Mae[/name] and [name]Mimi[/name] ready to call her as a short form.
My boys don’t really get called nicknames. And to be fair, I don’t really go by a nickname, and none of my friends go by nicknames (unless it’s something very affectionate and silly, like Mr. Tumnus, which I do get called), but Nameberry seems to be very into nicknames!
I would really like to chose a first name that a child would actually use. I would prefer not using a “planned” nickname because that sort of nickname takes the place of a real name.
“[name]Pet[/name] names” like occasionally calling - for example, calling [name]Emma[/name] or [name]Emily[/name] “[name]Em[/name]” - that come out naturally - would be ok - but I wouldn’t want to use “[name]Em[/name]” in place of [name]Emma[/name]/[name]Emily[/name].