I love the nickname [name]Nora[/name], and always thought I would name her [name]Eleanor[/name] and then just call her [name]Nora[/name]. I love [name]Eleanor[/name] too, but I’m pretty confident we would shorten it.
[name]One[/name] of my friends was talking the other day about how they think it’s silly to name a child a longer name when all you want to call them is the nickname, i.e. [name]Maxwell[/name] for [name]Max[/name], [name]William[/name] for [name]Billy[/name], [name]Abigail[/name] for [name]Abby[/name], [name]Catherine[/name] for [name]Cate[/name] etc. She was saying why not just name the child the nickname you’re going to use.
My theory was that if we named her [name]Eleanor[/name], she could always use it when she’s older as a more professional, mature sounding name as opposed to [name]Nora[/name].
[name]Nora[/name] is very pretty, but I am a huge [name]Eleanor[/name] fan so I have to go with that one. I understand what your friends mean… but nicknames are a natural thing. You may find that you won’t call her [name]Nora[/name] at all, but something else. I like leaving options for your child, as they are the ones who will have to live with the name.
You really can’t go wrong with [name]Nora[/name] or [name]Eleanor[/name], btw.
I would go for [name]Eleanor[/name]! I think [name]Nora[/name] could easily stand alone but I think [name]Eleanor[/name] has more strength and versatility as a name… It means that no matter who she grows up to be the name will fit her… She can be [name]Nora[/name] but also [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Elle[/name] even [name]Nellie[/name] or [name]Nell[/name]…
We have a [name]Nora[/name] who we had thought about naming [name]Eleanor[/name]. We ultimately decided to go with just [name]Nora[/name], because we knew we definitely didn’t want an [name]Ellie[/name]/[name]Elle[/name] of any kind, and we really just wanted to call her [name]Nora[/name]. We knew that we could tell family and friends we’d prefer the nickname [name]Nora[/name], but once she got into school, it would be out of our control if her friends (or she) wanted to start using [name]Ellie[/name]/[name]Elle[/name] instead. We also knew we’d end up calling her [name]Nora[/name] almost all of the time, rather than [name]Eleanor[/name].
In our case, I am extremely happy we chose just [name]Nora[/name]. It doesn’t feel incomplete or like a nickname at all. Despite its origins, [name]Nora[/name] has been a standalone name for a while now and is commonly accepted as one.
[name]Nora[/name] is a pretty name, while I love [name]Eleanor[/name], I feel that [name]Nora[/name] is strong enough to stand on it’s own as a name. [name]Nora[/name] is perfectly respectable for a woman as well as a little girl.
