I’ve seen several posts about how parents don’t want a name that has a nickname. I love being called by a nn, and not because I don’t like my name. I think nicknames are important in social relationships. They show closeness and intimacy, for example.
Also nns are handy if the child doesn’t like his or her name. For example we had the blog post about a [name]Margaret[/name] who loves her nn [name]Greta[/name]. While you may love the name you picked, the child may not. Finally, they allow for a name that fits a cute little girl or boy and a formal name for business.
Well, my name is [name]Laura[/name] and I’ve never had a nn. No one in my family has one so I’m not really used to calling people by their nn. I prefer to call people by their full name. I love the name [name]Elizabeth[/name], but I’m afraid people will call her [name]Liz[/name], [name]Lizzie[/name], [name]Betsy[/name], etc. If I named her [name]Elizabeth[/name], not those other names, I feel like she should be called what I named her because that’s the name I like not those other nns. Does that make sense? Maybe if I grew up having a nn I would feel differently.
I like nicknames, but I do like fullnames too. I think that a person’s full name should be used in formal or professional situations and nicknames for informal, familiar or friend situations. Nicknames are not really very professional (for the most part) so I prefer that full names are used then. I do understand that parents worry that if their child has a nickname is will just totally replace their child’s full name. This is a valid concern but if the parent, then later the child, asserts that they prefer to be called by their full name it is usually not a problem.
Also, a note to the poster above. My name is [name]Elizabeth[/name] and I always go by it in professional situations and when I introduce myself to people (or am introduced). If I get to know the people well they often ask if I have a nickname, so if I like them I tell them they can call me (usually) [name]Liz[/name]/[name]Lizzie[/name]/(E)[name]Liza[/name] but that I do go by my full name almost everywhere else. That way I am [name]Elizabeth[/name] but to the special few I’m [name]Liz[/name]/[name]Lizzie[/name]/(E)[name]Liza[/name] etc.
So yeah, I like nicknames, but I love full names too.
I totally agree. My name is [name]Sarah[/name] and as a child I craved having a nickname (I grew up in the 70s and 80s in a crowd of Christys, Jennys, and Nickis). But as a adult, I love my name and all of those -y and-ie nicknames sound kind of dated to me.
But, we named our own baby [name]Laura[/name], and I’m like, I can’t believe I named my own daughter with another name that has no nickname! I do not like [name]Laurie[/name], AT ALL, and all of the other ones seem like too much of a stretch ([name]Lola[/name], [name]Lulu[/name], Lo, etc.)
I love having a full name that has lots of nickname options. I always think that having a “full” name with lots of nickname possibilities makes a name more versatile and gives a person more options.
I think that’s why I’m attracted to names that you can derive nicknames from.
My name is [name]Abigail[/name] though most people call me [name]Abby[/name]. I like the flexibility of going by either. [name]Abigail[/name] sounds much better with my married name, so I always sign my name that way, but most friends call me [name]Abby[/name]. Oddly enough, my husband only calls me [name]Abigail[/name] because he loves that name.
With our kids I chose I’ve chosen names without nicknames because I hated correcting teachers growing up. I hated when they called me [name]Abigail[/name] on the first day. As a teacher now, I sometimes struggle with knowing what name a child prefers. Using a name without a nickname avoided that problem. That being said, I think we randomly chose our kids names without a thought to the no nickname thing-but now that we are having a third I want to keep that trend going.
Yeah I like nicknames, I think its good to have a full, and more formal first name but to have the choice to use a nickname is great, its a nice term of endearment and is shorter to say which is a plus. Friends and family call me by a nickname but its funny , whenever my mum and I have a disagreement she will always call me by my full name.
I think some nicknames are really cute, but there are others that I dislike. I don’t like [name]Dave[/name] as much as [name]David[/name] or [name]Sue[/name] as much as [name]Susan[/name]. But I do love [name]Tillie[/name] or [name]Tilda[/name] as nn’s for [name]Matilda[/name]. I love to make up nicknames for people in my family that don’t sound a bit like their name.
My name is [name]Elizabeth[/name] and, although I go by [name]Liz[/name] now, I went by [name]Elizabeth[/name] with no nn until I went to university when I was assigned [name]Liz[/name] because I lived on a corridor in halls with 6 Elizabeths and it just kinda stuck! My family still calls me [name]Elizabeth[/name] which is fine by me!
I love the options my name gives for nn’s. So if your daughter doesn’t like it then she can use a variant through her everyday life.
I was exactly the same - as another [name]Sarah[/name], I always wished I had a nickname when I was younger. I always felt like a bit of an outsider when other girls called each other by their nicknames but my name sounded so formal in comparison.
I anticipated that my son, [name]Josiah[/name], would probably end up being called a nickname, but so far, everyone has resisted ‘[name]Joe[/name]’ and calls him by his full name, which has surprised me.
My name is [name]Stephanie[/name], and I have been [name]Steph[/name] (or Stephi) my whole life. I used to tell everyone to call me [name]Steph[/name], but now I go by either. I tell people that I prefer [name]Steph[/name], but they can call me whatever I want. It’s telling to me that at my job, the younger people call me [name]Steph[/name], and the older ones call me [name]Stephanie[/name]. (The little kids in my life call me Stephi.)
My 16-year-old cousin is named [name]Walter[/name], but is called [name]Walter[/name] by everyone. His only nickname is [name]Little[/name] Zar, (his dad- thier BBall coach is Zar) but that has to do with his last name, not his first. So I guess it’s just whatever people are used to.
Also a lover of nicknames here! Being a [name]Beth[/name], short for [name]Elizabeth[/name], I have always loved.
I also think many parents choosing names for their children worry unneccesarily about nn.
Most people I know who go by a longer verson of their name.([name]Matthew[/name], [name]Jonathon[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name]) Usually the parents just say we call hime _________, and everyone else follows the rules. I work in a school and most times I just ask kids the first time are you [name]Nathaniel[/name] or [name]Nate[/name], they tell me I remember.
It is just as rude to not remember someones preferred name as it is to completely forget their name.
So I say yes to long names and shorten it if you want or not, the choice is first the parents and then the child’s as they get older!