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Shortened/NN's on birth certificate?

33 replies

LadyCLC · 16/03/2011 11:28

If your choice of name is a shortened name/NN e.g.

Jamie (James)
Tommy (Thomas)
Will (William)
Ollie (Oliver) etc

& the shortened version is the name you wish everyone to call the child should you put that on the birth cert or put the long version for official documents? thoughts please?

Thanks

OP posts:
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Mercedes519 · 16/03/2011 11:31

Personally I went for the long name and then used the NN from birth and everyone uses it now. I think it gives the child more options when they are older and may want to be more formal.

Plus it gives you a really long name to shout when you're cross Grin

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NotAnotherNewNappy · 16/03/2011 11:59

Long name on BC. For all of your examples, the nn is lovely for a baby/child but the long nane would look far better on a job application. Why not give them the choice?

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PepsiPopcorn · 16/03/2011 12:13

I'd definitely go for the longer name on the birth certificate.

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humanfraggle · 16/03/2011 14:03

If you want them to be called the shortened name, give them the shortened name on the BC.

If they don't like their name when they're older, they can change it!

I never go by my full name, I don't like it, and hate having to use it on official documents, I cringe whenI'm at the doctors, for example and it is shouted.


Just give them the name you like

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flopsy1974 · 16/03/2011 14:48

I'd definately go for the longer version on the birth certificate.

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nocake · 16/03/2011 15:05

Definately put the proper version of the name on the BC. It gives your child the option to use the full or short name as they prefer. Everyone uses the shortened version of my name and I only use the full version for official purposes, which I like.

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Underachieving · 16/03/2011 15:44

I know a young man called Sam, just Sam, no middle name either. He is forever reminding people that he is not called Samuel.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 16/03/2011 16:42

MN is usually very pro the the full name, if you asked the same question on Bounty they could probably give you some dead clever way to shorten the name further or even give you some u-neeqee spellinz Grin

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lockets · 16/03/2011 16:47

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shouldnotbehere · 16/03/2011 17:27

Depends on the name, I would never put Will, Pete Nick or Olly on a birth cirtificate, as it sounds incomplete. However I would consider putting Charlie or Jamie on certificate.

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mopsyflopsy · 16/03/2011 17:37

Agree it depends on the name. Will for example is not a name but a noun (last will ) or verb (will you..), so would be odd as a standalone name. Jamie, on the other hand, sounds more like a complete name.

(p.s. Will is also too close to Willy imo)

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CharlieBoo · 16/03/2011 19:37

It really does depend on the name and if you like both versions. My ds is called Charlie and he is just Charlie, mainly because I hated the name Charles and never had any intention to call him anything but Charlie.

But in all other instances I would put the long name...James is gorgeous, both my brother and DP are James' and my brother was Jamie when little, but now he's grown up James is lovely.

Have a friend with a Thomas who is and always has been known as Tom, she hates Thomas but put that on BC. She gets miffed when he's called Thomas on a rare occasion.

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lilyberry · 16/03/2011 21:10

I didn't like my full name when I was younger, but now I really love having a long 'posh' name to fall back on!

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PepsiPopcorn · 16/03/2011 22:26

Nicknames lose their status as a mark of affection, if that's the only name someone has. I think that's one reason I like the principle of having both a full/formal name and a nickname.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/03/2011 09:21

That is a very good point Pepsi, I wouldn't want everyone to call me by my nn, I prefer to use my full name for work and keep my nn for my friends and family.

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PanicOnTheStreetsOfLondon · 17/03/2011 09:33

MY DS is one of the ones you mentioned. He has the long name on his birth certificate but we have always used the shortened name. At the time we thought that he would need a 'serious' name for when he is grown up.

One word of warning though all of DH's older relatives who don't see him very often call him by his proper name which he hates (he calls it his school register name). He was sooo upset when one got him a personalised Star Wars t-shirt with the 'wrong' name on it.

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lockets · 17/03/2011 10:43

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NotAnotherNewNappy · 17/03/2011 11:12

Now Kitty I could make an exception for, it's lovely and so different from Kathryn Smile

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theresapotatoundermysink · 17/03/2011 11:19

Why would you call your child Tom if you hate the name Thomas?

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lockets · 17/03/2011 12:15

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theresapotatoundermysink · 17/03/2011 13:17

Obviously lockets. Liking the name you choose for your child is in most scenarios a given. What I don't get is seeing as Tom is just Thomas without the 'as', how could you hate one name but like the other.

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thumbwitch · 17/03/2011 13:20

I like giving my child the choice. He has the full name on the birth certificate, he is commonly called by the nickname (and by his full name if he is being naughty).
So I would not use a nn on the birth certificate.

My sister, OTOH, has done just that with both of her DDs. She doesn't like the long versions of their names, says she never would use them, so they have NNs on their birth certificate. Thankfully they're not too twee so the girls aren't going to have any worries later in life when they become high-falutin doctors or judges Grin

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Isthreetoomany · 17/03/2011 13:39

We put the long version on DD1's birth certificate even though we have called her by her nickname since birth. Wanted her to have the option of using the long version as an adult. Even her school call her by her nn though.

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MadMommaMemoo · 17/03/2011 13:42

Ds is ollie but Oliver in his bc

Dsd is Millie but Millicent on her bc and she hates and get rather upset about it.

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lockets · 17/03/2011 16:22

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