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Ottilie shortened to Tilly.....feedback please?

39 replies

K8ster · 17/05/2012 08:53

I like the name Tilly and was thinking Matilda but recently came across Ottilie, now I am confused!

Please let me know your thoughts.

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BobbiFleckman · 17/05/2012 08:54

have a google for the newspaper article by (i think) Lucy Cavendish saying how much she regretted calling her daughter Ottiline / ottilie. It's a hard name to wear.

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redemptionsong · 17/05/2012 08:56

Love Tilly :) not so keen on Matilda tho, never heard Ottilie but it is nice, a little different but not too off the wall.

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ripsishere · 17/05/2012 08:59

Oooh, it's a lovely name. DD had a friend called Ottoline. She was a delightful little girl.
I think you tend to associate names with people. I don't like Mathilda because a friend has a 15 YO who is a royal PITA.

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redrubyshoes · 17/05/2012 09:01

Ottilie Botterlie.

'Nuff said.

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BillyBollyBandy · 17/05/2012 09:01

ink

I really like Ottilie, pretty and unusual. Do not like Ottoline from the article though

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lesstalkmoreaction · 17/05/2012 09:01

If you like Tilly then go with that, I've got a child with a nickname and she wants to change her name by deedpoll as at school it has driven her nuts as legally everything has to have her proper name on as opposed to her nickname, so she has to remember to write Elizabeth on exams etc instead of Lizzie and we have never called her Elizabeth, I wish I had put Lizzie on the birth certificate.

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redrubyshoes · 17/05/2012 09:01

I have heard of a Myrtle nicknamed Tilly though.

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K8ster · 17/05/2012 09:10

Yes Ottoline....am not so keen on either.
There is Tilda or Natalie for Tilly I suppose but am not too sure about those. Any other suggestions?.....am thinking that Ottilie is my favorite at the moment.

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FetchezLaVache · 17/05/2012 09:11

I really like Ottilie, Tilly AND Matilda .

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K8ster · 17/05/2012 09:11

Lesstalkmoreaction.....I understand your point, my name is the same....I go by the shortened version but it has never really been a huge issue.

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PacketOfBiscuits · 17/05/2012 10:33

I don't like Ottilie/Tilly/Matilda but they're all perfectly good names/nicknames.

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FrankWippery · 17/05/2012 10:35

A friend of mine has an Ottilie. She has never been known as anything but Tilly (now almost 16). I think it's a lovely name.

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sparkle12mar08 · 17/05/2012 10:38

I know an Ottilie who is known as exactly that. It's classy and classic and she's a lovely child. Few names are actually 'difficult to carry' in my experience, it all comes doan to the confidence of the parents, and the confidence they imbue their children with.

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ShowOfHands · 17/05/2012 10:43

I have a Mathilda and I love the name Ottilie. I really dislike Tilly though, it's twee and girly and popular. But that's just personal preference.

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lancelottie · 17/05/2012 10:47

I know a Charlotte Elizabeth known as Tilly!

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PorkyandBess · 17/05/2012 12:05

I love Ottilie, but Tilly is too common imo.

I know 3 Tillys and 1 Tilda

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sonniboo · 17/05/2012 15:38

Why would you shorten a lovely underused name like Ottilie to such a common and overused nickname like Tilly?!

Also, I'd pronounce Ottilie with the emphasis on the Ott part, not the tilie part, so more likely to shorten to Ottie, if at all.

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MoonHare · 17/05/2012 17:15

Not sure about Ottilie, I'd never heard it before about a year ago and really thought the woman had said her daughter was called Otterly, which left me Confused until I saw it written down on MN. Whenever I see it now all I can think of is otters!

Matilda is much nicer imo and as 'ee' ending nicknames go (of which I am not a fan) Tilly is among the better ones.

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ErikNorseman · 17/05/2012 21:04

Ottilie is a french name. If you don't have a french accent then it is crap. Nothing worse than a raucous english voice squawking Ottilie/Amelie/whatever. Just don't.

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sonniboo · 17/05/2012 21:18

Ottilie is actually a German name, the female version of Otto. In German it is pronounced Ott-ee-lye.

I thought the French and English pronunciation was the same though.

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ErikNorseman · 17/05/2012 21:33

Ok German - that might shoot my argument down somewhat. My point was that lovely names that sound beautiful in certain accents can sound completely dull and ruined in an English accent.

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MrsAmaretto · 17/05/2012 23:39

But ErikNorseman, does your point matter if the child is going to be called Tilly? The choice of names is only for paperwork or if she wants a different name when she's older

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upsidewide · 17/05/2012 23:49

It's a beautiful name Smile

I like Ottie as well as Tilly as a nickname

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LetThereBeCupcakes · 18/05/2012 09:31

Oh wow, I love Ottilie. I actually don't know any Tillys - obviously not popular around here. Wouldn't bother me if it was though! If you like it, go with it!

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Lunarlyte · 18/05/2012 14:52

Yeah, why not?!

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