Calling all Charlottes and their parents!

[broodylicious]

So we've got Charlotte on our shortlist of girls names. My only fear is the whole shortening thing - Charlie, Lottie etc. Is this unavoidable? Do we need to just accept that it's a name that is often shortened? How do you handle it if people shorten it and you don't want them to?

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Dsis is Charlotte. Never ever shortened outside the family. Sometimes we call her Chas , not the best shortening! Although it has a lot of letters it's only two syllables so short and easy to say. No longer than Mary, Laura etc.

[StockingFullOfCoal]

I'm a Charlotte. Nobody has ever shortened my name. If they try I simply correct them. Its never been a bother.

[usualsuspect333]

My DD very rarely has her name shortened. Some of her mates occasionally call her Char.

She is nearly always called Charlotte. I can imagine her face if anyone dared to call her Lottie.

[GingerFoxInAT0phat]

Im a Charlotte too, hardly anyone shortens it apart from a few old men when I used to work in a pub, they called me Charlie, but they liked it so I never said anything.

Dh calls me Shabaz sometimes but he's a dooshlord

[broodylicious]

Fantastic, thanks everyone. Such a relief

[ashesandfire]

I do think you would need to be prepared though for her to want to be called Charlie or Lottie when she's older.

[TheNewStatesman]

I have never been nicknamed except occasionally as a joke, and neither are the other Charlottes I know. Of course, as the PP says, she might choose it herself later on!

[LemonYellowSun]

The thing is your daughter might prefer to be called Charlie instead. You don't really have control over it.

[sliceofsoup]

I have a Charlotte, and apart from one friend who asked could she call her Lottie, no one has ever shortened her name. I just said no, she is known as Charlotte.

If she decides to shorten it when she is older then that is fine by me.

[ditavonteesed]

I am Charlie, was charlotte till I was 18 and really badly bullied so decided to reinvent myself as Charlie, my parents still call me Charlotte.

[GinUpGirl]

Char, rather than Chaz, Charlie or Lottie.

[OftheTwilighttheDarkness]

My Charlotte doesn't really get her name shortened. I did think I would call her Charlie (when I was at school I was very impressed with the glam red haired lady on 'sons & daughters) but she isn't really a Charlie.

[LibrariesGaveUsPower]

I don't think shortening is inevitable. But I think you need to be willing to accept it if the child chooses it.

[Glittery7]

i have a 9 year old Charlotte. Toyed with Lottie when she was tiny but she has never had her name shortened. Charlotte is too lovely to shorten.

[HighOverTheFenceLeapsSunnyJim]

My cousin is charlotte, always known as Charlotte in the family & not shortened, but since secondary school her friends have all called her Charlie (she is in her 20s now). It does move out of your control.

[maggiethemagpie]

I didn't name my child charlotte for this very reason

[hippoherostandinghere]

I have one and no one other than my and DH shorten it, she always gets Charlotte. I call her Charley but I always shorten names affectionately, I always refer to her as Charlotte though so no one else shortens it. It really is an awesome name.

[verystressedmum]

My dd is Charlotte and no one has ever shortened it. Maybe as I always told everyone her name is Charlotte and that's what she calls herself everyone just calls her Charlotte

[charlyn]

I'm a Charlotte but always been Charli as my parents only called that since I was a baby so didn't get a say! Nearly all the Charlotte I know are just Charlotte though.

[buffersandbumpers]

DD6 is Charlotte. She looks very puzzled when people suggest Lottie or Charlie so I think she'll stay Charlotte for a while yet. Saying that, I like the shortened versions anyway so won't be upset if she does eventually change, but she'll always be Charlotte to me :)

[hawkmcqueen]

My Charlotte is 17 mo and we don't intend to shorten it. I also call her Lulu though and her brother sometimes calls her Sharlie, not Charlie :-)

[EmmaWoodlouse]

My adult niece is a Charlotte who is not normally shortened.

In my experience if someone who is generally well liked says they don't want their name shortened it won't get shortened, but I think you need to prepare yourself for the fact that maybe your DD herself will want to be shortened at some point. My parents would not let anyone shorten my name (not Charlotte) when I was young and it did annoy me a bit, so I made a point of not naming my own DC anything that I really couldn't bear to hear shortened.

[andadietcoke]

My 2yo Charlotte is often Lottie but we try to stick to Charlotte as we don't want to confuse her and her twin (who calls her La-Lotte). I love Charlie but our surname is Brown.

[Lottiedaydreambeliever2014]

I am Charlotte. My hubs calls me Lottie but to everyone else I'm Charlotte. It's never been an issue, I've always liked my name as well.

[PiercedMrsL]

I'm a Charlotte and have never been called Charlie or lottie. I do get called char but that didn't happen until my late teens! People tried shortening my name but it never really stuck.