Alistair and Eleanor - nicknames?

[badg3r]

This baby is hopefully going to turn up soon and we don't know the sex yet. I think we have decided on Alistair for a boy and Eleanor for a girl.

I love the names as they stand but being a bit long they will probably get shortened. I'm not sure how I feel about Ali as a nn. What other nns could we get away with for Alistair? For Eleanor I like Nell and Nora over Ellie.

All opinions on the full and abbreviated versions welcome!

[Wheresthattomoibabber]

Stair?

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

I can only think of Al.

[islandsandshores]

I think Al and Ellie are fine but do you need nicknames?

The names you have chosen, in their own rights, are lovely.

[HeteronormativeHaybales]

Nell's nice, so is El. Nora's a bit of a stretch, IMO. But 'nicknames'/shortenings tend to develop organically. I have three kids with longish names with obvious-ish shortenings, and each of them goes by a shortening other than the obvious one and pretty much made up tbh (one uses the conventional shortening at school and the non-obvious one in the family).
I don't understand why people put so much effort into thinking about and working out shortenings, really. If you like a name, go with it. Alistair and Eleanor are both lovely.

[badg3r]

I think that's what is making me doubt them a bit to be honest - I love the names themselves but am not so keen on any of the abbreviations for Alistair. This is a common theme for me and boys' names apparently - I love David and Michael but not keen at all on Dave and Mike.

I also really like that our oldest DC has a name that can't be shortened, although we didn't manage to agree on any shorter names this time!

[Littlewhistle]

Why do you need to have nicknames? Alistair and Eleanor are lovely names. I can't understand the current trend where every child has to have a nickname.

[elfinpre]

Let them/friends decide their own nicknames when they are older.

[badg3r]

Yes Het that's what I am hoping would happen I think! I go by a nickname of my official long and traditional name. But I was "given" the nickname at birth so it has always felt more like my name than my official one, iyswim?

[2ducks2ducklings]

My son is Alistair! I love it. He's the only one in his school.
We call him Al. I dislike Ali immensely!

[islandsandshores]

I do know what you mean, OP, as I like Katherine but hate Kath.

Alistair would in all honesty probably be shortened to Al at school. But my brother is a David who has always been a David

[sparechange]

DH is Alistair
Close friends and family call him Ali, everyone else calls him Al
I call him Alejandro, just because

DN is Eleanor, and she is Ellie to everyone, except her big brother who called her Eleanorus the Walrus which has now become Wall-e and occasionally Ellie Welly/Wall-e

[Treesinbloom]

My DB was and is always known as his full name and not the frequent shortening.

DS1 is called his frequent shortening but DS2 never is (despite me planning to call him that when I was pregnant - it just doesn't suit him)

So conclusion, if you don't want to shorten the name then don't!

I know lots of children with long names which could be shortened but aren't.

[Becles]

Nell
Ali

[Lilmy3]

Nicknames that aren't intuitive often get dropped at school age. You can try to Nora but you might find that it becomes Ellie once she starts nursery

[Angeldt]

Nicknames don't have to be name related. My name is Angela but was called Lulu as a child . Had a cousin who's nickname was Apple , and my daughter was Bobo. The name will come when they are born so don't over think it.

[greendale17]

Ali and Ellie

[Decaffstilltastesweird]

I know one of each and they go by their full names or Al, Ali or Ellie.

They are quite similar, just in case you're planning to use the one you don't use this time for any future dc. I know brothers called Alistair and Oliver and it gets a bit confusing if I'm honest. Ollister and Alliver seems to happen quite a bit !

[WanderingTrolley1]

Allie and Ellie.

[EzioAuditore]

The Eleanor I know goes by Ellie. I know three Alistairs - two go by Ali with friends/family and the third goes by Ster with friends (rhyming with 'err' rather than 'stair').

[badg3r]

Good point Decaff - I am keen for another after this one! Point taken from many too about not needing to shorten it if we don't want to.

I remember last time round also finding the whole picking a name immensely stressful - it seems like such a big deal at the time when realistically there are lots of lovely names and as soon as we had told everyone DC1's name I never gave the decision a second thought. Argh!

[Pickerel]

I know three Alistairs - one is Allie, the other two are unshortened.

But I think Eleanor would tend to get shortened to Ellie.

[DeepPuddleHorse22]

Word to the wise OP, soooo many people on MN complain about giving DC nicknames and go on about 'growing organically' and the like, I personally get it-and totally agree with your comment about the chosen nickname feeling more relatable-if you call her Nora at home she is more likely to call herself Nora/get her peers to call her Nora than Ellie. Alistair is slightly more tricky IMO as I can't think of any other nicknames except Al and Ali x

[weebarra]

I have an Alasdair. We call him Al, Ali or occasionally Bannister because it rhymes!

[TronaldDump]

We have an Alistair. He gets Al, Ally, Ally Pally, Plan A, Staircase - all sorts! His friends mostly call him Al or Ally. Love the name.

[Sugarpiehoneyeye]

My neighbours grandson is called Alistair James, nick named A.J..
So maybe something similar, I don't care much for Al/Ali.