AIBU to wonder about names in the past.

Oh, my family has several versions of this.

My aunt, born Katrin, is always known as a variation of a Russian diminutive of her name within the family (my grandfather was born in Odessa in the 30s). It causes great confusion to anyone who met her after she was about 21!

I can't stand my full name, so have shortened it to various versions from the moment I could talk!

I don't have kids yet, but if I ever do, I've already decided they're going to have family names as middle names. My younger cousin has already asked me to name give my eldest son the middle name Sebastian after him! 🤣

Pardon?

What is his thinking behind that? Does he genuinely think that it's wise to give somebody a name and then use a different name? Yes, it's his middle name, but the longstanding convention is that a middle name is not the name you are intended to go by.

If he wanted to open a greengrocer's shop, would he call it 'Anytown Bookshop' (with 'purveyors of fruit and vegetables' buried in the business description) - and then be surprised both when people came asking for Austen, Dickens and bestseller titles and not coming in to buy their carrots and bananas?

My partner and I are trying for a baby. We've discussed names. He's suggested names such as Jack George Thomas Surname but calling the child Tommy - I've asked why not just use that as a first name? None of the names he's suggested have been family names, and he goes by his first name, as do his siblings. His parent's generation though all seem to go by completely random nicknames.

It says page not found for me.

My Dad's family - from Sussex - all have nicknames, none bear any resemblance to their birth names!! This is all relatives!! Aunts, cousins, parents, grandparents - and back even fury. And no one knows why!!

Edward VII's name was Albert Edward. He used Edward as a regnal name because of precdent. But in his family - well, he was just known by his first name...

I know a Kylie (English born and bred) in her late 50s. There are a few out there.

I think the "fashion cycle" of names is much faster than it ever was in the past.

If you're called Carol, Lisa, Karen, Donna, Linda, Christine - you were probably born in the late 60s or early 70s. (Or Gary, Paul, Alan if you are male)

If you are called Kylie, Gemma, Jennifer, Heather, Melissa - 1980s names,

2000s names - Chloe, Jessica, Emily, Sophie.

In the 19th century you couldn't date a name to a particular decade. Not a hard and fast rule but there were not Kylie/Kayleighs before the late 80s.

I don't have a middle name, as my mum couldn't think of one that fitted.

My granny was put in service as a ladies' maid when she was 11, just before WW1 (I'm not about 90 years old, just an afterthought in a family that tends to marry late!). She shared a name with the woman she was serving, so obviously that wouldn't do and she was re-named with a nickname that stuck for life.

Both of my paternal grandparents' families did this, I can't mention names as especially my granddad's name would be way too outing.

My dad was born in 1920. He went by a name that wasnt either his Christian or second name.
He had a brother that already had the name and went by it. I have no idea why!

My FIL goes by his middle name (he's in his 80's)

I said early in the thread that as far as I am aware all of my Mum's Mum's large family went by their first names or obvious diminutives there of but my Dad's Dad was always know by a diminutive of his surname. Presumably because his actual first name was bloody awful.

My children have "family" names, it's a nice connection through the generations. They also have distinctive first names, as my family tree is about 90% John Jones and William Williams.

I am known by a random name, nothing to do with my actual name (and not to do with WW2 either! Love how many people missed the joke!).

For everyone with elderly relatives with random names I share this wonderful, rather sad poem by Wendy Cope.

genius.com/Wendy-cope-names-annotated

Was Honesty a lier, Sobriety a drunk etc?

That's brilliant! 'Effort' particularly.

I should add that my great gran got off easy as the eldest. Subsequently her family "got" Methodism, and her siblings were Honesty, Sobriety, Chastity, Effort, Praise and Faith! Unsurprisingly, they mostly changed their names informally.

My grandad was called Eric, but was always known as John, as that was the family name,and his elder sibling called John died when they were both babies. Bit morbid, but that was common.

My great gran was called Emmeline, but always called Nell. Just because Emmeline is a mouthful!

I'm 55, so my great gran was Edwardian and my grandad fought in the Second World War.

My grandparents were both known by different names. My grandma's nickname was male and my granddad's nickname is much more common as female name.
My dad, brother, grandpa and great grandpa all have exactly the same name, but are all variants of their first name eg. James, Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo.

In DH's family his dad had cousins Til, Tot, Tom etc. who's names were all completely different. I love it, it makes it all very interesting when researching the family trees!

I know someone (worked for him in my teens) universally known as ‘Happy Junior’, because he’d ‘inherited’ the ‘Happy’ nickname from his famously morose father, who’d run the same shop and pub, despite himself being an averagely cheerful chap.

FIL's family is very mixed up .

His dad was John, known as Jimmy.
His mum was Agnes, known as Anne.
He is Arthur William, known as Bill.
His sister is Lavinia, known as Vinnie. (which at least is reasonable)
His other sister is Mary Elizabeth, known as Bunty.

I don't know how great great grandad coped. His DM, DSis, DW, DD and DGD were all called Emma!

Yeah I knew a Betty whose real name was actually Ethel. She was a god awful witch.

There used to be a chap nicknamed Tiny in our village. He was about 6'5". No idea what his real name was.