Eldest ds in tears about new dd's name....

I think Elizabeth with the nn Tess is lovely. Congrats OP! :)

It also makes complete sense to me and is very pretty. Congratulations!

Tess as a short for Elizabeth makes just as much sense, if not more, as Peggy for Margaret or Polly for Mary, which are both 'accepted' nicknames. The etymology looks pretty clear (Elizabeth - Beth - Bess - Tess) so how about giving the OP a break?

OP, for what it's worth I completely agree with others who've said that your DS will get over it! But my brother and I had 'special' names for each other that we still use occasionally, so maybe that's an idea?

Lovely name.

My mum named her youngest sister, and was 7 at the time. She didn't like her parents choice (Lucy). Mum refused to use the name, as she thought it was so old-fashioned (1960s), and before they registered their daughter, they changed it for my mum's choice - Alison. It's still talked about.

Your post really resonated - My children are 6 and 4 1/2 and we're waiting for their new sibling to arrive. My DS (also my eldest, aged 6) doesn't like any of our choices, and I am a bit worried about his reaction! You do have to stick to your guns, though. 6yo boys are v emotional, ime!

As for the nickname thing - Tess is a perfect nn for Elisabeth! My daughter is Betty short for Beatrice for exactly the same reason.

Enjoy your newbie and congratulations x

FarFarAway - Princess Shiny, I love it!

Mine too, she wanted Snow White and was outraged to be overruled.

Elizabeth nn Tess is lovely and sounds like they "go together" to me.

Dear God, there isn't an enshrined in law list of approved nicknames which will get you hoofed into a maximum security penitentiary if you dare to deviate from it - although you'd scarce believe it if you read this thread.

Ds wanted to call dd spiderman.

Lol, this is you, isn't it, OP? Fess up.

My ds1 wanted to call ds2 grandma.

I love Tess but a bit biased as I have a Tess too but full name is Teresa although never used it. rhymes with so many great things, we have tess the pest, tess the mess, tess the best etc. Your DS will get used to it and learn to love it. DD1 didn't like the name of DD2 at first and insisted on calling her Princess Shiny..gets very embarrassed if we mention it now.

Our DD1 was 10 when her little sister was born and oddly enough she wanted Felicity as she'd been reading my old Malory Towers books.I wanted Fenella,but when the baby was born our eldest was so excited about having a sister that we went with Felicity Faith.Our son was 4 and called her Flissity! My brother gave me my middle name of Joanne[70's baby!]but my dad's named John,so kind of ties in.

My nephew wants my DD to be called Lily. Keep telling him it won't suit her surname (think sports store in Piccadilly Circus) but it's very sweet the way he keeps mentioning it.

My friend's older sister wanted my friend to be called Amy. She went around telling everyone at school that her new sister was called Amy. Her mum turned up to do the first school run after the birth and all the other mothers crowded round to look at the baby cooing "what a beautiful baby. And Amy is SUCH a lovely name". Apparently it took her a full week to convince them that DD1 had been lying and her baby was most definitely not called Amy.

I love Elisabeth/Tess

Friends recently had a Pippa. Her DD thought they were calling her Peppa and was thrilled. She still introduces her as such. Parents hoping it will wear off...

PMSL at Flowersmell! :o

"ear" is not a dirty word except occasionally on Mumsnet!

Maryz, my friend's ds cried for an hour on the birth of his fourth sister!

You do realise your daughter's initials are EAR. all nice names BTW but what is your surname? Does it spell anything awful?

Elisabeth Alice Rose is swoonworthy, well done you. Tess is perfectly acceptable as a nickname for Elisabeth, not commonly used but rhymes with Bess, and many nns are based on rhymes (Meg/Peg for Margaret, etc.)

Your DS will get over it. I suspect he's trying to retain some control over a situation of great change and (happy) stress. Go with your name, giving him too much control will backfire in the end, he needs to know that you are still in charge of family life and that his new sister is not his responsibility.

My sis is an Elizabeth. She was known as Zizi by everyone when she was little as that was the closest I could get to saying her name and it evolved into her name. As we got older I also used Widge and Liza or Liza-lu. She changed school in the 6th form and was known there as lily.

At work she was known as Liz and that's what her dh calls her. Bizarrely it's a name I really don't associate with her, don't particularly like and have never used about or to her. Has also led to a few embarrassing moments when people have enquirer after Liz and I've asked who's Liz... :o

But just an idea of some of the other less obvious nicknames fjor Elizabeth!

Congratulations by the way!

If the book names are so powerful...why not dig out some good books with Elizabeth/Tess characters and see if that helps!
He will get over it, our DD burst into tears at her own middle name not so long ago and declared that she hated it. She's ok now.