In your opinion, can people with names like 'Posy', 'Kitty' or 'Dotty' be taken seriously?

I like the name Posy

(Had no idea it was short for Josephine tho!!!)

My DC are (and soon will be) called quite boring sensible names tho (in case they ever become prime minister, ha).

Agree though that by then it won't really matter, given how many people (boys and girls) are given 'cute' names now.

As there is a dichotomy of opinions on this matter and many people feel strongly against such names why don't you give her a "proper" name and let her shorten it IF she likes? Or you could give it as a second name.

I'm sorry, but naming a child 'Bear' is beyond silly.
I just hope the poor boy has a sense of humour.

What is the purpose of a name? So that you are distinguishable from others, it doesn't give you a personality or anything else. I'm not shy or loud because of my name, we all think differently about names because of others we have met that is it.

"She is now 27 and Dotty suits her beautifully."

If I were her I wouldn't find this flattering!

I notice the title of this topic is baby names. A lot of people seem to forget you're not just naming a baby, you're naming the adult that baby will become.
And Bear? Why would anyone do that? Ridiculous though better than weasel, I suppose.

I think it sort of depends on accent.
Posy pronounced very poshly as 'pays-eh' - no I can't take that seriously.
Kitty shortened to Kits by tously blondes in massive sunglasses - not going to make me think 'strong woman'.

It's like being called Plum and having horses. There's an indefinable air of 'going to marry a banker and be known for giving a good dinner party.'

My adult niece is called Dotty.

Her actual name is Laura but when she was born she was so tiny her DM said she was just like a little dot. Over the years this changed to Dotty.

She is now 27 and Dotty suits her beautifully.

I knew a girl who dropped her "cute" name as soon as she could, having been laughed at for years. She trained as a lawyer, and changed it, simply because she couldn't stand the thought of going into a meeting and introducing herself as "Hello, I'm Posy Willow". WHAT WERE HER PARENTS THINKING!! You are naming an ADULT!!

I just don't see why you would saddle an adult woman with Dotty when she can be Dorothy and have loads of lovely shortenings to choose from. And she can be Dotty to you forever!

I have an Evie and I was told it was too babyish.

She can just call herself Eve if she likes when she is older. It wasn't as popular when she was born but I still adore her name, even though people tell me it is babyish and she won't be taken seriously

I love the name Posy!

I'm reminded that CVs sent by agencies usually remove any personal mention at all - so names and addresses simply do not appear, and the hiring company says "we'd like to see number 362" or whatever.

That's surely a better system in general.

I named my youngest son Bear. It suits him and people that know us don't bat an eyelid. My other children have unusual ish names with a sort of 'nature' theme but all suit them

Interesting. What a shame that in this day and age people might have trouble getting a job because of what they are called. Why don't we just go the whole hog and judge them on their skin colour, age, religion and sexual orientation as well.

perhaps applications forms should have initial and surname only (a bit like we don't put age, and can choose whether to put ethnicity). Then perhaps people who have a, god forbid, cutesy name will have the same chance as all the lovely middle class Elizabeths and James.

Leoand I hate the name Nelly- reminds me of the rhyme ..'Nelly Kelly broke her belly sliding down a lump of jelly'

It wasn't my post - several pps have talked about name bias in HR departments and at other stages of application and recruitment. I referred to those posts some of which linked to studies and reports.

I am on a phone and too lazy to find the links myself.

'They're respected once they hold the respected position but the name bias reported upthread means they are less likely to reach that position in the first place'

Horry what is your evidence for this?

Have you see the Armstrong and Miller sketch about naming babies?

Kitty & Dotty are really old names ( short for Katherine & Dorothy ) I really like Kitty. Posy is cute on a baby but a bit embarrassing on a 30 year old, same with Poppy & all the other over the top girly names. Poppy et al. are fine if you end up being a top model or fashion designer, but chancers are you'll end up a slightly overweight ordinary looking shop worker - very few women live up to their cutesy names.

They're respected once they hold the respected position but the name bias reported upthread means they are less likely to reach that position in the first place.

That may be utterly shitty but it can't be discounted.

My previous boss was a Candy. Everyone took her seriously. She was a supervising solicitor.

You're not always safe from bureaucratic hassle even when the shortening is obvious, maggietess! I know a doctor who moved to Australia a few years ago. It took ages to get the visa and his re-registration sorted out and involved presenting all his certificates over and over again. At one point there was a lengthy hold up because some of his certificates were made out to 'Sam Smith' and others to 'Samuel John Smith'. I think he had to get an affidavit sworn that he was Samuel Smith, familiarly known as Sam Smith, before they were accepted. His wife was going through exactly the same procedures but had a much easier time of it, as she was Mary Jones or Mary Elizabeth Jones on everything. It was the abbreviation that threw the spanner in the works.

[Not real names before anybody queries it!]