"Nicknames" as first names

I agree op I don’t understand it either.
For example if you want to name your daughter Betty because you like that name and want her to be called that, then name her that.
You may think that the name Elizabeth is ok but it’s not the name you wanted and it doesn’t really sound like Betty.
also, if you have have the name Elizabeth, it means people may shorten it to something else. So they could end up being called Lizzy.. Which was never the name you intended and sounds nothing at all like Betty.
I believe people should pick the name they like, and what suits their baby. I think it would only be wise to use the original, and then shorten it, if they are happy with all of the other potential options your child could have as they grow. And if you feel ok about the fact that they may end up called a name which sounds nothing like the one you originally wanted for them.
I think implying that a diminutive name is lesser and in some way undignified, is a snobby and superior attitude.

Ds has a shortened version as name. I didn’t really like the long version and it’s spelt different in this country if full version used.

Its short and easy. But a name in its own right rather than cutesy version.
Similar to Ben v Benjamin or Tim v Timothy.

My son is James officially but we mostly call him Jimmy.

Jimmy is a little boy's name really. I suspect he will want to be either James or Jim when he grows up.

Calling him James also means he could use Jaime when older if he likes (though I hope not as I hate it)

I used to know a lawyer called Tammy. She HATED it and asked her mum why on earth she didn't give her the full name Tamsin. She felt she couldn't be taken seriously in work because she was called Tammy.

If you are named Elizabeth, you can call yourself 10 different nicknames. If you are named Betty, you wouldn't start calling yourself Elizabeth. I think giving children traditional forms of names gives them more choice, and I know plenty of people who decided to call themselves a new form of their name at some point.
Also, a name is quite a serious decision, and to me it feels more respectful to the child to give them the most dignified form of whatever you want to call them.

My DC have 'proper' names on their BC, although we have always called them by the diminutive forms. However, they all use their full names when they feel like it, in different contexts and for different reasons. My youngest used to love being called her full name by her friends' dads, who always did it as a joke. One of them has now died, and DD still smiles about the way he used to use her full name. I'm glad I gave them choices.

My first name is a diminutive of a longer name. Never in my life have I wished for an “option” to call myself something different simply because the longer name just isn’t my name so it never occurred to me to want to use it. Having said that, if I had wanted to use the longer name what’s to stop me.

2 of my children have names which probably can’t be shortened and one goes by the diminutive but she was given the longer name as I liked the longer name wanted to call her that. The short version came as she got older

I’m not really keen on diminutives as official names, but each to their own.

We called ds William despite knowing that he was going to be called Will day-to-day. I wanted to give him the option to go by William, Liam, Bill or Billy etc if he preferred. And Will might suit him as a toddler, but he might want something more formal as he matures.

I thinks it's just that some short forms of names sound very informal and/or childish, my own included. A lot of my close friends and my family call me a short form of my name but none of my work colleagues do and I always introduce myself by my full first name to new people (think something along then lines of Ali as short for Alicia).

I think names like Dave, Bob, Mike etc are informal and others like Alfie, Archie quite childlike, so I think it's good for people to have the option of using a more formal first name if they want when they are older/in formal situations.

But I think many shortenings are well established as names in their own right - Kate/Katie, Tom, Ben etc etc. These don't sound informal or childish to me.

I tend to not like ones that sound overly cutesy. Some are also less established than others. For example, I would assume unless corrected that Joe, Penny and Kate were short for Joseph, Penelope and Katherine. However, I would NOT assume that a baby Daisy or Jack were short for anything. Maybe it's also impacted by the fact that Margaret and John are not common for babies today. I might assume an elderly person with those names was called the full form.

I have a long traditional name on my BC and was always been known by the nickname version of it. However I changed my name on marriage and the full name just sounds so much better with my new surname so I've started using this in a professional context. I like the fact that I've had this option.

So that the child can choose their nickname when they’re older, or choose to go by their proper name. For example, they might like to go by Elizabeth in some situations and Beth in others.

I have a long name which has several common diminutives.
I really like the fact that I am called different things, depending on my relationship with people, and that I can be more formal or less formal as I want to.
Over different decades, I've leaned more towards different diminutives and as I've got older I am much more likely to use my full name.

Based on my own preferences for my own name, I'd want to give any dc the same options.

Its generally because nicknamey names can sound a bit silly in formal situations.

People like cutesy nickname names (Alfie, Albie etc). But there’s not many people whose full name is Andy or Dave.

but they can call themselves what they like...they don't have to stick to the name you chose.

I know an Alex and his parents wish they'd put Alexander on the BC so he'd be able to choose Alex or Xander.

I know a Tom who is just Tom, and it seems a bit strange to me that his parents didn't put Thomas on the BC

My grandfather couldn't get his head around the fact that my DH's full name is Jack.

Oh, and I gave my DD a very short 2-syllable name with no traditional shortenings, obviously her family nn is now a lengthened version! She's still a baby so TBC what her mates will call her.

I'm not massively on Team Anti-Nicknames (or rather, Diminutives), some I like a lot and make sense to me.

But I also don't get the line "name the kid what you want to call it day to day", because it's not just about you. You're naming a human who is going to be a child for a hot second, and it is nice to have options as you grow.

For instance, I have a longer, quite popular (now, though it was very rare when/where I grew up) name and mainly go by a nickname - my family and closest friends all know me by the nn. I didn't actually start using the longer form until I started progressing in my career in my 20s, maybe I needed to "grow into it", who knows. But I have found that I don't particularly want my boss, or a client to call me the same thing my mum or husband does. For me, my full name is like an armour or other skin I slip into in certain situations. It keeps the intimacy of my nn for those I want to share it with.

That all said, I also find the argument that one couldn't be a judge or politician with a diminutive "nickname" name ridiculous. As pp have said, it's such a massive trend that by the time our kids are grown, nobody will bat an eye at Judge Archie or MP Winnie or whatever.

But I immediately followed that up with “Lots of names can’t really be nicknamed either though, so I don’t think that’s a huge dealbreaker.”. You asked why people would choose a full name with a diminutive, rather than just the diminutive and that’s probably the biggest reason 🤷‍♀️

But some diminutives quickly become so entrenched that nobody even remembers they are diminutives, and the line between these and the “undignified” ones is so random. One of my grandmothers was called Elsie — that was her whole name — in 1923. But of course Elsie is a diminutive! My other grandmother was called, birth certificate name, Polly. Also a diminutive.

Yes, that was exactly my thinking too. I even tried to let/get MN to change my mind. No dice.

Now I feel like he doesn’t have the opportunity to use the full version of the name when he could have had. I don’t even particularly like the full version, but I like that I’ve taken the choice from him even less. DS, OTOH, isn’t bothered. He might be when he’s older mind.

its all v v daft but I do wish I’d gone with the long version

I used to wonder why my parents gave me my long name when they've called me the shortened version since day 1. It was to give me choices apparently. If I'd shown a preference for my full name or a different variation (there are several) they'd have respected that. They liked the short version but wanted to allow me options.

Shortened names are diminutives, not nicknames.

I'm old fashioned or just old I suppose, but I don't like diminutives being used as first names.

To me, diminutives tend to sound childish. I'd much prefer my child to have the option of a more dignified (for want of a better word) name to use in adulthood if they want to. It's about giving them options.