Evangelia - nn help!

It will happen a lot! Our brains tend to fill in what we are used to rather than what is there. It’s like those memes where all the vowels have been removed but you can still follow the meaning of the text.

To add I also really like Angeli.

I don't like Angel at all! Angie is ok but not as nice as Angeli.

@ZoyaTheDestroyer hahaha I must be a bit blind but this what jumped out at me! Evangelia sounds like a made up name. I would still go for Angie.

@Hadtocomment I agree with the substance of your post but your use of ‘shortening’ as a noun is unhelpful. What you describe are diminutives, and as demonstrated by your examples (“Bill for William. Molly and Polly for Mary. Daisy for Margaret!”) whilst all shortenings are diminutives, not all diminutives are shortenings.

A five syllable name is a heck of a lot. It’s pointless giving her the name if you’re going to call her something else. I know you say it’s a tradition and family thing. Personally I wouldn’t bow to family pressure to call my child any name.

People are being too prescriptive on this thread.

OP, you can call her what you wish to.

There is a difference between shortenings and nicknames.

Shortenings are usually shortened versions of longer names. Often in the UK these are things like Tom for Thomas and Eve for Evelyn. Or they can come from different parts of the word. Beth or Liz for Elizabeth. Izzy or Bella for Isobel.

But there are also traditional shortenings that are a bit more wide-ranging and where the letters change. Jack for John for example. Bill for William. Molly and Polly for Mary. Daisy for Margaret! This is mainly because so many people were called John or William, say, in the same family that they needed ways of differentiating. So Molly from Mary and Polly when there are too many Mollies. Or Will from William that changes to Bill.

There is also a common thing of using a second name as the day to day name, also due to perhaps having a parent with the same name or too many people with the same name at that time.

So all these traditions exist and it really creates quite a wide spectrum of people being used to stuff.

Evangelia is actually a great name for options as there are so many sounds in there.

Ev, Evvie and Evie and Eve
Van, Vannie and Vannia
Anne and Annie
Angie and Angeli
Geli and Gia
Ellie and Elia
Lia

But even added to that things like Lila work fine. You just call her that day to day and have Evangelia to be used if she wants for full. I don't think anyone in real life would turn a hair despite what a mumsnet name purist might say! People on here are always suggesting CeCe for Cecily or Cecelia for example. Which aren't the same sounds and always seems like a bit of a jump to me. So it's just down to familiarity isn't it? If you can have CeCe for Cecilia, why not Vivi for Evangelia? No reason at all.

People going on about not be able to control nicknames are being over-controlling if you ask me. Yes a person grows up and calls themselves what they like, but that's fine. Even so, if someone intros themselves as Lila people are very unlikely to suddenly call them Eve, unless the person themselves wants to be called Eve, and if they do, so what, you can't control that anyway. She can call herself anything with her friends as anyone can.

If you call someone William, Will for short, they are unlikely to suddenly be called Liam. They can be if they want but they'd probably have to make an effort to do this. If someone is Liam, they are unlikely to suddenly be Will. If someone is Elizabeth known as Lizzie, they are unlikely to be Beth from their friends unless they want to be. If they are always known as Beth, it's unlikely their friends will suddenly switch to Lizzie, unless the person wants them to. It's different perhaps with shorter names. Stephen goes to Steve and people will naturally say this because it's a short name with no other obvious shortenings. Thomas to Tom. But Evangelia is so long, it has a lot of options.

So I wouldn't worry so much. If you like Lila, go for that.

The shortenings I like best are Lia (because it's beautiful) and Van and Vanna or Vannia (because this sounds different and cool to my ears and would be great for a teen!). Evie and Ellie are very usual at the moment so I might go for something different as they don't sound so exciting to me, and if I had an amazing name like Evangelia I might want a slightly more interesting shortening.

The only thing about Lila as you found out is people pronounce things all sorts of different ways. But as a shortening of Evangelia it seems fine to me. Go with what you love, OP.

But it’s not Evangelina. It’s Evangelia with a hard ‘g’.

As far as I remember in the book Evangelina was referred to as Eva

I would say Angie, I think its cute. Or Eva (pronounced more like I-E-V-A)

Evangelina makes me think of Uncle Tom's Cabin 😳

Can also confirm that my child likes the diminutive I like the least. But it's grown on me as a result. (My Dad also uses it independently of us, so that's upped its cuteness too.)

Just using the letters, you could have Ani, as in Ani Difranco. I like it when I meet someone with a nickname that doesn't have much relation to their given name. It implies a story is there. I don't think names have to have stories, I just like windows into people's lives. I'm nosy. Saying that, you might end up having to explain the name in some circumstances and that could be annoying, but my DC has a nickname that some people don't connect with the given name (despite it being derivative) and don't bother explaining. I've seen loads of creative spellings too, and it's not an unusual nn.

Just to add, on the subject of diminutives and having worked with a lot of teenagers over the years, it is really common for teens to decide that they want to be known as a different diminutive, eg Elizabeth decides she hates Beth and wants to be known as Libby from now on. It is part of finding their own identity as a young adult as they break away from the family unit and start to develop their independence and it's a rather wholesome act of rebellion!

They do seem to have a particular knack for landing on the diminutive that their parents hate, which is why I think you should never use a name where you really hate the most obvious diminutive.

Once again these conversations would be a lot easier if posters could make the distinction between nicknames and diminutives.

However the whole conversation is a sideshow to the ridiculous situation. Children are not stupid and Evangelia is going to realise at a fairly young age that her mother hates her name. OP, people who would bully their own family over the names they give their children are not good humans. This is beyond the scope of the baby names board but I really think you need to access some support to work out why you would rather give your child a name which will remind you of this bullying and abuse for the rest of your (and her) life than choose a name that you actually like for your daughter which gives you, and her, a fighting chance of breaking this toxic cycle.

I think if you choose a nickname you like and she goes into school and says, "I'm Ella" or whichever you choose, then that's what the kids will call her,

They'll only shorten her name if that's what she tells them/you introduce her as. Just always introduce her as the NN and you'll be ok.

I'm sorry you're so pressured by cultural traditions, it is unfair for the family to do that to you but I understand the pressure so am not going to make it any worse for you by saying "just don't do it" 💐

I wouldn’t worry, when she is born you will automatically start using a name that fits her perfectly as you talk to her and care for her. That’s the wonder of nicknames, they appear, no need to plan them or spend time choosing them. She might end up with a nickname that has nothing to do with her name at all. I met a Bud, so named because they appeared on the first day of spring.

“ come on ….., time to change that stinky nappy” “ oh ……. you are a little sleepyhead “ “ sshsshssh …….. mummy’s here.” It will come naturally.

Parents don't chose nicknames. We thought we could with DS. We still call him that name. None of his friends do. None of them.

Lia

I wouldn't mind if Kitty wanted to be Kate, it just hasn't happened. Same with her friends too.

I can't see any issue with using a middle name. Lots of people do it. Including secondary students.

OFC, just putting the disliked family name as the middle name would be even easier, but OP seems to few she's under irresistible duress.

You go lucky though. I've taught so many children who have had contrived nicknames before starting school or made it to 4/5 having never had their name shortened for it to all change once they got to school. Nicknames are often given as a form of affection and as children grow obviously they rpo make decisions on the name they would prefer. If your Kitty wants to be a Kate then there's not much you can do about it.

Anyway all of this is irrelevant because the OP is focusing on resolving a problem she shouldn't be giving in to and should instead just choose a name she likes to begin with.

@JeandeServiette they still have the choice about what to be called. And kids do share their actual names. Plus at secondary school you have no say at all in how your child chooses to be addressed. Why saddle a child with a name you hate?

All school registration forms ask for the "known as" name now.

So it's a piece of cake to have a Mathilde on the school register as "Tilly" and always called that. Or a Winifred Mary, known as "Polly". Easiest thing in the world. The other children will never even hear the official full name during primary school.

Honestly, I'd just give her middle name I loved and have her be known by the middle name day-to-day.

Vanna