Is a Ruby likely to be called Rube or Rubes?

Yes it will get shortened. If you don't like it don't use it

I would say don't answer these threads with snark about other people's choices. Walk on by. I managed to resist being a cow about other names mentioned here which I personally hate.

But that's me.

Our Ruby is often called Rubes. My dad used to call her Helena Rubinstein 😆

And Keira is very gorgeous too. It's not even nice.

I don't know what she's on about unless they all had their babies under the age of consent, even then it's a push!! All the people I know with those names are in their 60's but with a dribble of slightly adapted names following. 🙄🙄. as the thread is going her opinions/thoughts are getting more & more bizarre.

I think Ruby is, by far, the nicest of her short list. I don't even like the others, but whatever she calls the baby there are going to be (for her) issues with what school friends call her.

Yes, please tell all us Ruby mums how shit the name we picked is

Isn't that the point of name forums? People offer their opinions.

Don't click on these threads if you can't bear that others' tastes differ to yours.

Ruby is a bit of a washerwoman from a Dickens novel character to me.

Yes, please tell all us Ruby mums how shit the name we picked is...🙌

My teenager has a mate called Ruby who they all call Booby or Boobs. Big comp school in the SE.

But teenage nicknames are not designed to be nice or pretty or cute and parents have no say in them. The main thing is that they’re funny or an in-joke relating to a personal attribute. That’s just how they are. Hopefully the person concerned - Boobs in this case - can cast it off by Uni 😉

Personally I’d go for something more classic and powerful. Ruby is a bit of a washerwoman from a Dickens novel character to me.

Rosalind is stunning. And Keira is very gorgeous too.

Sorry posted to soo!
I had no idea what the "unfortunate word" could be until I read through all the thread! Nobody is going to think if the word pubes from the nn name rubes at all!

Gosh I had no clue what the "unfortunate"

The two Ruby’s I know are often known as Rubes.

But nobody really cares about it sounding like pubes, it’s not really funny or entertaining at all. I think it’s probably not the name for you if it really bothers you, though.

My Ruby, when aged 5, announced out of the blue that she was sick and tired of being famous... I queried this, gently explaining that she wasn't famous. She insisted she was and that "Ruby Ruby Ruby" was about her and she was fed up hearing the song all the time.

Years later, I worked with Ricky Wilson and he signed their new album with the words "to Ruby, the song really is about you" She now has that framed on her wall!

Of the three Rubys that I've ever known, two of them got Rubes all the time, nobody called her Ruby except formally.
The third Ruby for some reason, was nicknamed Red (ruby red) just to be different I suppose.

You're over thinking it, Rubes is a common shortening of Ruby, our old dog had the name and a lot of people used it as an affectionate shortening.
You could say Rubes rhymes with pubes and Roo rhymes with poo, both silly and nobody will be making that link.

A lot of names rhyme with words

Shortenings really aren’t automatic. I’m a Julia and have never been shortened to anything, even Jules - I actually wouldn’t have especially objected to it, it just never happened. My son has a 3 syllable name with a popular shortening too - and at the moment he insists on the full version. I suspect it’s 4 plus syllable names where it gets trickier, as they are more of a mouthful to say.

What I do agree with, is not to go with a name that you really can’t stand the potential shortening of. It took me a while to find one for DS that I didn’t hate the potential nn’s/shortening of, and I think you should skip Ruby if overhearing her ever called “Rubes” by her friends when older might bug you (I think it will only be occasionally you’ll hear it, if it happens, but from this thread it seems the potential is obviously there).

ETA: Actually gorgeous Rosalind was taken off my girls list (before I knew I was having a DS) for the same reason -as both the Rosalind’s I know get shortened to Roz, which I don’t like. Same thing happened with loads of names on my boys list - the seeming British obsession with shortening names or giving nicknames means finding names where you can tolerate ALL the versions of a full name tough😩 Good luck OP!

But no one here is called Marie, Helen or Karen either, those are names from my granny's generation and my granny passed years ago.

How old are you, op ?

Thing is Rubes doesn’t rhyme with pubes, they just look similar written down. Rubes is roobs (so can see people say it rhymes with boobs), pubes is p-you-bes. Most teenagers I know would write is Roobz in any case.

But if it will forever worry/bother you I’d pick a different name.

There are a LOT of Karen's/Carols in their 60s, Caz isn't as common now but they definitely aren't all dead.

Every name gets shortened by somebody. Even if it's just other kids at school. You are picking between Roz, Kiki (I've only known two, but it was both of them), Roo/Rubes and Anna! Even if you already pick and use an alternative nn.

The little girl next door has a good friend called Ruby. She's often called Roo (or Ru)!

The Ruby in our family is either called Ruby or Bee. I’ve never heard anyone calling her Rubes.

You mean pubes, right, @suzettenoisette? You can say it, you know.

I honestly don’t think many people associate the casual nn Rubes with pubes. It’s an extremely common shortening among the local population of girls called Ruby (my dd knows at least three in secondary school). Nobody is mocking or evoking pubes when they say it. It’s kind of a ridiculous stretch.

It could have been an issue at age six or so when some children find words like ‘bum’ hilarious. But back then the girls were not yet being called Rubes, because they hadn’t reached the stage of being given affectionate short names by their friends.

Editing to agree that, as pps have said, it’s not a name the girls go round introducing themselves as. It’s conversational but it’s not like they’re known primarily as Rubes.

A Ruby I went to school with was always called Tuesday.

How old are you for Helen Marie and Karen to be your dead granny names? They are names of the 70s and 80s

the thing is you clearly associate it with pubes, a word that causes you so many issues you can’t even write it.

and if it does bother you that much you can’t use the name - nicknames either come from family (you can control) the child (less so) or friends (and by teenage years not at all - the number who have odd nicknames or who change their name is high)

so either you accept it as a nickname potential from friends or don’t use

Gosh I’m 30 and am friends with a Marie and a Karen (she is Kaz to me). My friend’s daughter is Helen.
We are in Scotland so perhaps explains the difference.

Me too! (Also known by one of the nicknames). I’m in my 30s and wasn’t even the only one in my year group at school!

edited to add, I know two Rubys. One introduced herself to me as Rubes, the other is known as Scooby, which evolved from Ruby Dooby Doo. They both sign their names this way in cards etc.