Birth announcement - full name?

[NC2025]

Facing a bit of a dilemma with how we will announce our new baby when they’re born and wondering if you could help. One of our top names is a shortened version of a longer name (think along the lines of Billy(William) or Tom(Thomas) or Sam(Samantha) etc.

I would rarely if ever use the full name, would it be strange to announce in our text message to friends/family just the shortened version or do you think we should put the long version in brackets? Or perhaps say “to be known as…”

thank you!

Because it gives the child options when they're older and in some cases looks better for some careers.

I'm exactly the same. Why name me a bloody name that you were never going to call me? Annoying, and my name on all my documents is not 'me'.

I'm exactly the same. Why name me a bloody name that you were never going to call me?

Me too!!

I changed it legally when I was old enough

If you are only going to use the short version then just announce that.

My friend had twins and called them (not real names) Tom and Kate. When they were christened the vicar started to say Thomas and Katherine and my friend had to stop him as they are Tom and Kate on their birth certificates and are only known as that.

Yep, that’s exactly what I was going to say. I think ‘to be known as’ is a bit formal for social media/text, personally!

My eldest has an official name that we never use (but I still love it, it's just a very long grown up name) I did announce her name as her proper name but then started referring to her as her nickname, no one calls her by her actual name, including the school. But the difference is I do love her actual name, if you just love the shortened name use just that

DD has a shortened version of a name as her name, (think Dani not Danielle), if you're never going to use it I'd just give him the name you want to BUT I don't half end up shouting "DANIELLE YOUR TEA IS READY, GET OFF ROBLOX NOW!" Up the stairs when she's ignored me for the third time and I feel like she needs "full naming" 🤣🤣🤣

Yeah this is how to do it

We went with "Bob and Louise are pleased to announce the safe arrival of William Louis Smith. Louise and Billy came home from hospital this afternoon"

If you don’t like the long version don’t use it. My eldest has a name that usually shortened but is known by the long version. I like the short versions though.
Daughter is called the shortened version but there’s another one and the same class at school so she’s known by her full name. But we’ve always used the full name just not as much.
Names are very difficult

I'd say something like "Welcoming Samantha Jones to the family, so happy to have Baby Sam with us- she's a keeper"

Hi. Congratulations! I would do this too:

We’d like to introduce you to Theodore (Teddy) Constance Smith who was born on X weighing X blah blah blah. We look forward to you meeting Teddy in the coming weeks.

The last sentence to reinforce what they’re known as every day.

Just read this. Yes, I’d do the same with the reinforcing sentence.

meant to write Theodora hence the girl middle name

No! This is your baby. You don't name them something you don't like because of other people. Goodness me.

My son has a name that can be shortened. H cousin shortened it. I said no, immediately and everyone calls him by his proper name, except at school where there were two and he got the other version. He's 23 now and I expect some of his friends call him the shorter name but he'll always be the full name to me and his siblings.

A friend did this and announced full name but known as short/nickname to friends 😜

I agree with the posters who say if you don’t like the longer name, don’t use it. My ds is called Ben, I absolutely hate the name Benjamin so would never use it but love Ben and he’s happy that his name is just Ben (he’s almost 23).

Don’t use a long name just because you feel you should, you’d hate it if people used the extended name - I hate when people call him
Benjamin because that’s not his name and I don’t like it!

I'd put whatever you want him/her known by. My DD has a name that is the usual shorten version of the longer name - it's her name though on her birth certificate. People do ask if it's short for X, and I just say no it's her name.