to hate this current fad for "nicknames" that bear no relation to the given name?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Why not call them the nickname, FFS?

"We've called our daughter Annabelle but she'll be known as Elena."

Why? Why not just call her Elena - perfectly good name, IMO, from the off. Or Elena Annabelle, which goes.

My grandmother's brother was just setting off to the first world war when she was born, so they let him christen the baby. He gave her two shockingly bad names (after his two girlfriends apparently ) and on the way home from the church my greatgranparents looked down at her and unanimously decided on a completely random name by which she was known ever after.

Most of these examples though are nns that have evolved naturally. The OP is about parents announcing when the baby is born that they will be known as, which is a completely different thing.

If (as the OP) you are planning that your DD will be called Elena then why not name her Elena and not Annabelle?

The only justification I can see is that if you don't like the obvious shortening you force your own version.

i dont know how we started calling dd3 Nina instead of Serena (her given name), but even school have started calling her Nina now.

it suits her.

She used to go to the nursery where my dsis worked, and dsis called her Nina one day in front of the other children and staff, who said 'her names Serena!' dsis 'no, she is Nina'

There is a possible connection between Annabelle and Elena, though

Anabelle -> Elle -> Elena

Sometimes it's a compromise situation between parents who could not agree on the name, so one gets the legal name and one the nickname.

DS is Benjamin. I call him Bob. But only I do, only at home and it has evolved :)

"DS is Benjamin. I call him Bob. But only I do, only at home and it has evolved :)"

My DS is Benjamin too but at home he is Boris

My DS's bear is called Boris :) A most important member of our family :)

Richard = Dick ???

It's a nightmare researching family trees with all this! I had a great uncle Pat but he was actually George and a great aunt Nance who was actually Doris.

It's not so bad when it's obviously a nickname - Great Aunt Basoko is obviously not going to appear on a birth certificate! No one knows how she got Basoko from Teresa. Having said that, I sometimes call DD Flossie, which bears no relation to her real name at all!!

I have 3 names and it was a 'tradition' (which started with my dad ) to be called by your last Christian name. So my brother and I endured years of being called the wrong name when we changed school/visited the doctor/dentist etc. He did the same to his eldest and then SIL put her foot down for their DS2! I gave all 3 DCs 3 names but we use their first one.

However, I hated the name I used so now use my 'middle' name!! There is no law that says you have to use your first name.

My grandmother was called Jean but her real name was Mary. Why? I think it may have been due to when she worked... there may have been another Mary on the same shift at the factory, so she got called something different and it stuck.

Is a pain when researching family trees, though sometimes people had the same real first name as their mother or father, so must have got confusing calling two people in the same household the same name... thus why a nickname was used.

Well if it´s to differentiate between people with the same name, then I agree it´s not a fad.

What about Prince Henry-known as Harry?

[mouse]

[deer]

[dog]

[pigeon]

[bloody seagull]

[flea]

[wombat]

[eskimo]

My dad and his siblings were known as Dickie, Bill and Polly by their parents. Their actual names bear no resemblance to these!

My brothers given name is John but he's known as Bert! By everyone. Even at school he was Bert. But that "arose" iyswim.

So no...yanbu.. find what you describe irritating too.

I wonder if Maddonna called Lourdes that KNOWING she wanted Lola all along.

I must be related to somebody on this thread. Her relatives are my relatives exactly. Down to nicknames and everything.

Spooky.

Showaddy, does your RL surname begin with B?