to find long names annoying?

[fallingsun]

well not long names per se, just parents who insist their child be called Frederick instead of Fred or Freddie, Alexandra instead of Al or Alex. Fair enough, they get to choose the name, but the indisters of the unabbreviated names always seem very pretentious and their children often precocious 'oh maximillian just got an 'A' in ancient Greek and he's only five, he's very advanced you see'.

Aibu? Disclaimer, this thread is light hearted!

[ZenNudist]

YABU. I think the person who chose the name in the first place is entitled to use the full version.

You tend to pick up on what people want their children to be called. The same way you pick up on when it would be rude to shorten someone's name. It's not difficult. It happens all the time.

[EvilTwins]

DTDs had a friend over at the weekend who told me that she is called Becca. not Becky and not REbecca. She clearly does it a lot, as it was delivered with an air of resignation. I didn't even try to call her anything other than Becca- she was making a preemptive strike. She's 6.

I, OTOH, have had the opposite all my life. I am called the shortened version of my name, not the long one. It's on my birth certificate and everything. I am fed up of explaining to official types that it IS my proper name. Also people think it's amusing to call me the long version, and I'm sure that MIL still thinks I'm making it up after 8 years of marriage.

[GrrrArghZzzzYaayforall8nights]

My DD1 (5) is Alexandra, but responds to her full name, A, Alex, Xandra, and many other things (Tweedle), but she always calls herself Alexandra.

We were once at a friend's birthday party and she introduced herself as Alexandra.

Random adult 1 asked if she could call her Alex which DD1 agreed
Random Adult 2 then says "So, you're Alex?"
DD1 shakes her head "No, I'm Alexandra"

That is how she views herself, and I'm glad she stands up for herself rather than letting people ride over her disrespectfully. My DD2 goes by a nickname of her also 'long' name, that's how she views herself (though ask her name and she'll give you the entire birth certificate, but she says "I'm Mira!" when identifying herself).

I don't see what is pretentious about it, it's just different.

[ratspeaker]

Oh and my DD is known to her friends by a totally different name from the one on her birth certificate, we're trying to get into the habit of calling her it but its hard when you've known someone by one name since birth and they want another...

[OhTheConfusion]

I have a relatively long name and HATE it when people shorten it. My family all call me by my full name (even my mil, though she pronounces it differently to everyone else ).

However it seems to be aquaintances who think its ok to shorten it. A former uni classmate called me by my first initial for four whole years :-(

[BobblyGussets]

My name is Kathryn. Do not ever call me Katie, Kate, Kath or Kathy. Ever.

[ratspeaker]

My DS2 has a name that could be shortened but HE doesn't want that
He did have a family nickname, a corruption of his name as his sister couldn't pronounce the given name but he schucked that off before his teens

[SparkleSoiree]

My first name has 7 letters in it and it irritates the shit out of me when people automatically shorten it even when they first meet me. My name is what it is and if I don't want it shortened then I don't expect people to shorten it of their own accord because they can't be bothered to say it properly. I certainly don't disrespect others by doing that to them. If somebody said to me "My name is such and such but please call me shortened version that's cool but I wouldn't presume to.

I love my name, if others don't and think its pretentious then that's their issue.

[carabos]

I'm a double-barrell. I always introduce myself using my full name (cos that's my name innit?). The response to me saying "hi I'm Sarah-Jane (not) is always, always "hi Sarah, good to meet you" . Very occasionally someone will say "hi Sarah, good to meet you, it's ok to call you Sarah isn't it?" Er no, why would it be, my name isn't Sarah?

I really really don't get it. The name that the person uses for him/herself is the only polite name to use, regardless of what is on their birth certificate or what someone else decides to randomly name them. It's just not that difficult.

[Anonymumous]

My daughter has four syllables in each of her first and second names, and three syllables in her surname. Nine letters, eight letters and eight letters. It is the most fabulous, girlie, wonderful name I have ever heard of and I love it. I am even a bit jealous of her having such a brilliant name.

It is a bit unusual though, and people tend to look bemused and say, "Huh?" when I tell them her name. I am resigned to the fact that people will get fed up with saying it, and will eventually shorten it. With this in mind, we tell everyone else to call her two-syllable-nickname-that-we-like, in the hope that this will stick instead of the more-obvious-but-not-nearly-so-nice-nickname. But we still call her by her full name because it took us months to think of it and DAMN, IT'S GOOD!!!

[Cathycomehome]

It's fun sometimes to shout, "It's me, it's Cathy!" at my parents' window every cloud

[Cathycomehome]

My name has been shortened since birth, and if someone calls me Catherine, I assume I'm in trouble! Weirdly though, Cath is only for friends! My mother and father couldn't agree on my name, but both liked Wuthering Heights. So great. I get the name of a really tragic character!

[goldenlula]

Part of my thinking with ds2's name is that if everyone calls him by the shorter version it would be harder for him to use his longer name should he prefer to when he is older, so taking that choice away. My dad is known by the shortened version of his name by his friends and my mum's side of the family, his family call him by the long version, it makes no difference to him. My mum has always known by the shortened version of her name, my nan (her mil) told her that had she known when she met that her shortened name was not her 'real' name she would have used the longer version.

[TruthSweet]

DD2 has an unusual 7 letter name with a more known nickname. Our families have mainly called her by her nickname but always used the long form in writing/forms. She answered to either.

When she started school though she decided to be called long name and we now get a look if we call her by the nickname.

So it's not the adult that's being pretentious, it's the child

[BartletForTeamGB]

I make sure that DS is called by the long version of his name because I want him to have the choice when he is older of being LongName or ShortName. If we 'let' people call him only by his short name, then it might be difficult for him to ever use the long name.

[Startail]

I much prefer the short form of my name, I was only "Startail" in full if I'd been naughty

DDs friend is driven nuts by people spelling her name Isabelle, just because all the reception age Izzy's are spelt that way doesn't mean she needs the continental "le" stuck on the end.

[DoingTheBestICan]

Wow,I had best tell my ds we are from now on going to call him by his shortened version of his name because a random stranger on the Internet doesn't like the fact he likes being called by his NAME.

Op,fuck off.

[Mrsjay]

good*

[Justforlaughs]

I'd also like to add that my Mil drives me nuts by always calling me by my given name despite frequent requests not to, can work both ways.(desperately trying to think of new ways to annoy Mil )

[Mrsjay]

It's the double names I don't like!

Im not keen either the new double barrels are such a mouthful and dont seem to go not like a god old fashioned sarah- jane like they had when i was younger

[Viviennemary]

I don't mind long names. It's the double names I don't like!

[Mrsjay]

Toria I am assuming that is the abbreviation of your name it is nice

[Mrsjay]

OP maybe you dont like Frederick or his mum there is about 5 versions of my shortened name somebody actually calls me JAY because they cant be arsed to say the whole thing sigh I do have 10 letters in my name so i can see why people want to shorten it but if a parent doesn't want to shorten the name then why should it worry you. I am sure fred can call himself fred if he wanted too

[Justforlaughs]

I hate the longer version of my name (and also one of the common abbreviations), as for my children, I call all of them by their given name and while I have no problem with shortening them if it what my child wants I do have a problem with teachers just assuming that we shorten them. My DS3 really dislikes having his name shortened but he's starting to give up now.I think it can be a bit pretentious of parets as you say, but it's also only polite to ask someone what their name is and use it as it is given.

[ToriaPumpkin]

I hated having my name shortened so much that I found an alternative shortening and made people use it. Strangely now I tend to get my full name as people get confused by the shortening!