To think that deciding on a shortening/nickname for a DC's name is actually quite common?

[Thurlow]

Apologies, this is half a thread about a thread. Or lots of threads.

I feel like I read loads on times on Baby Names comments that 'nicknames develop over time', or how you shouldn't start with a shortened version and work out to a longer name.

Obviously this applies when your child is still known as Moo because she made a noise like a cow when she was a baby... But not when you're thinking that you want to call your daughter Katie, and then work out to decide of they should be a Katherine, Kathryn etc.

Is it just me, or is it actually quite common in RL to decide at the start that you want a Benjamin nn Ben, William nn Billy, Elizabeth nn Libby etc?

(I should qualify that this isn't exactly bothering me. I'm slightly bored this afternoon...)

[fuzzpig]

Thanks thurlow, I was worried it was one of those names where people would scoff and say pffft that's not a proper name it's a nickname! (Like the poster above who got flamed for calling DD Kate)

[HavanaSlife]

I know a Theo I think it's lovely, but then I can't see the problem with just Kate

[squoosh]

I love Theo, such a cool name.

But Theodore.......I just couldn't do that to a person.

[TierAufTier]

Back on the list it goes then! :o (for a future baby that may not even exist...)

[5madthings]

Ds1 is Theodore, he goes by Theo but is still called Theodore as well by us ssometimes and the odd teacher, he is happy with eeither.

We called him Theodorable when he was little but he doesn't like that now :( oh and we called him 'the O man' and used to sing a song Theo theeooo I want a Theo and I want one now... The trio advert changed.

At school he also gets called Jesus as he has really long hair and it's a sort of jokey nickname that has stuck amongst his friends/peer group :)

Oddly my mil didn't like his name when we chose it as she Saud it was too posh! He has two middle names and a double barrel surname so it's very long for forms. He is 14 and likes his name and has always been the only one at school but it has gone through a resurgence and got more popular.

We love it and we agreed on it, dp had wanted to call him Felix, but I can't get over the cat food association.

[5madthings]

Just remembered he also had the nickname buzzodore, which we still call him occasionally :)

Anyway I dont care what people do re names and shortening ans nicknames, or what they put on the birth certificate!

I do think a nickname is a organic thing that happens naturally and they can be really random. So Theo is not ds1's nickname it's just a shortening of his name whereas buzzodore or the o man are nicknames iyswim?

[specialmagiclady]

I knew that I would call DS by his nickname - Jonathan Joseph/Johnny-Joe type arrangement. He is known universally as "Johnny" but you can tell who has know him since he was a baby as they still call him "Johnny-joe"

[TierAufTier]

Theodorable! That is gorgeous :o

Strangely enough our (completely hypothetical) DC will also have two middle names and a double barrelled surname!

[shockinglybadteacher]

5madthings, Felix is "lucky" in Latin, IIRC :) I personally would have thought of Felix Dzerzhinsky, rather than cartoon cat, but I am an old leftie. Theo is a lovely name!

[2rebecca]

I'm in the put a "proper" name on the birth certificate and then shorten it if you wish camp. I think it gives your child more options and is less chavvy.
As a child I thought Dave was a cool name and my dolls' boyfriends were all called Dave and i didn't understand why anyone would want to call a child David rather than Dave. Dave on a CV just doesn't look right, and I now prefer the more formal and traditional David.
It isn't about what parents want to call ther child. Give them more options and go for the longer more formal and elegant name.

[dancinggerald]

Theo is fine as a standalone name.

But then (I'm going to name change after this) - I was one of six Kates in my year at school. I was the only one with the full name Katharine. In fact, a teacher accused me of lying when I said my full name was Katharine. Banks refused cheques made payable to Kate XXX, I ended up with Kate on one set of exam certificates and Katharine on another because the school couldn't cope with it. It was ridiculously confusing asnd nobody knew the two names were in any way related. I grew up in Wales though, perhaps it's more commonly known in England. Anyway, I changed it by deed poll in the end.

[shockinglybadteacher]

dancing gerald I have a mate who changed his name by deed poll in very similar circs too!

My name is actually a bit unusual and can't really be shortened. I have had nicknames but none of them are related to my first name. My second name is very boring and normal, so people comment on the difference :D

[Zara8]

I chose a classic/popular name for DS because I liked the shortened version (it's what he's been called since birth), but longer version is on his birth certificate. Think eg Will everyday, William on birth cert

I did this mainly because it means he can choose whatever variation/shortening of his name he prefers when he grows up - ie options.

I also did it because, as someone with the shortened version of a popular name (ie it's what's on my birth certificate - think eg Meg)- I have been asked my WHOLE BLOODY LIFE if my full name is eg Megan. And it's quite annoying, I wish my parents had given me the option of the full name!

[Wafflenose]

Thanks to all the people who were supportive about the name Kate! She absolutely LOVES her name, as do we, which is all that matters really.

The flaming (and it was years ago now) was over the whole 'put the full name on the BC/' and 'give her options' thing... as well as a disgruntled adult Kate adding her 2p and moaning about how much she wished she had been called Katherine or similar.

We do occasionally call our Kate something else... Kajagoogoo in fact! Her sister calls her Cake.

Our other DD has a well known (but not over-used) name beginning with L, and she gets called Freckles, Short Stuff, Little One, Blondie... and Lollipop by Kate! So both have nicknames we couldn't have predicted.

[Writerwannabe83]

I love the name Kate

It would have been on our shortlist for a DD but because my surname is only 1 syllable I thought it would've sounded like too short a name - silly, I know. My friends middle name is Kate and I was always a bit jealous as it's so much prettier than any of my names

We had a DS anyway

[2rebecca]

I like Kate, but to me it's not a name but a nickname, much like Dave. I'd go for Katherine, Katerina or Kaitlyn on the birth certificate. It's just more flexible that way.

[squoosh]

Kaitlyn?

Ick.

[2rebecca]

Caitlin?

[squoosh]

Much nicer!

[PhaedraIsMyName]

Kaitlyn is ghastly and made up (yes I know all names are made up but you know what I mean)

[PhaedraIsMyName]

Isn't Caitlin correctly pronounced "Catlin" or Catleen or being a variation of Kathleen so you wouldn't get "Kate" from it.

[lecherrs]

I'm in the short / longer names camp.

"I do think people can be a bit weird with the 'I want to call him xxxxxxx day to day so what should his proper name be?'. Just call them the name you want to call them." - See the priority here is choosing something that you like.

However, my priority was giving my daughter a name she liked. So both my daughters have names that have 5/6 different variations that they can use as they see fit.

Interestingly, with both my DDs they started off with one shortened version of the name, and are now known by different shortened versions of that name - names that they have chosen themselves. However, DD2 has said that the shortened version of her name (mentioned lots of times on this thread) she uses is babyish and when she goes to secondary school, she wants to revert to her full name. Sometimes, she chooses to introduce herself to new people by her full name. I suspect her shortened name is on its way out.

I have a name that I hate, and so I use a shortened version that I like. I'm very grateful for the fact that my mother gave me options, and I am able to ditch my very 1970s name for something a bit nicer. My friend doesn't like her name, but it's one that cannot be shortened, so she's stuck with it Of course she could change it by deed poll, but that's quite a hassle and she'd have to choose something quite different, and she doesn't know what she'd change it to, as she's always been called X, so she just puts up with it. I think its a shame to have to put up with your name.

[lecherrs]

Interestingly, her mum deliberately chose her name because it could not be shortened. Its just a shame that friend does not share the same tastes as her mum, as she has got no real options, and a name she doesn't like.

[squoosh]

'I do think people can be a bit weird with the 'I want to call him xxxxxxx day to day so what should his proper name be?'. Just call them the name you want to call them." - See the priority here is choosing something that you like.'

However, my priority was giving my daughter a name she liked.'



Well aren't you just wonderful!

How can you possibly know whether your child will like their name or not. Surely this thread proves that some people given long names hated them and some given 'nicknames' hated them.

It's hit and miss as to whether the recipient will like their name.

[HavanaSlife]

Mine can't be shortened, deciding to go from one name to another seems really odd to me