Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

if your child was called say, jacob, and your mother kept calling him jake, would it piss you off

151 replies

headisreallyaching · 28/08/2014 21:52

?

OP posts:
AllMimsyWereTheBorogoves · 28/08/2014 22:24

Goodness me. I have a name which is frequently shortened. I hate all short forms of it. As a girl I refused to answer to any and as an adult I have no problem with this any more. However, the one big exception is that my dad often called me by a nonsensical shortening of it and I love that.

My son has a name which is also very often shortened. We always call him by the full version but when he was about 6 or 7 suddenly all his friends, and then his teachers, and then his sister, and then his grandparents were all calling him by a short form of his name - at his request. The only people left in all the world now who call him by his full name are his dad and me.

I really can't get worked up about this at all. It's done affectionately. In due course your son will make it plain what he thinks about what he wants to be called. It's his name and his call.

Only1scoop · 28/08/2014 22:24

Not at all ....I shorten names all the time. Always find folk who don't a little but strange Blush

MaryWestmacott · 28/08/2014 22:26

Treaclesoda - sounds like you knew a lot of people like my MIL!

Her DS is pushing 40 now, it's on his business cards, but she's still fighting for the long version...

aubreye · 28/08/2014 22:26

My DS is called I by my PILs and my mother. It's quite cute.

My mother also calls my DD Deli as a pet name. It's cute.

MrsCurrent · 28/08/2014 22:27

Nope, it annoys me the other way round. DS has a name which historically would've been more formal, we don't like it so his name is the 'shortened version' but SIL insists on being 'smart' and saying the other name in a silly voice which bothers DS as he doesn't understand why she is calling him a name that isn't his. By contrast DH has a longer name that as a child he stomped his feet proclaiming 'My name is not Billy, it's William' (name is changed but you get the gist.)

treaclesoda · 28/08/2014 22:28

Why is not shortening names strange? Confused

I'd never shorten someone's name unless they did it first and said 'people call me Jenny' or something along those lines. My husband has a name that is commonly shortened (not round where we live though! ) and I've never called him by it in the 20 years I've known him, it would just be too weird for me. Have also never called any of my siblings by shortened names, or any of my friends. I don't think they would like it much if I did tbh.

Bluebird79 · 28/08/2014 22:29

No...I have a Jacob and once in school all his good friends called him 'Jay' which I used to hate, but now accept and think..so what??

treaclesoda · 28/08/2014 22:30

To clarify, I don't actually mind shortening of names, but I would only do it if invited to do so.

Only1scoop · 28/08/2014 22:32

It's not ....I just personally find it 'strange' as I love a good shortie name...Confused

Only1scoop · 28/08/2014 22:33

That's it Treacs....Wink

Lifesalemon · 28/08/2014 22:34

My daughter is called by two different shortened versions of her full name by everyone although teachers etc have always asked our preference first.
I tend to only use her full name if I'm annoyed with her so if anyone else uses it she automatically presumes she's in trouble, bless her.

ItsFunnierInEnochian · 28/08/2014 22:37

Yes it would piss me off. Big time.

I have a name that can be shortened. Everyone new seems to think that everyone with my name uses the short one. I told you my name when we were introduced. Happened all through childhood teen years etc.Angry

When I had DD2, "so what are we calling her then?" Eh? Her name. Thats on her birth certificate. DD1s name has no shortened version.

treaclesoda · 28/08/2014 22:37

only1 (see what I did there? Grin) I think I'm from a slightly uptight background (not just family, but whole surroundings! ) and maybe that's it! I did used to think it wouod be lovely if someone had a wee pet name for me but no one has ever shortened it. And in turn I have never shortened anyone else's.

ItsFunnierInEnochian · 28/08/2014 22:37

I would also correct people each time they say the short version instead of their actual name.

Hakluyt · 28/08/2014 22:44

"I would also correct people each time they say the short version instead of their actual name".

Such a waste of time and effort. Tedious.

theoldtrout01876 · 28/08/2014 22:45

I have an Anthony,I have NEVER shortened it to Tony I have corrected EVERYONE and ANYONE who called him Tony

I am now one of only 3 humans on earth who call him Anthony ( the others being Dh and my mother )

I do often call him Nobby though :o .Was cute when he was young but now as a 6'4" tattooed,bearded adult its just funny,my revenge for the Tony thing :o

madeofkent · 28/08/2014 22:47

My mother chose names for us that she liked, but that she thought could not be shortened in any way, so was infuriated when she discovered that people (twee people, as she always referred to them in her rage) actually lengthened them, so that Jane became Janie, for example. When one of my sisters started school at 5, and I was 6, I was hauled into her classroom to deal with her on behalf of her teacher. She had called my sister a lengthened version, and she refused to answer. For the rest of the day she refused to speak to her at all. The poor woman's name was Mrs. Pegg, and for the rest of the year my stubborn little vengeful sister called her Mrs. Peggy.

My son is Robert. Older relatives on DBH's side have tried to call him Bert or Bertie, he is always Robert to us and I would have been as livid as the OP if they had kept it up. My SF tried Bob a couple of times and was glared at by DS, but now he is older his friends all call him Rob, and he is happy with that. I found that if someone doesn't like what they are being called, they will soon sort it out for themselves.

ColdCottage · 28/08/2014 22:47

I think family and your friends should call them by the name you give them.

If their friends call them something else you just have to live with it.

Some of my family and friends shorten DS's name and I just say thee above to them in a nice way. Everyone is always fine with it.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 28/08/2014 22:48

No, when we picked names for our DCs one of our criteria was that we were happy with any of the normal shortenings.

psychomum5 · 28/08/2014 22:50

My son IS called Jacob. My Aunt can;t say it apparently, calls him Jake.

Jacob tried correcting her once (he also hates it....he is called JACOB!)....she called him JacuM

We now accept the Jake, but I seethe each time and he really loathes it.

Mind you, my entire family can;t say my real name, call me a short version (which I also loathe), and once had the audacity to say 'who?' when I said my real name on the phone.... Hmm.

Soooo....OP, you are really really really not being unreasonable to be pissed off!

nemno · 28/08/2014 22:50

I let my mother call my DC whatever she wanted. She had a relationship with them that I didn't interfere with. I had no reason to suspect that anything my mother did with my DC was influenced by anything other than love. I know I was lucky.

Clawdy · 28/08/2014 22:50

When he is in his teens all his friends will shorten it - my friend always insisted her Thomas was never to be called Tom. She was still calling him Thomas when he went to secondary school,where he quickly became Toz. Think she wished she had allowed him to be Tom....

treaclesoda · 28/08/2014 22:53

You don't know for sure that when he is a teenager everyone will shorten his name. There were about 150 people in my year at school and only a handful of them were known by shortened names.

CustardFromATin · 28/08/2014 22:55

Depends on the age. If he's a newborn then to me it is a bit rude as it generally implies that they don't really like your name choice (my dad insisted on calling ds1 by his initials as a 'fun nickname' and we were Hmm). But if old enough to say whether or not he approves, then I'd leave them to it.

squoosh · 28/08/2014 22:57

YABU

Unless the owner of the name (your son in this case) objects well then it doesn't really have anything to do with you. You chose his name but you don't get to control how other people refer to him, unless they're being derogatory of course.

Lots of grandparents have pet names for their grandchildren. It's sweet.

Swipe left for the next trending thread