To expect people to use the nickname I chose?

[ReiofHope]

I’m 35 weeks pregnant and I’m having a little boy. Since I was a child I’ve loved the name Alexander James using AJ as a nickname. (I’ll admit it started as I loved the Backstreet Boys)
Now 20 on this generation of babies has a James and at least one other child with James as a middle name. So I changed the middle name for my son to jason but still want to call my baby AJ.
Over the last few weeks everyone from my step mum to the children on my partners side have been referring to him as Alex no matter how many times I correct them.

It’s not as if they’ve ever refused to use nicknames before we have an Ollie (oliver) harry (Harrison) Albie (Albert) and Mila (Emelia) so why is it that they’re refusing to use my chosen nickname?

Am I just being an unreasonable bitch to expect people to use a specific short form?

Zander is quite popular where I am.

I wouldn’t go for Zander or Xander over Alexander tbh . Alexander is a much better name .

Avegemitesandwich
I agree.
There's liking the name Daniel and calling them Dan day to day.

There's deciding you want to call you child Yelli, finding a name that fits around the nickname you want, putting Daniel on the birth certificate and then being irritated when anyone calls them Dan or Danny.

I decided in late pregnancy that I was going to have an Aurora with the nickname Rory. I still like both names, but am grateful to DH for saying no and saving us all from that contortion.

My ds has about four different shortenings that different people use, didn't occur to me to ask people to use a particular one!

If you want to call him AJ just keep calling him that, doesn't really matter what other people call him. My dd has three different nicknames and responds to all/any of them very happily.

Alexander Joseph Pritchard on Strictly is only ever known as AJ. I can't say I've noticed anyone having a problem with him or saying it's not a name etc

It does sound incredibly wanky though. Like he’s a teenager wanting to be like the cool big boys.

OP it sounds like you don’t like the name Alexander all that much. Are you just using it as it works as an abbreviation with your dads name? If you are, you might need to rethink it otherwise you might find you have a son called Alex, when you don’t like the name at all.

I sympathised witth you until you said Charlie wasn't a proper name Small minded nonsense.

Maybe they hate using the initials, and want to use a proper name. It's probably something you will get all along - if his name is Alexander then that's what some people will call him! I have to be totally honest, I hate these initial type nicknames, sounds really dated and a little bit chavvy, sorry - maybe other people feel the same.

When we named our boys we made sure we liked both the full and all possible short variations of it - as people will use lots of different ones and eventually he will choose one to stick with - make sure it's something you like!

I suspect if you call him AJ he'll abandon it as a teenager anyway. It's dated now, it'll be prehistoric by then.

Would you be offended if they calked him Alexander? Without shortening it at all.

AJ sounds like a backstreet boy as you say, not like a baby.

The only AJs I've known in real life have been boys and men with Indian heritage who've actually been called Ajay and accepted or adopted AJ as an anglicised nickname.

But why would they call him Alexander if you tell them he's going to be known as AJ? I find the insistence of some people on Mumsnet that if you put a name on the birth certificate everyone will call him that and no one will listen to you when they tell you what you are calling him absolutely baffling. Why would people be so rude? "This is AJ - we've put Alexander Jason on his birth certificate, but he's going to be known as AJ".

I know a JP - his full name is Joseph Patrick, but he's always been called JP. No one tries to call him Joseph or Joe or Joey. I know a Nell. She's Eleanor on her birth certificate, but no one has ever called her Eleanor. I know lots of Neds - no one ever calls them Edward, even if that is the name on their birth certificate, or any other diminutive of Edward like Eddie or Ted or Woody. My own children have diminutive names and no one has ever tried to call them anything else.

@AiryFairyUnicornRainbow

Do pple really call their kids, Jason?

A very funny funny funny comment!!

Ontopofthesunset apart from anything the baby isn't even born. If a baby or child or adult was introduced as AJ people would call him that. However the OP has told people she intends to use AJ as a nickname for Alexander Jason.

I assume all the John Pauls known as JP arrive at JP organically during childhood and then introduce themselves as JP.

I suppose the op would have done better to say the baby will be called AJ, and not even reveal that he was actually called Alexander unless asked whether AJ was short for anything. Though that might have left people assuming and writing Ajay instead of AJ.

Call him AJ then

The JP we know was called JP by his parents from birth. It didn't arrive organically. Why shouldn't you tell people that he'll be known as AJ but you're going to use the full name Alexander Jason on the birth certificate? Surely people can respect what you tell them.

Jason is a very old name. Not sure what's wrong with it. Much better than 'AJ'. Or you could just name the baby what you want it to be called rather than some silly nickname business.

Oh Lord, just name your baby what you are going to call him. Then that's what people call him. If you name him Alexander then you can't complain when people call him that. Or even Alex as that's the known nickname. This drives me mad in Mumsnet all the time. I want to call my baby X but Y as a nickname.

Sorry I wouldn’t call him AJ either - too American. I would call him Alex or use his full name, sorry OP. My grandfather was an Alexander too. If you really want the name, and people to call him that, maybe name him AJ.

Some of the issue might be telling people you are honouring Buffy's sidekick and a shit 90s band with the nicknames.

Call him Ajax after the cleaning product Greek hero. Close enough and an actual name. Which is much more likely to be shortened to AJ.

Our son is called by his first name, in full (no diminutives), by relatives and school.

To us (his parents), he was, is and always will be "Eggy"

Aww bless Eggy Aj off strictly was referred as Alex on celeb hunted last week maybe he is growing out of the AJ.

Why are people chiming in with ‘Whay about Xander?’ - and then worse, ‘Xander is popular where I live’ and ‘You could use Zander instead of Xander’. The OP is trying to stop people using Alex instead of AJ - a third variant is the last thing she needs.

Parents do tell people what nickname they want to be used - look at Prince Harry who is officially Henry, even if he does get called Haz at times. Alexander has umpteen shortforms - I even know a doctor known as Ecky unofficially 😁.

My name is a shortening of my original first name which I grew to loathe after constant mangling by friends of my parents. The first three letters of it are also my initials which has ended up as my nickname. It's not an obviously naff initials name like AJ but sounds like yet another name. I actually go by it at work as there is another of the same name in our small team but obviously my real name is in my email address, signature block and HR file. My parents didn't really have a choice in the matter once I could make my opinion known.

@MrsTerryPratchett I’m not honouring Buffy or a backstreet boy. I first heard the name Alexander James from the backstreet boys when I was about 10 and it’s been my favourite boys name ever since. Just like Eliza is my favourite name from Pride and Prejudice which I’ve not doubt you’d look on more favourably with your references to Greek myth.
I gave the background to how I came to the name to show that it’s a name I’ve liked most of my life. The James to Jason came in more recent years due to the frequency of James used in my family.