To wonder why mumsnetters don't know the difference between diminutives and nick names

[LooseGoose29]

I love the baby name boards but I get so frustrated by people not appearing to know the difference between diminutives and nick names.

You can't plan a nickname - it is something that develops given either by family or friends based on a physical or character feature of a person eg (using examples from my own life) wiggy, knees, ginger- these are often quite mean but meant affectionately as frustrating as it is parents have no control over it. They also can be based on a person's name eg Macca or Giggsy etc.

A diminutive is what most people mean on the baby name board when they say nickname. A shortened form of a longer more formal name used day to day, eg Catherine is known as Kate or Katie for short. These can be planned for and considered by parents choosing a name.

Am I being to get irritated by this? And yes I know it isn't an important problem just a minor irritation.

It follows on naturally from the whole Chester draws way of speaking and writing. There are simply too many people with very poor understanding of English.

I'm with you OP.
What baffles me is when OP states that e.g the child will be named Kathryn, but under no circumstances will be Kate, but will be Trina for short. You have absolutely no control over what people outside of your household call your child, and it's ridiculous to think you do.
Just give the dc a name you like and that won't hinder them in life, not one that only works if people subscribe to your weird formula.

YABU for caring what words other people use. It doesn't matter whether people say diminutive or nickname, you know exactly what they mean! You sound like you're trying to feel superior to others because you know a slightly bigger word. This is the kind of thing that 9 year olds do, and tbh, even 9 year olds need to be told not to be twats sometimes.

@rainbowunicat that is unnecessarily rude. Yes, I do know what people mean. That does not mean the use of the wrong word (yes wrong not different they mean different things) is any less irritating.
I am not trying to be superior, as if I was I would point it out on every thread I see it rather than start a general discussion to gauge opinion.

I once knew a couple who spelled their daughter's name Kristyna, so nobody would call her "Chris" or "Tina"... Not sure how they thought that a weird spelling would stop anyone!

A diminutive is a form of nickname. A nickname is merely an informal name and can be based on the formal name a person is given or on other characteristics. I appreciate the distinction but language is dynamic and usage has eroded the distinct meaning of diminutive. I don’t think it’s any less valid to say that kitty is a nickname for Katherine than to say that it is a nickname for an Elizabeth who looks like a cat.

People have used nickname colloquially to mean diminutive for a long time. Even the word diminutive in the context of names isn't always used with its original intent - as a variant of a name used to indicate smallness or cuteness, rather than a shortening or altering of a given name.

Imo, it's a bit wanky to complain that people use colloquialisms on a chat board. If you can't be casual on Mumsnet, where can you be?

@Reginabambina that is a point of view I hadn't considered.
@IVflytrap I feel that a lot of the time the diminutives are still meant to convey cuteness ie something we call a baby not yet ready for their grown up name.
I take your point re colloquialisms, I am maybe old fashioned in expecting any form of written communication to be more formal

It’s unique instead of unusual that annoys me.

I think YABU - a nickname is any kind of familiar name. It includes names like Ginger etc but also includes diminutives. It just means a name that someone is called that isn't their proper name.

www.dictionary.com/browse/nickname?s=t
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nickname

MN often demonstrates that a little learning is a dangerous thing, to be honest - it's often very "vestibule" around here

To wonder why mumsnetters don't know the difference between diminutives and nick name

No YANBU. You can wonder what you like.

I have probably used both interchangeably - mostly I say nickname I guess. Maybe I'm a bit thick!

Yab-massively-u to start a thread complaining that people don't know the meaning of a word without checking that you're not that one that has it incorrect.

I don’t think people always can plan for diminutive names. My grandma picked my mums name because it couldn’t be shortened. However, people still shortened to it something she hadn’t pictured. Names evolve with time and it might be shortened in a way that people didn’t expect. Katherine being a good example, most people my age are Cat/Kat and this is not something their parents played around with.

There is also some overlap with regards diminutive names and nicknames. My name has many diminutive names, which I go by. However, people don’t usually shorten it to just the initial (J). One of my nicknames from my family is my initials (first and last). However, some names can be shortened to just the initial, for example, Jason shortened to Jay. So for me, it’s a nickname but for a Jason it would be diminutive despite us both being called by initials. It’s just easier to call it a nickname.

Some people with short names already, have their name lengthened, Kim to Kimmy. Whilst you could argue this is diminutive to make it cutesy, it is also lengthening the name so not strictly diminutive. Again, nickname is easier to cover all bases.

You just can’t control it. We have a Thomas that we call Tom. However a few people at school started calling him Tommy and that’s kind of stuck so sometimes I call him Tom, sometimes Tommy and sometimes the Tomster or Tomsteroonie.

However, when he is a high court judge he can stick with Thomas.

Ozgirl that cracked me up. DS was named something that he could be a world renowned surgeon/Nobel prize winner and international cricketer

Diminutives make a word mean something smaller. They don't have to be shorter than the original word.

Oso is bear and osito (-ito) is little bear. Ruadh is red and ruadhan (-an) is little red.

The equivalent in English is -y at the end of words eg dolly, teddy, granny. So, Katy for Catherine or Teddy for Edward are diminutives but Cath or Ed are shortened versions and C-Boss or Rocket are nicknames.

This is my understanding of diminutives. Language, of course, evolves and we all have different interpretations of what we use words to mean.

imo, it's a bit wanky to complain that people use colloquialisms on a chat board. If you can't be casual on Mumsnet, where can you be?

^ this

I can understand minor things like this being irritating (I know I can get very unreasonably irritated by the most innocuous things) but I agree that people have used nicknames to mean diminutives for a long time and are often considered interchangeable.

YABU for caring what words other people use. It doesn't matter whether people say diminutive or nickname, you know exactly what they mean! You sound like you're trying to feel superior to others because you know a slightly bigger word. This is the kind of thing that 9 year olds do, and tbh, even 9 year olds need to be told not to be twats sometimes.

Couldn’t agree more @Rainbowunicat 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@LooseGoose29 You need to get out more.

HTH,

TBH, I think you’ve swallowed a dictionary and you’re now flashing your posh words to us plebs.

You sound like you're trying to feel superior to others because you know a slightly bigger word
Er... they are two entirely different words with different meanings. 'Diminutive' is derived from 'to make something smaller'. In other words, a shortening of your actual name.
'Nickname' means 'also known as'. In other words, a different name you are also known by.
Nobody is trying to make anyone feel either superior or inferior. We can't help it if some people have a larger or smaller vocabulary than others. Superiority doesn't come into it. A dictionary does.

@dustibooks, they are not words with 'entirely different meanings' are they? As proven by the fact that they are regularly used interchangeably on here. They clearly have incredibly similar meanings in the contexts in which they are being used.
Thank you for clearing explaining the definitions for us...though I'm not sure who you thought was having trouble. 🙄