People who shorten your name.

[Tetsuo]

I have a name that wasn't unheard of in the 70s, it wasn't popular but it wasn't a complete rarity.

A shortened version of my name became Very Fucking Popular in the 00's but was used before then.

I have never been known as the shortened version of my name, I do not introduce myself as the shortened version of my name. The only people who have ever presumed to use a shortened version of my name are men both professionally and personally who are introduced to me, and then, for some reason, chose to call me by the shortened version of my name.

I obviously correct anyone who does this.

And I have taken to calling anyone who does by a shortened version of their name. No matter how stupid it sounds.

I was going to finish my post with a; 'But why do they do it?'.

I know why they do it.

They need to stop it though.

It's very annoying.

People have done this with my name all my life and it really irritates me. It's so bloody rude. In my case it tends to be more women than men, and they shorten my name to a male name. I generally correct them the first couple of times and then ignore them if they to me after that until they get my name right.

I don't get it.

'Hi my name is Callum'

'Alright Cal'

'Hi, my name's David'

'Hey Dave'.

I would not do that!

I get the opposite. A common lengthening of my name.
Nothing wrong with the longer name but it’s not my name.

Drives me made. I don't like the shortened version and it's also over familiar.

You can get annoyed about it if you want but I don't think it's a big issue.

Shortening their name when there is no shortened version makes you sound petty.

I don't understand how one could introduce oneself as something and the listener would immediately flip it to summat else that was in some way easier for them.

Madness.

Are you a random shortener?

Eh Dee?

I get this too with my name! Alison. I never introduce myself as anything other than Alison. My childhood friends took it upon themselves to call me Ali, which is fine. I dont mind them doing it. But it's kind of jarring when people at work use it because they aren't my friends and I never gave them permission. It's over-familiar. Even more so when they address me as "Al".

No.

This is, at worst, a minor irritation. Your reaction to it is silly.

Exactly. It's the overfamiliarality that feels not OK.

I never said you could call me that.

My name is Abigail.

I don't mind Ab from family or long-known friends, I don't love it, but I don't mind it too much from people that have known me for 40+ years.

But Abi? No. No-one has ever called me that. I introduce myself as Abigail. Some blokes take it upon themselves to call me Abi.

That's never been my name, I've never introduced myself as that. No-one calls me that. No-one.

It's only men that ever call me Abi.

And every time I say, that's not my name.

My name is Abigail.

Poliety ask them to call you Abigail. If they persist in calling you Abi they are being rude.

But for them to call you Abi in the first instance is a non-issue.

I agree, OP. My name's only six letters and people shorten it anyway! I tell them "I paid good money for this name, kindly say it properly." (Deed poll decades ago.) Just as bad, they don't say the S at the end, and without that it's the male name - it's French.

But Abi isn't her name. Why is it a non-issue for someone to call her a different name? It's actually quite rude. She tells them her name and they think "nah I'm going to call you something else".

Maybe not the worlds biggest issue but as someone else who has had to go though life with people calling them
a name that is not their name but a variation on the version, I can vouch that it is rude and irritating. Petty it may be to do the same back but it makes the point in a way that politely correcting people just doesn’t.

I think it's reasonable to say that Abi is a widely used shortened form of Abigail. They are not suddenly calling her by a different name.

People being this prickly about such minor issues are way more annoying than people who shorten other people's names without asking.

I don't like the phrases 'life's too short' and 'get over yourself' but they really do apply here.

Maybe form a support group?

I much prefer it when people use the short version of my name.

Jeez life really is too short, a name exists to identify you that's it.

I was called the a similar but wrong name completely for years by someone at work. I told them my name again a few times then gave up, they just couldnt grt it in their head. I knew they meant me, others knew they meant me that's good enough.

In not sure which is stranger being bothered or trying to teach them a lesson by calling them a shortened name back. Relax it really doesn't matter, they won't be bothered by your game playing.

This used to happen a lot when I lived nearer London e.g. Kent. Stopped when I moved further away.

Nah, the most annoying people are those that have clearly never had to deal with a particular issue and then tell those that have how they should feel about it.

Yanbu. I can't understand why anyone think it's OK to call you something other than what you introduce yourself as.

"Hi, my name's Abigail"
Hi Abigail, nice to meet you."
Surely. Surely?

And if you're an Abigail who likes to be called Abi, then introduce yourself as Abi. Or "Hi, I'm AbigIl but I prefer to be called Abi."

I don't think it's remotely rude to shorten a name, and just reflects upbringing, cultural norms or may be a sign of affection.

But I do think it's rude if they don't try to stop once they're asked to do so.

Well they are calling me by a different name.

Because my name is not, and has never been, Abi.

It's not my fucking name.

Should I just accept being called by a name that is not mine because;

'It's close enough'.

Let's just throw anagrams of our names at people and be satisfied with whatever mangling comes out.

My name is Abigail.

I like to be called Abigail.

I introduce myself as Abigail.

Because that's my name.

Why would anyone accept a 'close-approximation?'

Hey Bamian

Hey Mimon

Hey Cack

What's that?

Well it's a close approximation of a few bloke's names.

And that's ok.

Apparently.

"Never had to deal with a particular issue'

Enlighten me, what does dealing with it entail?

It's threads like this that keep me coming back to MN when I know full well it's an awful place!