Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

In expecting the teacher NOT to shorten my sons name?

74 replies

Deemented · 09/01/2009 14:34

Gahhhhh!!!!

In the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the world, but it's driving me up the wall!!!

His name is Brennan. Not Bren and most certainly not fucking Brennie!!!

I am possibly being fucking precious, but if i'd wanted him to be called Bren i would have put it on his birth certificate

I did ask before crimbo - very politely, i may add - for them not to shorten his name, but ealier we were a little late going in and had to knock, and when the TA opened the door she said.. 'Alright, Brennie?'

OP posts:

MarlaSinger · 09/01/2009 15:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cory · 09/01/2009 15:09

I would only complain if it is upsetting your ds. And don't give him signals that you think he ought to mind. Just if you find that he does. Then speak to the teacher.

If not, leave it. It is a bad habit to try to manage everything that happens at school. Save your energy (and his teachers' time) for the big battles.

2shoes · 09/01/2009 15:09

yanbu
dd has a tiny name , yet the school always shorten it!!
I use to ad the missing letter, but have now given up.

Sycamoretree · 09/01/2009 15:11

You may not be unreasonable, but I think you are being unrealistic. At least you aren't getting a persistant mispronunciation, like poor Honor in DD's class, whose teaching assistant pronounces the H and ergo, so do half the class.

brimfull · 09/01/2009 15:14

my db is named Laurence and when we moved to Canada my mum was shocked when people started calling him Larry !!

brimfull · 09/01/2009 15:14

my db is named Laurence and when we moved to Canada my mum was shocked when people started calling him Larry !!

nappyaddict · 09/01/2009 15:16

Perhaps you should ask your son if he likes it? If he doesn't tell him to tell the teacher he perfers Brennan. If he does ... well I'd just leave it.

WowOoo · 09/01/2009 15:16

My friend called her dd Nia (Welsh) as she thought it couldn't be shortened. One of her dd's friends calls her 'Ni/knee' !!

As others have said, a case of learning to lose some control and letting go unfortunatley. I would have a word with teacher if you feel strongly thouggh.

piscesmoon · 09/01/2009 15:18

I love the name Edward but hate any of the shortened forms and so didn't use it; it was unrealistic to think it would remain Edward. As it turns out DS2, who would have had the name, says he doesn't like it but he likes Ed.
Brennan is bound to be shortened. Brenda isn't popular now but they tended to be known as Bren.

nappyaddict · 09/01/2009 15:18

If you don't want your child to have a shortened name you need to have a 1 syllable name. People will probably just lengthen it though then.

mrsgboRingOutTheOld · 09/01/2009 15:24

I was sent to school with strict (overbearing) instructions from my mother not to let ANYONE call me by a shortened form of my name,and she'd be extremely disappointed if she ever heard anyone call me by a shortening.

It was a dreadful stricture to live under. Please don't even come close to doing this to your DS. However annoying "Brennie" might be (and I do feel your pain...)

espadair · 09/01/2009 15:27

My younger brother is Christopher and for years now its only family that call him hiss fulll name, to us there's no way he's a Chris or Chrissie but with some names its ievitable, my daughters called Victoria and we wont be shortening it but guaranteed in future her friends etc will be calling her Vicky. My parents deliberatley gave me and my sisters short names that couldn't be anything else

wb · 09/01/2009 15:31

Does it bother him?

You sound a bit like my mum tbh. She spent years and years battling against people shortening my name. Completely pointless and as I got older, increasingly embarrassing. These days she calls me by my full name and the rest of the world use the shortening.

piscesmoon · 09/01/2009 15:32

I am always called the shortened form of my name, I introduce myself with it. My mother also uses it, but it wouldn't bother me if she didn't like it! Once you have given the name, you have no control over how it is used.

Mimia · 09/01/2009 15:33

I agree with youknownothing and mrsboringouttheold.

We chose Amelia as a name because I like all shortened/alternatives of it and I wanted her to be able to choose what variant she is known by when she is older.

I was also sent to school with strict instructions not to let someone shorten my name and when someone did shorten it they only did so affectionately and I felt a right arse telling them off for it.

Buda · 09/01/2009 15:36

DS is Matthew and we picked it as we like Matt also. Matt more a name for an older boy though in my view. So DS is Matthew at home (Ma-CH-ew in Dublin but that is another story!) and now last year his mates all started to call him Matt so this year his new teacher does too.

Doesn't really bother me but it sounds a bit odd.

OrmIrian · 09/01/2009 15:38

Let it go unless he also dislikes it. It's his name and not yours. To make a fuss just on the point of principle seems to be jeopardising your relationship with someone very important in your DS's life for the rest of the year.

I bet any money you like that he will be called and choose a shortened version of his name when he is older.

Mumwhensdinnerready · 09/01/2009 15:41

I too agree with youknownothing . We chose names that we liked the short version of, also names which , when shortened could be boy or girl. (eg Samuel / Samantha).
DS2 was addressed by his full name until he started school but then he insisted on it being shortened.
Far worse than shortening was the fact that DS1 was called by his surname because he was one of 3 in the class with the same name.

brimfull · 09/01/2009 15:41

My dd is called Rose and hates being called Rosie,she has done the correcting from an early age,I have never needed to correct anyone.
I think that people will pay attention if your son hates it enough to correct them.

purepurple · 09/01/2009 15:47

What I hate is when people add the ie on a name when it's not there. A lot of names in our country end in "ey" or "ie" and people seem to want to add it to every name! So Sam becomes Sammy, and Rose becomes rosie. That is annoying.

CrushWithEyeliner · 09/01/2009 15:53

wow stress

mrswoolf · 09/01/2009 16:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Libra · 09/01/2009 16:16

Our eldest is Thomas.

He has always been a Thomas to us, and to all his teachers. He objects strongly to Tom or Tommy.

So what do all his mates do? Call him by a shortened version of our surname. You can't win, to be frank.

MagnoliaStar · 09/01/2009 16:37

YABU if your son likes it but if he doesn't you aren't.

My name is Stephanie and a lot of people try to call me Steff and I HATE it with a passion. I often have to tell people to call me by my name and not someone elses, they always think I'm being pretentious.

I have one teacher who took the "I'll do the register and when I say your name if you like something else let me know." He got to my name and called me Steff and I said no Stephanie please. He turned round and said well I'm going to call you Steff. Now I don't answer him if he calls me that, it's just plain rudeness when I have said to him not to call me that. SOmetimes I add the annie sound after he says Steff so he gets the point.

I do understand that I have a long name but that doesn't give you the right to change it. Sorry rant but I really get riled up by this issue. So the teacher should call your son what he wants to be called.

neverknowinglyunderdressed · 09/01/2009 17:09

I have a friend with a Benjamin. I kind of object to that as its like, who has time for 3 sylables? Seems a teeny bit pretentious. My sons have the longer versions of their names on their birth certificate, but we use the shortened versions at school, home etc. Then they can use them in full or indeed their middles names if they so wish in the future.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread