Why do I love nicknames but no 'proper' names?

[bytheMoonlight]

I love Hattie but not keen on Harriet
I love Pippa but not keen on Phillipa
I love Ted but not keen on Edward
I love Alfie but not keen on Alfred

I could go on

Why? Why? Why can't I just 'love' a full name?

It doesn't matter. Any of those "nick names" are fine as proper names.

I'd thinkof pippa and ted as real names in their own right.

What others are you thinking of?

I don't like proper names either. DS#2-on-the-way is going to have a "nn" but DP insists the "proper" name has to go on the birth certificate incase he ever grows up to be Prime Minister (because you can't be Prime Minister with a "nn"... Tony Blair? Bill Clinton? Ted Heath?).
We will never call him by the "proper" name. Seems really stupid to me, but whaddo I know

See, I'm the other way round. I chose our three dc's names specifically because it was very difficult to shorten/nickname them.

If I chose their names, they're not allowed to start using something else!!

And I think it is daft to have a name on your birth cert that you don't actually use.