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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Do you call your DC by their full name or a shortened version?

54 replies

Lexiesgirl · 29/04/2012 21:51

I'm just interested, as I've recently had DC1 and have since discovered that giving your child a longer name but calling them by a short version seems to be a little contentious! Some people like it, but other people seem to think it is strange to register/christen your child with a name you won't actually call them.

So, DD is Alexandria but she is always known as Alex, and that has always been the plan.

Did you go for/are you planning a longer name but call your child by shorter version?

(And don't get me started on how giving your child two middle names is apparently 'overkill'!!)

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

startail · 29/04/2012 22:37

I've been shortened my whole life. I don't recognise my full name as me.
I don't shorten DH, work do, his parents didn't.

DD1 sometimes, but I often have a different nn for her entirely.

Everyone shortens DD2 so I do sometimes too, but I prefer her full name.

If she's annoying she gets her cute petname in public

PandaNot · 29/04/2012 22:39

I have a John known as Jack, always intended this to be the case, named after grandfathers. We also have an Anna known as Annie, decided on by big brother the first time he met her.

Booette · 29/04/2012 22:39

DS's 1 - 4 get called their full names apart from silly nn I give them. DS5's name is always shortened and he is called by his shortened name at school as they ask what their preferred name is.

2 middle names isn't overkill, I have two and so does DS1, both after family members. I'd say 4 or more is overkill!

cazboldy · 29/04/2012 22:41

some and some

Caitlin occasionally gets shortened to Caty - which is what she calls herself, and also what her friends call her

Charlie is really Charles and uses both.

however ds1,2 and dd2 all get called their full names

HybridTheory · 29/04/2012 23:07

Both mine have long names on their birth certificates but are known by shorter versions. I do however occaisionaly use their long names as I happen to love them but just think that they are too long/formal for their current ages.

cece · 29/04/2012 23:11

DD - can't really shorten her name
DS1 - has a long name but w always intended to use a shortened version of it, which everyone does, even school.
DS2 - has a shortened version as his birth certificate name - mainly because I don't like the longer version much...

blameitonthecaffeine · 29/04/2012 23:50

I'm not a big fan of shortenings. We picked our childrens' names because we like those names, not their diminutives.

DD1 is always Natasha to us and to her friends, she hates Tash as much as I do.
DD2 is Rebecca to us and to adults but does get Becca from friends
DD3 is always Matilda, I can't stand any of the shorts
DD4 gets called Ibby a fair amount as she seems very small for an Isabella. I would never introduce her anywhere as that though
DD5 is occasionally Abbie but usually Abigail, we think it's much prettier

Badgerina · 29/04/2012 23:57

DS is Oscar, Ozzy but mostly Oz. I chose it specifically because it can be shortened.

I'm pregnant again, and will more than likely choose another name than can be shortened.

DS has 3 middle names and so will
this one. I don't care what people think

lockets · 30/04/2012 00:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MagratGarlik · 30/04/2012 00:12

DS1 given longer name - called by shorter name.

DS2 given longer name - called by longer name. People are quickly corrected if they try to use the (commonly used) shorter version as I don't like it, but love his longer name.

TheSinglePringleWillicopters · 30/04/2012 00:16

I have a son called Kailum (Kay-lum)

One friend annoys me as she calls him Kai which is nothing like his name. Is prefer it if she called him Kay more then kai! I call him by his name but others have their own NNs for him

Btw the spelling was a mistake, it was before I had heard of the name Kai. I thought it would work like Kaitlin but apparently not

Scout19075 · 30/04/2012 00:23

We use Toddler's full name as well as his "grown up" short name and his "child" short name. However, he can only say his "child" short name (could probably say the "grown up" version if he wanted but he says the longer, ending in a y one).

The · 30/04/2012 00:37

I gave DD a shortened version of a longer name, and yet I still shorten that - from 2 syllables to 1. I might go the whole hog and just call her "E".

NeitherShreddedNorSmug · 30/04/2012 00:45

DS1 - has a long name which is shortened, we tend to call him by a nickname derived from his real name.

DS2 - shortened his name, along with all his friends, when they started Y1.

TheLocalYokel · 30/04/2012 00:50

DD is Kathleen. We chose the name for a few reasons, but among them because of the variety of versions she could use.

She's still small and right now we mostly call her Kathy, but I expect that as she gets older she might get some use out of Kate, Katie, Kitty, or Kat.

And when she's an adult she might prefer to have 'Kathleen Surname' on her office door or book jacket or whatever.

I love the long form of the name and do call her Kathleen sometimes, but I also think that using a short version conveys a sense of affection and intimacy in the relationship, and I like that too.

CointreauVersial · 30/04/2012 00:57

Like Sirzy, we deliberately chose names that can't be shortened.

Ample · 30/04/2012 01:11

Full name as named on bc.

I did think dd (5) would want her name shortened but I'm pleased and proud to say that she corrects anyone especially mil who does

I'll admit OP, I'm one of those people who think it is 'strange to register/christen your child with a name you won't actually call them' or select a name based on the nn to be used.
Each to their own of course.

CheerfulYank · 30/04/2012 02:47

I also have a Samuel who is Sam. :)

SodoffBaldrick · 30/04/2012 04:02

DS has been known by a diminutive since the day he was born. It was never the plan - we didn't chose the name for the nickname, nor did we have any discussion around what he'd be known as. He is named after DH's uncle. It was just that he was born and was such a little bundle, that the diminutive rolled off my tongue and stuck. Now, his actual name feels like someone else.

However - I fully realise that the shortened version doesn't have much gravitas. Even if we had had a discussion around it before he was born, he'd never, ever have been given the short version on his BC, so all good. Occassionally DH uses his full name in jest, and DS corrects him - he is only 3, so doesn't really realise that they're both his name!

I do tend to think, perhaps incorrectly, that all the nickname-y 'ie' / 'y' ending boys names that are popular right now (Archie, Alfie, Charlie, Harry, etc, etc) will sound very dated to the next generation, when they move onto a different style of name. It's not that I think they sound 'little boy' per se - after all the names will grow with them, and there will be enough of these (eventual) men with the names that they won't sound baby-ish, necessarily... But I do think they will sound dated when this particualr fashion goes out of style (and it will), and we move onto different sorts of names for boys. So it's also for this reason that I would never have considered DS's diminutive version as an actual name for him.

DD on the other hand has gradually come to be known more (by us, her immediately family, anyway) by a shortened version, but the full version is also used so they both feel like her names.

Thumbwitch · 30/04/2012 04:08

Long name on BC, short name for every day use; long name used for extra weight when required, surname added when even more sternness necessary. I have never yet used his entire name - it's a bit of a mouthful! - but it's there if necessary.

DS is aware that his name is both the long and short forms. Some people use his long name at preschool, clubs etc. because that's what we tell them his name is - but they also get used to using his short name as well.

I decided to always tell them his full name (even though it's normal and quite popular) because a friend of mine had a Madeleine, known as Maddie - and people at her pre-school called her Maddison when they wanted to be stern - to which she refused to reply of course, because it's not her name. I wanted to avoid that confusion.

My name is unshortenable. So I was always addressed by my full set of names to indicate the level of trouble I was in. I wanted it to be different for DS.

mathanxiety · 30/04/2012 05:46

DD1: has a French style double name; everyone used the short version of her name when she was born as the first bit was chosen for a great grandmother, and she got used to it. I was a bit because I really liked the two name version. For a while now she herself has been toying with using the long version and has an opportunity because she is starting in a new job soon.
DD2: has a short name which always gets lengthened at home and by friends with an added IE. Her teachers all call her the formal short name I notice, and this is the name she uses for handing in homework.
DD3: Long name shortened to one syllable nn from mid-name, which is only used at home. I often use the long name however, and she uses the long version in school. Her friends always use the long version. Another girl in the same class has the same name and uses a nn always.
DD4: Long name with a nn that she used herself as a baby. We never use the long name.
DS - the whole name; it's a hard one to shorten.

I have a classic English name on my BC but have always been known by the Irish version.

hubbahubster · 30/04/2012 07:35

I like names that can be shortened and picked one for DS that only has one shortening. We use both versions for him.

I use the shortest possible version of my own name and have done since primary school - my mum hates it, and deliberately picked a completely unshortenable name for my brother. Everyone in the family just lengthens it in daft ways, plus we all have obscure family nicknames...

I like using the short version of my name professionally as it's androgynous, and I'd prefer that people didn't jump to conclusions about anything I write based on my sex. Bit off topic I know but thought I'd say that not everyone wants a full name for their work life!

Ramekin · 30/04/2012 08:00

DD1 has a long name, we never shorten it, I love her full name. I've never gone by a shortened version of my own name either, nor has DH. In fact in both of our families, only my brother goes by a shortened name, so long versions are the norm for us.
DD2's name is never shortened either, but she does get called by a variety of silly nicknames based on her name. I'd be a bit taken aback if other people used them though, they are just for family!

tigrou · 30/04/2012 09:39

We chose names with short versions that we liked as much as the full names, in theory, but actually we only ever use the full names. Calling them the short versions now would be like calling them an entirely different name - just not "them".

DonInKillerHeels · 30/04/2012 09:41

We gave our DS a long name with lots of potential nicknames so that he could choose one for himself eventually. And we thought we would call him one of these nn's - but actually we just call him by his full name, and it's sticking.

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