We love this name but dislike the inevitable nickname....

[Stateofgrace]

Madeleine :)

We strongly dislike the ubiquitous nickname 'Maddy'

Last night as a way of getting around this dp suggested 'Magdalene', which could be a way around it? (We think Maggie is lovely).

We understand that her peers will nn her regardless, but I suppose we don't want 'Maddy' as a fait accompli from the get go...

What do you think - either way will she be 'Maddy'?

Any other name suggestions? We are tending to lean toward French, Irish and Italian names (although not a deal breaker) - names that have been suggested thus far include:

Aoife
Lucia
Saoirse
Mathilde
Aoibhe
Isobel
Manon
Cicely
Florence
Beatrice / Beatriz

I knew a Madeleine who shortened it to Mads. It really suited her and she was never known as Maddie.

If you like Madeleine, then use it and if you don't like Maddy then don't use it. If anyone uses Maddy then tell them it's Madeleine. Repeatedly. They'll get it in the end.

A friend of mine has a 10 year Alexander who is very much an Alexander and he and his mother both give very short shrift to anyone who calls him Alex.

outing myself here. i am a Madeleine, but i go by Mads. anyone calling me Maddy had better be a fast runner.

I have a Mathilda and ummed and aahed as I can't abide Tilly.

She is Mathilda or Tilda. Has never, ever been Tilly. Her rugby coach called her Tilly once and she scowled. It's not inevitable.

Love the Irish names Saoirse and Aoibhe from your list. Beatrice also lovely.

Tbh though wouldn't worry about Madeleine being shortened. I know an Elizabeth and a Rebecca who are only ever known by their full names. Nicknames aren't inevitable if they aren't what you want.

I had Madeleine on my list for my DD1, until my husband, who is French, vetoed it because of the cake association.

Anyway I still think it's a lovely name and I agree that as long as you introduce her with her full name, it's unlikely others will start using a diminutive.

That's not to say that your daughter won't want to decide what others call her as she gets older, mind you... And of course for her generation it's unlikely there will be any association with Madeleine McCann. So she might decide she wants to be Maddy.

Despite what people are posting I still think if you hate Maddy then it's better not to use it.

You have control over it while she's a baby and toddler, but once she gets to school and has friends and classmates you lose that control.

People are quoting James who are always James, and Philip who is always Philip but they are shorter names anyway. It may not be shortened. But there is a good chance it will be.

If you were just indifferent to the shortened version then it wouldn't matter so much. But, if you strongly dislike it, it will annoy you too much to take the risk.

In agreement with Bowlers

My brothers are David and Philip (for example) and my DM would say they are always called that and never shortened. And they never have been by family and partners, but are by school mates and work colleagues.

DH is full name to family and nn to everyone else as well.

We had the same with Oliver/Ollie. Loved Oliver but hated Ollie. Went for a different name and Oliver is now his second name...

It isn't as easy as "Just tell people it's not " by the way. That works for new acquaintances but not as their relationships develop with eg your in-laws , nursery keyworkers, etc. You have to be quite confident to say "actually, please don't call her , it's " because it can cause hard feelings.

DC3 has a name with three obvious shortenings. His various grandparents asked which we would be using. We said none for now. In the end he has a family nickname which relates to hid appearance and which other close friends are starting to use too.

DC2 on the other hand has one obvious shortening, with various possible spellings none of which I like, and lots of people use it even though it isn't his name and it doesn't suit him. But having tried the polite methods I am now stuck as to what to say to close family. Because as far as they're concerned, it is his name. He never calls himself by that name, but does answer to it.

Anyway, tl;dr : if there's an obvious shortening, some fuckers people will use it, and it will not be easy to stop them without causing offence. So while that shouldn't necessarily knock it off your list, it is worth bearing in mind.

What about Adele/Adeline/Adelaide?

Gwendoline? Sabine? Delphine?

Marguerite?

Manon is great, but also no good short form.

Mallory?

Just dont accept a nn. Its not inevitable. I have a Joseph, never a Joe.

How about Magali / Magalie (French)? Short version Maggie or Mags.

My bf has a Joseph, demented determined he would always be a Joseph. Unfortunately for her, he is most definitely a Joe. She is continually upset about it, and she couldn't have tried harder to make sure he was always a Joseph. You just can't guarantee a name won't be shortened.

What bowlers said.

Whilst little you will have control but as they get older you won't.

My mil hates that dps friends and work colleagues shorten his name but it's a name that gets shortened.

When we named dd we really liked Genevieve and she was so neearly named that but I KNEW it would become gen/Jen and I don't like that. I would have shortened it to vi vi. Anyway we didn't use that name and gave her a name that doesn't really have an obvious shortening.

I know two girls called Madeline/Madeleine who are always called by their full name.

Mind you, I know someone who chose Eve as an 'unshortenable' name. Her daughter is known as Evs. And I know a Jo who is J.

Natalia?

My mother hates my name being shortened. Hence I now use the shortest form of my name possible ;)

She always uses the long form but no one else does. You really can't control what your DD chooses to be known as (DF actually uses his middle name, which my DGM was always upset about).

Will it really upset you if your 11yo DD chooses to be Maddy?

I have heard of a Madeleine whose name was shortened to Lena.

When I was pregnant I started a baby name thread on Magdalene but it got some fairly strong reactions and I didn't want to name the baby something controversial (and he was a boy).

I think it's really important to pick a name that you like the nickname to. Names will always get shortened, and usually to the most obvious choice. So using your example I would pick a different name or else you risk your child having to go through life asking people not to abbreviate their name which is embarrassing and comes across as rude (I am talking from very personal experience here).

I like Magdalene, nickname might be Magda. To be honest, most of the time it's whether the child itself likes a nickname, so if she hated being called Maddie she could tell others not to call her it.

Magda is nice. bit more unusual than Madeleine.
also consider Martha?

Is it Lucia pronounced Loo-chee-a? If so that is utterly lovely and I'd go for that instead