Do you know any Joseph's who aren't Joe???

[Tollygunge]

Just that really. I adore the name Joseph but hate it's abbreviated form. Joseph is (for me) one of the purest biblical names and Joe is just a bit... Meh. Can I risk naming a child Joseph or is it inevitable he will be a Joe?

[TheFormidableMrsC]

ThroughThickAndThin, yes I definitely agree...but you can make a stand about it. I think it's a shame to not have a name you love just because somebody might shorten it. I rarely get anybody shortening my Joseph's name these days fortunately

[kaymondo]

I think most people are led by the parents. I have three friends with sons called Jacob. Two of them shorten to Jake/jackey - the other doesn't. I would never call the third child anything other than Jacob as that is clearly what his parents want.

Obviously you can't control what peers will call him when he gets into school (especially secondary) - but he can! It's his name and should be able to say, actually it's Jospeh not Joe. I wouldn't worry so much that other people call him Joe as the fact that he himself may decide he prefers it.

[dementedma]

Don't give up on it if you like it. We just always said that Joseph was Joseph, and not Joe and people got used to it. It's a lovely name.

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

I know one age 5 who is always Joseph - nicer than Joe IMO. My DP is known by the full version of his name which is almost always shortened usually - his mum just made it clear from the start that was his name and not the shortened version so it can be done.

[MissCalamity]

My Joseph will always be Joseph to me. He is now 6 & will occasionally say his name is Joe, also his younger sister says Joe as it's easier for her.
Lovely name, go for it!

[DramaAlpaca]

I know one who is always called Joseph, never Joe.

I love Joseph, but like the OP I'm not keen on Joe, so one of my DSes got Joseph as a middle name so it wouldn't ever be shortened.

[TaraBoxBrain]

I know two Josephs, both children. I don't know any Joes.

[Haffdonga]

I know two. Both of their parents insist they are only ever called Joseph. They are known as Joseph by teachers and all the parent' adult friends and family.

But all their school friends call them Joe. I think Joe is inevitable I'm afraid

[JudgeJudySheindlin]

I know Josephs & Joes. It generally stems from what the parents choose for their son to be known by. The next obstacle is the teenage years when they like to find their own identity. I wanted to be known by the name of Linda for about a year. Not that this has anything to do with Joseph, but you get my drift

[MyBoysRockMyWorld]

How about
Jay
Kai
Nigel
Toby
Eric (I know a few and no one abbreviates)
Finn

Can't be shortened or lengthened

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Mine but he's Jos 100% of the time.

[Devilishpyjamas]

My Joseph only became a Joe at about 11. He's now called an entirely different name at secondary school, a different name again at a dance group he attends & Joe elsewhere (mixture of Joe & Joseph at home). You can never fully control a name I'm afraid

[dynevoran]

my boys you have to be kidding with Nigel?!

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Nigel . That can't be due a revival yet surely.

[dementedma]

Dd2 and her bf have a dog called Nigel!

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

As does Monty Don demented, they are in good company!

[mrsschu]

I only know one Joseph under 5 who is actually called Joseph and that's because his dad is called Joe. The other Joesph's I know are all Joe. You can ask people to only call him Joesph but it's difficult to maintain when he goes to school etc if it's a nn he likes himself. But he can of course ask people to call him Joseph when he's older if he wants.

[Letseatgrandma]

I know (and have taught) lots of Josephs. Most are known by Joe or Joey. It's possible for parents to keep them as a 'Joseph' through primary but my DC is y9 now and all the Josephs in his year are Joe, all the Williams are Will and all the Olivers are Olly as that's what the boys themselves prefer.

[rollonthesummer]

To myboysrockmyworld....

You can shorten Nigel to Nige or Toby to Tobe!! Imo, people with short names end up with them lengthened in silly ways (Tobemeister for Toby or JayJay for Jay!!) which defeats the point!

[dementedma]

Thinking about Ds friends, it seems that very few, if any,use nns. He is Joseph and his friends are Samuel( not Sam), Angus, Findlay,David, Declan,Christian,Shea and Guy.
Not much you could do with Guy though!

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Rollonthesummer-I try really hard to call people by the name I know they like but Dh doesn't always which makes me cringe a bit sometimes. So a Sam would probably be Sammy, Samuel would be Sam, and our friend Guy is Guysie . He's the sort of person who just doesn't acknowledge name rules, - I know it's rude. On the whole people don't seem to mind what he calls them.

[IWantedThatBiscuit]

Yes, but the mother is ever so precious about it ('Its Joseph, not Joe' every five minutes. It reminds me of the Friends episode with 'Josh-u-aa, not Josh' ).