Is it ok to not tell people the name on the birth certificate?

[CradleCrapNap]

Still struggling to pick a name for our DD2, due soon. We both like Sophia and Grace but know both are quite common, as is our DD1s name. So we thought today about Harriet/Hattie. We both love Hattie but worry it might be too cutesy in later life, so might put Harriet on the birth certificate (if we do go for it, we change our minds daily at the minute).
But, we would want her to be known, at least in her early years, solely as Hattie. So, is it ok to announce her birth to people as 'Hattie' and not even mention Harriet? Or is that weird? Or should we put Harriet and 'Hattie' in the announcement? I wouldn't mind people calling her Harriet and want her to have that choice later in life but we'd just like her to be mostly Hattie as a little girl. My gut says put the proper name and the nickname, but a friend has just done this and just announced the nickname. Found out by accident. Wondered how common this was?

What's a 'Sunday name'?

Not heard that in years means your full name so Hattie would be Harriet not sure why its called your Sunday name though

Friend has a Tilly whose birth certificate name is Matilda. When she was christened all her personalised gifts said Matilda on which she found really odd as she never thinks of her DD as Matilda. She now regrets not just using Tilly. Yes, Hattie is slightly cutesy (but lovely) but there are going to be a whole generation of director-level women called Millie and Maddie and Ellie and Emmie and Poppy and Daisy.

Doesn't 'Sunday name' harp back to going to church on a Sunday? Or have I made that up? I'm sure there will be loads of director level women called Poppy, Daisy etc but will they be wishing their parents had chosen something slightly less cutesy when they are heading into a really important board meeting? I don't think I dare chance it. Gonna hedge my bets I think for the sake of DD2, then she can decide.

I also think we should try and use 'Harriet' a bit at home too, just so it doesn't sound completely foreign to her and everyone else, in case she does use it, and end up a pointless exercise altogether.

I wouldn't worry. We have a Harriet. Announced as such at birth, called that by us for her entire first year. But somehow along the way she has been called Hattie by everybody and that's what she introduces herself as (and we now call her too). I have to say, I love her name even now, nearly 16 years later.

I think in 40 yrs time having a name like Hattie will seem positively mainstream compared to some of the names of her contemporaries (Cyanide and Preacher spring to mind). We gave dd1 a nickname but that is on her birth certificate because that is what we wanted her to be called by everyone. Some teachers will insist on using the 'proper' name and it gets annoying if you are never known by that name or don't like the formal name. This has happened already in her class to other dc but because nickname is her birth cert name they can't without then being wrong (they have even asked her if it is short for anything). She is so far pleased with our choice and doesn't like the alternatives. Should she wish to change it when older she can use deed poll. I think that you need to be happy with both names if you plan one on birth certificate but use another.

Some people seem to delight in using a different version and if it is on bc then feel more justified. Ds has a name which has a nn version. He is always known as e.g. Edmund, but some people insist on calling him Ed even though he tells them that he hates being called Ed.

Love Hattie by the way. They might reduce to Hat at school, dd does this sometimes at school even though her name is a nickname.

My friend Hattie is very pleased she is actually named Harriet, we were talking about it the other day.

We did exactly that. DD is only 8 weeks but everyone seems happy with calling her Hattie instead of Harriet. No ones even questioned it tbh, it's easier for our DS to say aswell

My name is a nickname for a longer name, mum just put the nn on the birth certificate. People do quite often ask what it's short for, and seem surprised when I say "nothing". Often other people are way more bothered than me though! It's just a personal quirk of mine :-)

thickandthin dos she say why she was happy she was called Harriet? Sounds like she still mainly goes by Hattie though so must be happy with either?

She likes to have the option OP. I've been with her when she's introduced herself to people as Harriet, but her family and friends call her Hattie which she also likes.

We were talking to a neighbour expecting a baby and who is deliberating about whether to call him Billy or William nn Billy, and Hattie's advice was William as she herself liked to have the option to use Harriet as well as Hattie, which is the reference in my post above.

I think it would be nice too, to have a formal name, but another one that people call you when they know you well.

My cousins are called Alexandra and Joshua, but have only ever gone by Alex and Josh, but they were given the long names so they could be told off by using their full name!

I do like Harriet, but wouild personally use the nickname Harrie :)

I think it's fine. DH's cousin introduced her baby as Alfie but put Alfred on the BC, he's 3 now and I didn't know until recently that Alfred is his full name.

I think defiantly stick to your plan and put Harriet on the BC and announce her as Hattie. (Or possibly say Hattie (Harriet .... , officially) has arrived safely on the ....). We have an Eleanor but called her Ella straight away and it does work and is very common. One thing I will say is that on official stuff they ask for your child's official name (say a school admissions form) and so of course we put Eleanor. Now she is in all the school's registers as Eleanor (this is junior school). She's too shy to correct any supply teachers that give lessons but her real teacher(s) caught on very quickly that she was Ella and of course her friends all call her Ella. I remember once a school put Eleanor on her peg and she didn't recognise her own name and cried. When we found out about it we got them to change it to Ella. Harriet will also be on her passport etc... no bad thing though, gives a girl some options ;)