Am I alone in hating this trend?

[Jossina]

Am I the only person who doesn't like the trend of giving children a nickname as their proper name? For instance Tom instead of Thomas or Billy instead of William, Kate instead of Katharine. Aren't these children going to spend the rest of their lives saying, over and over and over, "No, it's just ___. Not short for anything." ?

I’m not sure if it’s a new trend. My dh & best friend both have ‘nicknames’ as their given names, they’re in their 30s. So does my uncle in his 50s.

Like pps have said, it doesn’t really make sense to name a child something you have no intention of ever using.

I can see why people do it. We called our daughter a 'long' name with a view to shortening it on a day to day basis and absolutely no one will do it, everyone refers to her as her full name. She's 13 now so they've had plenty of time to get used to the idea.

Where I am people just don't tend to shorten names, and I remember at school that teachers just completely refused to use any name other than the one that was on the register. So I can see why people will go for Sam rather than Samuel et

That should say etc!

Depends.

I'd put Joseph on a birth cert rather than Joe but I'd put Max on a birth cert rather than Maximilian.

It's OK provided the spelling is the usual one, and it is not hypenated.

I think that the ones with a non y/ie ending work better as stand alone names in my own personal opinion. So Sam, Tom, Ben, Kate, Beth, Meg. I think that in general, the ie or y names with some exceptions, come across as diminutives that people would use for children rather than for grown adults. So you could be Jamie until an adt and would then be James or Jim. I know things change and each to their own, but I always think it infantises adults when they only have a child name and not the option of a grown up one too.

Yes, only you.

The other 68 billion threads saying the same thing are started by...🧐?!...aliens! That’s it, yep, aliens. Clearly.

I always thought names were for the person who would have that name not the parents. It seems that with nickname names you're taking away so many different options that child/adult would have had concerning what they wish to be called.

I doubt they will spend their whole lives saying its not short for anything, since it's common among their generation!

I know a female Frankie too, the grandparents were completely baffled why she wasn't a Frances or a Francesca with Frankie for short.

I also know a Jake which isn't too bad on its own and an Ollie which is a bit babyish for a whole name in my opinion. Everyone naturally assumes he is Oliver but nope!

My Nan (b.1927) was Betty. Not Elizabeth but christened Betty. Her next door neighbour (98 when he died last yr) was Ted - not Edward. If it’s ‘a trend’ it’s being going for 90 odd yrs!

I always thought names were for the person who would have that name not the parents. It seems that with nickname names you're taking away so many different options that child/adult would have had concerning what they wish to be called

But by that logic everyone should have a 'long' name that can be shortened. Loads of names can't be shortened at all. Mine can't. It has never occurred to me that I should have had some choice in what I'm called

I agree OP, I think having options around what you want to call yourself is great for an adult. Why not give the widest number of options available?

Mine both have the full name on their birth certificates but get mighty offended if anyone actually uses it. I wonder why I bothered really.

But this has been happening since forever? Have you only just realised? How old are you?

Some of them are okay... I mean you can get away with Lucy instead of Lucinda and Kate instead of Catherine, Charlie instead of Charles, Beth instead of Elizabeth.. some short versions would not be questioned as a full name because they are established as stand alone names

But the ones that I dislike a bit are names like Teddy, just by itself not short for anything... I do think that's a bit odd... I mean Teddy is a fun nickname for a more serious longer name like Edward or Theodore.. I just think it's a bit daft on it's own!
And stuff like Izzy, Liz, Becky, vicky, Chrissy and Nicky I do think they are going to have a lifetime of people assuming it's a shortening of a longer name

I don’t get giving a name you never intend to use. I have a nickname as a first name. It has never given me one iota of a problem. I think it’s weird to have a choice of names, surely your name is just a name.

I actually hate the opposite. For me it seems absolutely pointless and perhaps even snobby to give a full name you never intend to actually use.

Depends on the name. Jake, Kate, Tom and some others sound fine. And much better Archie than Archibald etc.! Some "nicknames" (like Sadie for Sarah or Polly for Mary) haven't been used as a nickname for a very long time, so it makes sense to just give them as a given name.

Not keen on weird ones that sound like an ad-hoc nickname rather than a usable name, such as Albie or Lexie.

FWIW, Lucy was a name in its own right long before Lucinda was invented!

And Finn came before Finlay even though lots of people seem to think Finlay is the 'full' name.

@iamthere123

I see you 90 years and raise you - my nana was christened Katie in 1895.
Quite a trend!

I really don't see a problem with this. It's a style of names. It's not a style of names that I personally would tend to choose, but nothing wrong with Milly, Molly, Billy, Joe as the name. Kate has been a stand alone name for so long that it hardly seems informal in style now.

Names develop in all kinds of ways, this being one of them. I don't get why there's so much angst about other people liking a different style to you.

I think everyone hates some names, whether made into or given nicknames. We are all unique and like/dislike as we do. Nothing wrong with that. Therefore there will be people who hate your chosen baby name too

And, it's not a recent trend. Eg stats from 1904 include in the UK top 100: Tom, Bertie, Alec, Fanny, Nancy, Jessie, Elsie, Nellie.

Go back further and the top UK 100 in 1870 includes: Fred, Tom, Willie, Sam, Joe, Ben, Nellie, Nancy, Lizzie, Jessie, Minnie, Fanny, Annie.

(And this doesn't include Jack and Harry which are in both lists but hardly to be called nicknames I think).