Short or Long Name

[mumofnoahandjacob]

We were talking about baby names the other day. Short simple names or longer more complex names and whether its fair to give a child a long complicated name (an example they gave was my favourite Matilda), when there is now an expectation they should be able to write their name when they start school.
So I wanted to throw it out there to the world of mumsnet.
What do you all think?

I like a long name personally but yes short ones are easier for writing, especially when starting school.

I love Matilda.

I love matild and I wouldn't class it as long or complicated. Not sure about long v short but I made it difficult for my youngest when learning spelling phonetically, she's Niamh!

Meant matilda sorry 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is such a non issue.

Just because schools hope that children can write their names when they start school doesn't mean that the Alexandras of the world will get detention whilst the Adas get a prize.

It's neither fair nor unfair. It's irrelevant! Unless the child has a significant learning problem they will learn to write their name at some point. Children who have longer names may start with a shorter version or it may take them a bit longer to learn it. Who cares!

You can't choose someone's name for the rest of their life based on how quickly they may or may not learn to write it.

My preference is for short, simple names, for no other reason than I like them better than long names. Nothing to do with ease of writing or spelling, I just tend to find long names too much.

DramaAlpaca Thats really interesting. Just out of curiosity what short girls names do you like?

Same as DramaAlpaca. I prefer short, strong names that can’t (or tend not to be) shortened.

VenusClapTrap Thank you. What would be your favourite names for a girl that can't be shortened?

I prefer long names that can be shortened easily.

I like longer names; Alessandra, Genevieve, Vivienne, Elisabeth, Jennifer, Leonora etc rather than Ava, Chloe, Alice, Zoe, Mia etc.

Personal preference though.

Ruth
Fern
Jane
Audrey
Ingrid
Anouk

Obviously you can shorten some of these if you really insist, but people with these names tend, more often than not, to be known by the complete name.

when there is now an expectation they should be able to write their name when they start school.

Eh? Says who ?

Even if it were true, it would be a daft criteria to pick the name someone is going to use for 90 years, by somehow trying to 'guess' the stage of their writing skills when they are 4

I don't think Matilda is particularly long or complicated. It's 7 letters, 3 syllables. Could be shortened to Mattie or Tilly or whatever.

My preference depends on the surname(s). If the child has one short surname, a longer first name works better. If the child has two surnames, or one long surname, a short first name works better.

My DS has two surnames (mine plus DH's) so we intentionally chose a short first name for him. If we have any more children we will do the same.

I do think that if you choose a long name it makes sense to consider possible shortenings and whether you like them. Of course children can end up with nicknames that you haven't chosen. But no point choosing a name if you dislike the common shortenings for it.

I like similar names to the ones Venus listed. I'd include Emma, Kate, Lucy, Alice, Zoe, Mary, Eve. I know Kate is traditionally a diminutive but it works as a standalone name. I suppose my taste is also fairly traditional. I don't have girls, I have boys, and they all have short, neat names.

This is nonsense & I tend to go for short simple names just because I love them but Matilda is one of my favourites. It’s also phonetic making it much easier for a young child to understand than a name like Isla (which is still a perfectly lovely name!)

You can't avoid a nickname . A short name may end up being lengthened instead, eg Anne to Annie, Jane Janey, Ruth Ruthie.

It doesn't matter. My dd has a long name and was writing it was before she started school.

Matilda is complicated?

It's actually very easy and can be sounded out phonetically.

But I definitely wouldn't choose a name on that criteria!

I think those are bonkers things to consider when naming a child.

Matilda is actually an easy name to teach, because the printed script contains lots of straight lines and then the as and the d are formed similarly. Anti clockwise movements are more tricky to form as an emerging writer, but both are written similarly, so once they have anticlockwise formation, they've cracked it. Zig zag s (M) and the t l is are easy.

All of my short list names are short (pun? not intended) but I also love names like Cassiopeia and Andromeda... I think it's a rediculous notion to name a child based how early in life they can spell it