Tabitha’s nickname

[EleanorShellstrop100]

Baby Tabitha seems too small for her name at the moment, but there are just so many nicknames for Tabitha and we can’t choose one! We made the mistake of looking online for ‘possible nicknames for Tabitha’ and had no idea it would come up with so many that we liked... we’ve seen Abby, Bea, Beth, Betsy, and Kitty! And she’s so small and cute that she suits them all. I know it’s not a big deal but please help me to make up my mind!

Kitty

Bitsy.

For those struggling to understand Kitty, it's because of Tabby which is a kind of cat.

Also, there is a character in a children's book by Beatrix Potter called Mrs Tabitha Twitchit, who happens to be a cat with a bunch of naughty kittens. That's where the cat association to the name Tabitha originally came from, I think.

I overheard a Tabitha being called 'Bitty'.

Not that

Kitty makes no sense to me. You might as well pick any unrelated name under the sun

Tibi if you can’t use Tabby? Or Tabs or Tab

Does anyone else find Kitty a bit sexual? A bit like p*ssy? 🙈

OTOH, as you say, the Mumsnet mantra of 'no-one owns a name' applies to you too.

Maybe just casually start calling her Tabby/Tabs/Tib Tab (smiles to @PlasticPatty) and be shrug about it with your relative. It's THE most obvious nickname, given that it's a shortening, so it would/could happen really naturally.

I have a NN I use with my daughter sometimes but since it's more of a contrivance, it hasn't caught on and the shortening is what everyone else uses.

If you'd had a Samuel, relative had had a Sam. Then you started calling your boy Sam or Sammy, interspersed with Samuel, it would seem perfectly natural.

^what I mean is, you can use Tabby since she doesn't own the name. :)

I'd pick Abby, Bea (or Bee🐝) or Kitty.

Friends DD is Tabitha. She is called Tha.
Tronouned fee.a
She is loves it.

That's where the cat association to the name Tabitha originally came from, I think.

I think it's the other way round. Tabby cats gave Beatrix Potter the idea of calling her cat character Tabitha.

Does anyone else find Kitty a bit sexual? A bit like pssy?*

No. Also, if you mean pussy, say pussy. What on earth is the point (other than messing up the formatting) of using that asterisk?

I absolutely love the name Tabitha but don't understand why you would call her Kitty, there is no connection. Call her Katherine if that is the nickname you want but why not just use her beautiful proper name?

This^^

Tilly is used by my friend.

The problem is if you call her Kitty now, it will be hard to change it to Tabitha later as there is no actual connection between the words! The other Tabitha in the family will always be Tabitha/Tabby and your daughter will remain Kitty forever. Having to think of a nickname seems so contrived. Nicknames result from shortenings or funny things siblings say etc. Kitty isn’t really a nickname, it’s a new name! I understand a name seeming too grown up for a teeny baby. I called my dd ‘baby/lovely/etc’ mostly when she was teeny until she started to grow into her name.

I like Kitty, but think it would be hard to transfer back to Tabitha when she’s older. What about Thea?

Tab or Tabs are best

Um, you named her first. Don't back off from the cheeky fecker by avoiding Tabby if you planned to use that! Fuck her.

Look, Tabs/Tabby is the only nickname really. Bea, Kitty etc - they are all really nicknames for other names, they don't indicate Tabitha.

Your cheeky family member is going to have to suck it up. If she complains, look astonished and say 'But if you wanted her to be unique why did you copy the name?'

Actually none of my dc use any variables of their names. Not sure they all have one tbh. Dd has a name that can he shortened but won't have it used. Full names all round here!!

Tabby is a pants name...either use Tabitha or Bea or Bibi.

Your friend will be green with jealousy that your DD has a better name because tabby isn't that great

Our Tabitha is T to us and Tabby or Tabs to her friends. She was supposed to be Abby but it didn't stick.

I knew a tabitha, went by biffa. There's so many options. I do prefer tabby though. It's ignore the family issue and call her tabby anyway. If they have issues it's their fault for using the same name. Loads of tabitha go by tabby or tabs

Tab - think a character in a jilly cooper novel no bad thing

I can’t use Tabby as a nickname because a family member whose daughter was born a mere MONTH after mine has decided to name her daughter Tabitha too. Her justification for this was that she wouldn’t use the full version so it wasn’t really the same name - she only chose Tabitha after we announced our name, because she fell in love with nickname Tabby, and she couldn’t think of any other full names to use to get that nickname.

Oops. I somehow missed that before I commented.

Tab is great imo. Or simply Tabby (your other relative doesn't own the name either...) or Bea/Bee. But I personally honestly prefer Tab. Oh, or maybe Tib/Tibby?

I think it’s normal to feel like a baby is too small for their name. It doesn’t mean you have to come up with a nickname. I called both of my children “baby” for a while for a similar reason. They grow into their names soon enough.