Is it cruel to give a child a long name?

[RyvitaBrevis]

A family member has told us he was terribly embarrassed as a child to have a name with three full syllables (think Christopher). As a result, he and his wife gave their children shorter names.

Now, I wasn't particularly bothered by having a three syllable name myself, but I'm wondering if he has a point. I don't want to be cruel or to make life harder for my DC. We currently have some 3-syllable names and even a 4-syllable name on the list.

Are 4 syllables beyond the pale? Does anyone have experience of raising children with long names - and do they mind?

I have a 4 syllable name and it’s never bothered me. Longer names usually get shortened so there’s flexibility. My name has a few possible nn’s

Not in the slightest. In our extended family we have an Elizabeth, a Maximilian, a Giovanni and a Carolina.

My DDs is 4 syllables for first name, 3 for middle and 2 for surname. Nickname 2. Not a big deal.

My name has 5 syllables, it's never been an issue .

I have a 3 syllable first name and a 4 syllable second name. My mother always said she did it deliberately to make me concentrate and learn my spelling and letters. She might have been correct as I was way ahead in reading when I started school (1964)

I have a 9 letter first name and a 9 letter surname both maiden and married names but only 2 syllables each name.
DC have shorter names but both 3 syllables and they dont seem long names , never even thought about it.
I have had an issue where my name made the email too long for the dealership who had maximum of 35 letters and mine was 36. I dont even have a middle name.

I have 4 names in total (first name, middle name, two surnames). I remember once my mum got name tags for my school uniform with all 4 names on them and I was mortified! Wish she had just got first name plus my initials from my surnames!

So as long as you don't insist on using the full name if your child chooses to use a shortening, I think it will be fine

@NameChange30 Yes, I am prepared to accept any nicknames that the child chooses or get imposed by their mates! It's always a little funny to hear friends' parents refer to them as Oliver or Rebecca instead of Ollie and Becky (or whatever).

People get concerned over rather strange things, I don’t think any normal person really worries about the amount of syllables in a name. Christopher is a completely normal name as are Benjamin, Eleanor and even names like Harrison.

I would suggest (politely) that your family member is bonkers.

One of my dd's has 3 then 3 then 1 and surname 2.. She loves having 2 middle names.

I have a three syllable name which doesn't lend itself to shortening. It's never been a problem.

It depends what the name is I suppose. Lots of classic names have more than 3 syllables, Victoria, Benjamin, William, Elizabeth etc. Its never bothered the Queen, afaik I've never asked her

I think it’s fine because those names always get shortened anyway.

My parents, in their wisdom, gave me three middle names, and not nice girls names that you’d want to use. They’re family surnames in the Scottish tradition, even though we don’t live in Scotland. When I tell people my full name you can see them wincing and trying to say “that’s a nice name” through gritted teeth.

No, but it's expensive in personalised items (DS has 9 letters, officially 4 syllables, DD 8 letters, 3 syllables)

My DPs in their wisdom decided to give me a 10 letter 3 syllable first name to go with a 11 letter 4 syllable family name. I used to (mostly) joke that what I was looking for in a husband was a short surname and I didn't hesitate to take DHs four letter one syllable name. I was a little jealous of my brother and sister who had shorter names than me but I wouldn't call it cruel. I dislike the shortened version of my name so much prefer people to use my actual name but lots of people just automatically shorten it.

Terribly embarrassed for having a 3 syllable name ?

first world problems

It depends on the name.
Names that are long sometimes get truncated or might not fit on forms.

If the trend is for shorter names, a long name will stand out.

All my nieces have three syllable girls names. I think they’re pretty, and give the child options on what they’d like to be called. Eg. Katherine = kat, Kate, Kathy Etc.

Maybe not so good if you name a child Katherine Arabella, especially if you have a long surname or double-barrelled surname.

Katherine Arabella Cholmodeley-Featherstonehaugh would probably not fit on many forms

Ds1 has a 3 syllable name. Plus 2 middle names. Hardly anyone shortens his name.

Actually just realised ds2 has a 3 syllable name as well. Although his gets shortened more often

Like a PP I have a 9 letter 1st and surname. I can't always fit it on a form

I have a 4 syllable name. Not shortenable to anything nice/not embarrassing! I hated it as a but it came in handy when I started working in the City as it sounded quite grown up.

Well, I did have mild regret when I saw my 3-syllable and letters with loops named daughter still writing her name laboriously whilst her friend Amy skipped from the table, but she just learned to write it faster - and she resisted all attempts at shortening it.

We also gave her a Welsh name, traditional in our family, which sounds a bit like but isn’t the same spelling at all in England so that always requires explaining.

She survived - and then changed her surname on marriage to her husband’s very interesting name, but which is also not spelled like it sounds.......

I don't think that a longer name will cause problems. More choices of nick names for one thing. Much better to have a longer name than some of the names I have seen on here. Giving a child a surname as a first name is a big no-no.

Ds 4 is Christopher - never in a million years do I see that decision as cruel !