do names need to be full versions

[rhia22]

me and my partner are arguing because we love the names freddie charlie and jamie for our boy but I think he should have the long versions on his birth certificate (even though i don't necessarily like frederick charles and james) and my boyfriend doesn't... what are people's take on this?

Whichever one you prefer, and I think anyone who judges anyone with a shortened name speaks volumes about THEIR background

I'd say if your names are Jamie, Charlie and Freddie name them those names. Just because those names have longer versions don't bother with them if you don't like them.

I think it's pointless naming them something just to give them a nickname.

I know someone who named her child Harrison just to call him Harry. I think it's strange to called a child one name just to use another.

Someone said further up that they might not want the name Jamie so calling them James given them options but Jamie is an actual name. If you like the name, name them that.

Most names ending in -ie are diminutives in English - not all - so I would avoid those.

I have a Ben, it’s Ben on his birth certificate as I don’t like any of the longer names (Benjamin, Benedict). I’ve only come across people saying they should have the full name on the birth certificate on MN. I didn’t see the point in giving him a full name that I disliked and would never use.

Personally I can't stand putting a shortened version on the birth certificate. I feel like nicknames or shortened versions are adequate in certain settings, and full names are more adequate in other settings.

When I call my son by his diminutive it adds a dimension of affection and intimacy for instance. If everyone called him the shortened version then it would lose this dimension. Also I like being able to use different nicknames.

That said you should first and foremost do what makes you happy !

But I feel that if one of you wants the short version and the other wants the long version, then it makes more sense to stick with the long option as it is more flexible.

I have a friend who chose the name Billy rather than William. He's now a teenager and everyone including her call him Bill. So you can't win, whatever you choose.

Same as @OnlyJudyCanJudgeMe

My mother was named after her grandmother and never used that name as she thought it was too old fashioned.Also her parents chose to addresser by aversion of the name so to distinguish her from her grandmother and that was the name my mother was known as by everyone except my father.He disliked the name she went by, and, knowing she did not like her official name chose to call her by a very similar name to it.
So my mother when ever names were being discussed would always tell people she had three names she was known as;
To God, she was official name as that was the one given at her baptism,
To her husband she was the name he chose,
To everyone else she was the other one.
The funny thing was my mother hated shortening our names, and always addressed us by the full version

Sorry for typos it is my fat fingers again

Definitely the long name on the BC.

@Naithnira I guess this could be flipped back round ... I think your comment speaks volumes about your background !
..... choose the name you love between you and your partner , not many people would judge only some from certain backgrounds

I think you're taking something precious away from your child by putting a nickname on the BC: choice. A choice to be called what they want and by whom they want.

I always hated the long version of my name and formally changed it to the short version I'm know by, but I agree that nicknames are a form of affection and personal choice. Some names just stick with a child because it seems to suit them better, or they prefer it. For instance you may intend to call your baby Jamie, but find Jay or Jim etc suits him better and that's what he ends up being called. I love nicknames myself, all my kids have 2 sylabol names with the obvious shortened 1 sylabol versions. Doesn't mean other people or family never call them the long version, or other nicknames.

I think Jamie is a name, Freddie in my opinion is a nickname, Charlie a nickname. I do know people with children called this. Choose the name you like of course.

I think you should put the name you plan to call them on their BC. I don't see the point of naming them something you dont plan to call them personally.

I know a Jamie, an Abbi, Charlie, Freddie, teddy, Frankie. Probably more that I cant think of. Jamie and Abbi are both adults with proper professional jobs. Not having a 'real' name doesn't seem to have held them back.

I don't see the point if you are never going to use the long name. I think Jamie is a name in its own right and I wouldn't necessarily think it was short for James.

Everyone needs a 'long' name for when they are being told off

Nope. I see no point naming a boy Frederick if he is only ever going to be called Freddie or Fred.

Giving them choices is a silly reason. The name Mark doesn't have options, yet isn't a short form. Is the parent naming their son Mark or Paul or Scott bad because they are depriving their child of more name options?

Names evolve. Genealogical records indicate that Alice/Alyss and Alison were pretty much interchangeable (at least by the clerks) at one point.

Think of all the Russian novels where depending on context a character might be addressed by just about any form - Anna or Annette, for example, or Natasha or Natalya.

The ie ending doesn't necessarily mean a diminutive. Most people called Julie get pretty miffed when people try calling them Julia. Elsie doesn't appear to have another version (unless it's another corruption of Aliss, of course).

If you want to name your child Freddie, then name your child Freddie. I think it's far worse to announce a name and say "oh but we're going to use something different". I know the royal family do it, but even as a teenager I thought the whole "oh but we're all going to call him Wills" was utterly ridiculous.

I’ve got a shortened version on my birth certificate and always been happy a decision was made for me. I’m quite indecisive so if people had been asking me when I was younger what name I wanted to go by, it would have stressed me out!
I’ve just got one name - easy peasy

How long till we see boys named Charlie going by the nickname Charles? ;)

It depends - there's a limit e.g. Archie or Eliza or Harry is a name in its own right whereas Minnie isn't.

I have a long name on BC whereas I go by a less known shortened version that isn't the name just shorter (think Elizabeth and Betsy for example).

I spent my entire school life saying 'please call me Betsy' and now have to do it at work. I have been called Betsy my entire life and have never used Elizabeth and never intend to. The choice is a burden.

But it would be exactly the same if you had been called Betsy on the BC but always are called Elizabeth - except you can’t technically do it that way round - change a diminutive into a longer version. A Charlie can’t become a Charles. A Charles can become a Charlie.