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Will Olivia inevitably get shortened?

52 replies

Brightyellowflowers · 23/02/2025 09:11

I like the name Olivia, not overly keen on Liv or Livvy. Is this inevitable?

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Chardonnay73 · 23/02/2025 09:13

Yes. Livvy as a child and Liv now. No one asks if I mind, they just do it!

BourbonsAreOverated · 23/02/2025 09:14

I know a few oli’s

TwentyTwentyFive · 23/02/2025 09:14

Not in my experience. Most of the Olivia's I've taught in the past decade (and unsurprisingly there have been a lot of them) have always just been Olivia.

Those who used shortened versions were done so by parents before they even started school although a small few decided to go by Livvi or Liv but that was instigated by themselves as they got older.

mitogoshigg · 23/02/2025 09:17

With 4 syllables, yes it's likely to be shortened but whether you do so as a family at home is your choice. Livvy is common but I know an Oli too

StormingNorman · 23/02/2025 09:17

I known an Olivia who goes by Lily.

Ddakji · 23/02/2025 09:17

Depends. Do you live in an area where people don’t seem to be able to cope with more than 2 syllables? Then yes.

LightDrizzle · 23/02/2025 09:17

It’s definitely not something you can control so I’d recommend not choosing any name that you don’t like any of the common derivations of. I prefer my daughter’s full name but chose it fully aware she might end up with a common derivation of it and I was okay with that. She herself prefers the derivation so that what she universally goes by, I call her that too as it’s her choice.

spuddy4 · 23/02/2025 09:19

Yes it probably will. It's one of my Dn names and I always call her Olivia but most people call her Liv.

Lyn397 · 23/02/2025 09:22

If not when young then almost certainly by her friends as a teen.

HansHolbein · 23/02/2025 09:23

I know an Olivia (late twenties) and she’s just Olivia, always has been.

BoleynMemories13 · 23/02/2025 10:47

No nicknames are 'inevitable'. Many people go through life without ever having their names shortened. However, the child owns their name, not their parents, so if she wants to be Liv as a cool teen she'll opt for it herself.

If you don't like an obvious short form of a name I would avoid it for this reason. You may never choose to call her Liv, but she may choose it herself when she's older.

I love Jacob, but would never choose it as I really dislike Jake. Likewise I think Joshua is lovely, but really don't like Josh. I think you have to be content with the most obvious short forms when opting for a name as, although it's not inevitable, it's a strong possibility they will be known as one of them when they're older, if they want to be.

bridgetreilly · 23/02/2025 10:48

Depends what she wants.

Purplecatshopaholic · 23/02/2025 10:50

My friends daughter is Ols.

BeaAndBen · 23/02/2025 10:50

Her friends will shorten it in high school no matter what you do.

Tarahumara · 23/02/2025 10:51

I have an Olivia. Her friends call her Liv but I call her Olivia.

Overtheatlantic · 23/02/2025 10:53

If you call her Olivia then it shouldn’t get shortened.

MWNA · 23/02/2025 11:44

Overtheatlantic · 23/02/2025 10:53

If you call her Olivia then it shouldn’t get shortened.

How does this work?

TwentyTwentyFive · 23/02/2025 11:48

MWNA · 23/02/2025 11:44

How does this work?

The poster clearly means those who use the full name for their child instead of shortening it find that others follow suit.

TheThreeMiracles · 23/02/2025 12:02

Yes most defo! I remember saying when we chose to call our baby Olivia I didn't want it shortened but we never call her Olivia now 😂

ShannonBailey · 23/02/2025 13:53

I'd think if you insist on the full name it will still get shortened sometime.
Ols,Ollie, Liv, Livvy, Livia.

Snorlaxo · 23/02/2025 13:57

In the end, her preference will win.
In my experience many people are “Olivia” to their parents but “Liv” to their friends or vice versa so you could call her Olivia.

Reugny · 23/02/2025 13:58

You cannot insist that your child isn't given a nickname by their friends and classmates.

You can only have some control on what they are called until they start school.

Some people I know use a nickname that is completely different from their own name. While others go by one of their middle names.

Just give your child names you like and hope like most people they are happy enough with it not to officially change it.

Melancholyflower · 23/02/2025 14:02

Not necessarily. If you always call her Olivia, that's what she'll be called, unless she decides she would like to be Liv or Livvy, which is up to her and you'd have to go with what she prefers. If she doesn't ask anyone to call her anything else, then she'll be Olivia.
I don't understand people saying she'll inevitably get called Liv or Livvy; if someone introduces themselves to you as Michael, do you just decide to call them Mike, or call Elizabeth Liz? I would never use a diminutive of someone's name, unless I knew they wanted that. I think it is incredibly rude to call someone something different to what they ask to be called, which is why most normal people would not do it.

PatriciaHolm · 23/02/2025 14:05

Maybe, and she may well end up as "Olivia first initial surname", because there are so many of them though! I think DDs class had 3. It's one of the most popular girls names and has been for some years.

CuteEasterBunny · 23/02/2025 14:06

There’s lots of Livs in my daughters friendship group.