So many nicknames as full names

[Gladlymaam]

So my DD is 2, lately we’ve met a lot of other kids her age, through nursery, play groups, friends of friends etc. We live in London in what would be generally classed as a very nice area, would be stereotyped as very middle class etc. I’ve also noticed a bit of a trend where most of these families are corporate dad and SAHM set ups (obviously I don’t know every single one of these child’s parents jobs so it’s a smaller sample) and what I have noticed is so many of these children have nicknames for full names.
I feel like on Mumsnet people are generally told to give their child a full name and it often comes up as “not very classy” to give them one of the nicknames as full names, or suggested that educated/ambitious parents wouldn’t pick these names (I don’t necessarily agree with this I’m just repeating a common theme I’ve seen).
So far we have met
2x Stevie (girls)
Teddy
Rudy
Ozzy
Gigi
Bea
Posy
Emmy
Bobby
Pippa

This has surprised me a little as amongst my close friends and from what I’ve seen on here it’s pretty unpopular to give your child a nickname as a full name. It’s also made me wonder why especially on here it’s seen as unclassy or a sign of being uneducated when at least in my experience the names are being used across all classes including amongst highly educated and successful individuals?
Have you noticed this trend too? Is it as prolific amongst the people you know? What are your thoughts on it?

I agree with the person who said those names aren't nicknames (with the possible exception of Ozzy, which in the most famous case came from a surname, not a first name). I wouldn't personally give any of those as a full first name, but then one of my DC has a name that used to be considered a diminutive of another name but has been used in its own right for quite a long time (it's about as likely to offend anyone as, say, Sally or Jack). Maybe it always seems strange, and divides opinions, when they first become independent names, but after 100 years or so it becomes more mainstream. While they're new, some people embrace them more quickly than others, and that's OK. We all have different taste in names.

I’ve got a full name and my shortened name which is exclusively used except for banking etc. I think my full name is quite pointless really. My shortened name is more linked my personality/sense of identity etc, although the short name is a name in its own right.

My mum is very working class, I’m a higher earner and have given my girls names that are just their names. No nicknames, no longer versions etc!

Most MNers on the baby names board are the biggest load of snobs going. And probably wouldn’t know what is or isn’t classy.

Stop judging and categorising people.

Both my kids have diminutive names on their birth certificate. I'm a teacher and hate the confusion over longer names being on the roll, students having a shorter name they go by, having to let the teacher know and in some cases they cringe like hell that their long name was read out. My top rule when it came to naming our children was that what they would be known by would be written on their birthcert.

I've yet to see a valid argument for giving them the longer name. "Give the options for when they are older". I've a 4 letter full name, I've never felt the need to have an option to call myself something else.
The career point... well it's 2025 and we live in a multicultural society so that argument doesn't make sense to me either.

Agree about never using the longer name - it was years ago that I stopped putting my actual name on my CV - what’s the point? No one EVER uses it! Never did at school or uni or work or home. Ever.

If you have the “nickname” planned at birth, just call them that. That’s not a nickname anyway - a nickname is something that happens organically. I know an Emily who’s always called Snooze - that’s a nickname!

I’d be inclined to use a name that has no diminutives and can’t be shortened eg Clara. Mind you, my mother thought she was doing that for me and then used a diminutive of my name when I was little!

They’re not nicknames. They are diminutives.
eg Liz for Elizabeth.
A nickname is something else eg Professor Green for a habit or characteristic.

I love the idea of a kid called eg Dalziel Saint John Montgomery Cholmondeley-Jones but known day to day as ‘Dave Jones’

All these people saying “BuT wHaT abOuT ThEIr CaREeR???” are making me laugh. The contacts list for any large organisation will be absolutely full of people, right up to CEO level, who list themselves professionally as Jo, Liz, Steve, Andy, Kate, Nicky, Charlie, Rob, Jim, Tony, Ellie, Steph, Mike etc. Both the CEO and Chair where I work always go by their diminutive names - and I work for a very old professional body for a prestigious and notoriously ‘elite’ profession. Being known by her diminutive name didn’t stop our Chair getting a damehood.

Many, many politicians, including Cabinet members and at least two PMs and at least one Deputy PM in my lifetime, are professionally known by their diminutive names. And that isn’t a new thing - it’s been the case for many, many decades.

It's usually written as St. John.

Some diminutives have been used as names for so long that they are established as names in their own right. Sophie, Jack, Pippa and maybe Lucy was once Lucinda

Perhaps they didn’t like the “full version “ of the name so registered their baby with the version they liked and plan on using.

I have a long name, it has about 20 possible diminutives. My family exclusively use 1. My DH isn’t a native english speaker and the diminutive of my name in his language is different to english. So he and his family use that.

In absolutely every other circumstance I am my full name. I introduce myself as full name. In work I am my full name. Kids should have a choice.

This 100%. I don't get why mumsnetters care about other people giving their child a (shock horror) working class name. Just let us be 😂

Other way round. Lucy is from Lucia, and Lucinda is an elaboration of Lucia.

@PegDope , why should they have a choice? When I was a child, most of us had names like Helen, Sarah, Emma, Marie, Mark, Paul, Ian.
We didn't need a choice.

The trouble is they all sound very cute and child-like and are appropriate for kids but won't look so good as an adult. I prefer the full name as it gives them options to adapt it to their preference as they get older.

@WhatATimeToBeAlive , they'll be fine. There will be thousands of Evies, Alfies, Teddys, Ellies. Many will have jobs like MPs, teachers, lawyers, surveyors, police officers etc.

I think they'll just be names associated with their generation. Or some will become 'proper' names like Katie and Lucy have become.

@Lou7171 , Lucy isn't a diminutive. It's a standalone name, and a classic. It's about the same as saying Alice, Helen or Susan is a 'nn'.

DS has a full name which can be shortened to a normal name (which is what he likes to be called), or a diminutive/nickname which we called him for the first 2 years of his life until he decided he didn’t like it anymore!
Think Robert, Bob, Bobby (not the names, but similar).
Loads of people use diminutives as full names now, I don’t see an issue unless it’s really twee.

When I was young lots of kids were named Stephen, David, Andrew etc but were known as Steve, Dave & Andy. I like that they have the option of using these short forms among friends and family. Again, why are some parents today denying their children that option?

I know lots of people that have put diminutives on birth certificates - it’s pretty normal round these parts.

eg, We know 2 Kits, an Emmy, 2 x Jamies, a Ted, a Maddie, at least 3 Millies… All are their given names.

I’ve noticed over the past decade it’s mostly the trend for names to end in a ‘cute’ e sound (e, ie, y etc) Girls names do this but are mostly still traditional and varied. Boys names are all very similar sounding and American. In my DDs reception class the names all like Toady, Jody, Bodie, Batty, Catty. Those obviously aren’t the actual names but examples of the similar sounds.

On the general topic, it’s also possible to have a nickname longer than the original name, even when the original name is a proper name. So kids don’t necessarily need to miss out on a nickname if they only have a short diminutive name.