6.5 month old and changing their name

[koalabearboombox]

My DD is 6.5m and gorgeous. We gave her a name that isn't super common but very pretty and commonly shortened to a nickname I really love. When I say nickname, it is also commonly used as a full name. To be honest it was the nickname I loved the most as opposed to the long version, but we wanted her to have a longer one to use when she's older if she wanted (to illustrate I'll use Elizabeth / Libby). DH really liked the long name (i.e. Elizabeth) but wasn't super in love with the nickname so we went with that with the agreement we could use either.

Most people, DH included, are now calling her by the long name or an alternative nickname (e.g. Lizzie instead of Libby). And the more I hear it the more I feel I want her to be known as Libby. A friend I confided in said it shouldn't really matter as it's a nickname but it's become quite important to me and I'm considering re-registering her to change it to the shortened version.

Is this silly? Should I just stick with what I call her and let everyone else use the longer name if they like? I'm a bit worried that I've confused everyone (including my older DD, who uses her own nickname for her, a silly made-up word).

I'm conscious she's going to be learning to respond to her own name soon and I don't want to confuse her. I also don't want to have to do the whole "her name is Elizabeth, but I call her Libby, but other people call her Lizzie". I just want to say her name is Libby and that's that!

I realise the answer was probably to get on the same page as DH from the outset but 6.5m down the line could really use some advice as to what to do.

How funny- we also had a long name that only direct family call my DH. Plus a nickname we liked. Grandparents called her another nickname derivation and other people different variations.

In year 5 aged 10 she told everyone she was the boys version of the name ( so ignored all other nicknames and chose what she wanted) and since then everyone has called her that apart from us. To her friends she is X Nickname and to us she is long proper name.

Your child will decide !!

I have two children with longer names and nicknames - one not a natural nickname. Just something we wanted to do. Our eldest has decided he wants to be know as the long name in most circles not the nickname from about Y1 (he's now Y3). He gets a variation on his name depending on the background of the person too. His long name is Henry, family have always called him Harry. His PE teacher calls him Hazzer and holiday club call him H.

I'd keep the names as they are as eventually they will decide what they prefer.

My son has a given first name but is known by a nickname for this name. I like that he has a "formal" name and a name he can choose people to use. I have a very short very popular name and I'd love to have something a little more formal. People will call her what you tell them to call her because she's a baby.

I wouldn’t mess with her first name legally. My mum changed my first name and it’s such a pita when doing dbs checks and passports. Call her verbally what you like but I’d leave her legal name as is

My friends son is called Alfred. When he was a baby I was asking her is it Alfred, Alf, Alfie, Freddie?? He’s called Fred!😆

Ds has a long name (his non- English gf's) and we have always called him by a shortened version, the first half of his name which is a popular name in uk. Once ds started school he wanted to be known by his long name and for the most part he was. At university though most people just called him by the short name and I think he has accepted that (long name is a bit difficult to pronounce). I have changed the spelling of the short name as I always spelt it the English way but now use the actual first half of his name spelling.

@koalabearboombox yes, sorry, I wasn't suggesting you're being unreasonable, I completely agree that you should go with the version you like best! I meant don't worry about changing the BC, but I see you've decided to keep the longer version 'officially'. My sister has a long name which has loads of shorter versions, I was always quite envious as mine gets lengthened in to non-names (Meemes for example), or I get called a short version of my maiden name, and my partner calls me by a completely different nickname as using my actual name sounds so formal.

If you're thinking of changing your daughter's name to the nickname eg. Libby, then your husband needs to be in agreement. The problem is, you've both picked a long name - eg. Elizabeth but you aren't really that keen on it. You liked the nickname Libby, but your husband doesn't, so he's using an alternative nickname!! Why on earth did you both agree to names, you didn't really like??? You should have picked a name (and if necessary a nickname) you both liked. I'd keep the original long name. Let your daughter decide what nickname she wants to use, as she becomes older. Your older daughter needs to be encouraged to either use her sister's long name or a proper nickname, not a random made-up word.

We used a longer version of DS2s name with the intention of only calling him the short version. But actually I find myself using the longer version most of the time! He prefers the short and introduces himself as this L. As they get older their own preference takes priority.