does it really matter if you choose the short version of a name?

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

we don't like Nathaniel and Nathan is too similar to our top choice of Ethan but we love Nate...family all saying it's weird to name your child what would otherwise just be a nickname....

Do what you like!

personal opinion - I would want a Nate to have a more formal sounding name to use if he wanted (but I really like the name Nathaniel, so slightly different...).

But seriously, call your child what you want to. You'll only regret it otherwise.

Our dd2 is known to everyone by a shortened version of her name but on official stuff we have used the long version. I think in some cases (but not with the name Nate) that some short versions of a name can date or seem a little "babyish" as the child gets older.

my ds has got a shortened version of a name. I love it and it suits him dont like the full version like the op (different name though)

i love nate too but am not dying about nathan - like you. dh had almost bullied me into calling our last child (daughter thankfully) nathan, but i'd have been calling him nate. despite being very keen on shortened versions of girls names as the actual name, i don't think i would have gone for nate on the birth certifictae... hmm. but like previous posters have said, it is absolutely your choice.

however, i'm not sure of your predicament - you have a top choice of ethan? so is this for a middle name?

No. If you like Nate, call him Nate.

With ds1, I loved the shortened version of his nam but didn't like the full version. However I had this idea that you couldn't call a child the shortened version, so called him the long name. But MIL infuriated me by insisting on calling him the long version!
So with ds3 and ds4 ( ds2 has a short name anyway!) I called them the short version because I wanted them to be called what I wanted to call them IYKWIM!

In general I would go for the longer version on formal stuff unless you really can't stand it. For me personally Archie/Archibald and Wilf/Wilfred are the two cases where I would only use the shortened version.

I like Nate and Nathaniel, less keen on Nathan.

DS's name is a shortened version of a longer name that I don't like. Only problem we have come across is lots of people assuming that his name really is the longer version. Luckily at 2.7 he now corrects them so I don't have to

Go with Ethan

Ooh i'm lovin Nate but then i really like Nathan too, win win!

My nieces have shortened names as their official names. While their names are lovely for babies/little girls, I do wonder if they might like to have the option of the more formal version when they're older. After all, what does it matter what's on their birth certificates initially? They can use their known-as names for the rest of their lives if they like, but if a Bobby doesn't want to be a Bobby when he's older, he can choose to be Rob or Robert iyswim.

My DD has a name which is a name in its own right, but is also a shortened version of at least 3 longer names. Causes some confusion with officialdom at times who seem not able to accept the short name, but went for the name we liked (don't like the longer versions)

My friend's baby is Ben, not Benjamin or Benedict.

I think if you're never going to call them anything else but their shortened name it can be confusing for them.

I do remember a boy in my class arguing with our teacher (at 9) because he reckoned his name was Sam and she knew it was Samuel. He got really wound up!

Me and DP are insisting that if we have a boy his name will be Leo, not Leonard or Leonardo because we hate them but love Leo. Only my sister seems to have a problem with this...

i like ethan

but im biased

nate is nice, and its your kid, shorterned versions are still names whether the can be lengthened or not. its like ellie, that is a short version of eleanor and yet there a oads of ellie's

woah - that is weird!! Our top boys' name is Ethan Christopher!

We've got Nate and Jake as back up names in case our baby doesn't suit Ethan (due in 5 weeks)

Thanks for responses...I hadn't thought about maybe a longer name sounds more professional when he's older, but think Nate can still sound grown up and suit a baby. Gonna go with that and not bow to family pressure!!

I don't like Ethan, personally (but I would never say so to your face, and you should call your kid what you like, not what a load of dingbats on the Internet like).

I like long names so that the child has a choice when they grow up, Nate is a good name, but many people like Nathaniel and Nathan, too. So why not let your child choose which one feels best to them when they're older?

I'm a dull old traditionalist, so I think that (in most cases anyway) the long version of the name should appear on the birth certificate so that, in later life, the person can choose their preferred version of their name. Most diminutives - Katie or Jamie, for instance - sound to me more like children's names and with Catherine or James on their birth certificate they will have more options.

But, really, you have to go with what you feel comfortable with and ignore the ramblings of internet dingbats!

I have an Isabelle who has always been called Izzy.

She started primary school last week, came home and informed me "I have a new name now! Its Isabelle"!!

I was named a longer, formal name and from the word go was named a very popular derivative, which I thought was babyish aged 13 and shortened it by another letter. I was never confused as a child and new that I was xxxxx but my real name was xxxxxxxxx. to this day I insist on my proper initials being used as the shortened name starts with a different letter.

My parents wanted to give me the choice when I was older and, to be frank, I wish I'd picked my middle name! Nothing wrong with my first, the middle one just sounds better.

I always feel sorry for adults with babyish names, as they have a lot of work to carry them off. Better to have a fall back formal name. Although nothing is worse than the impossible to spell 'unusual' name!

Having said ALL that, I too like Nate, but not Nathan or Nathaniel!