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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Why bother naming your baby something when you're going to call them something else?

23 replies

AuntieMaggie · 01/03/2010 12:52

I love the name Lottie, but DP won't even consider it (not that I'm pregnant yet) because it's not a real name it's short for something.

But I think why bother naming your baby one thing if you're only going to shorten it and call them something else?

I just don't get it.

OP posts:

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Flightattendant · 01/03/2010 13:04

Imo it's to do with keeping options open.

For instance your child might want a formal version at times, such as when applying for jobs etc, and an informal version for friends. eg Charlotte and Lottie.

I've given ds a weirdy first name because it suited him (!) and a normal middle name in case he hates it.

Calling a child a nickname gives them no options at all iyswim...you might as well have two versions to choose from!

squeaver · 01/03/2010 13:06

Because they can then have a choice of names when they're older.

And you can have a "naughty" name. Very useful, ime.

nickelbabe · 01/03/2010 13:07

i agree: it means that the child can choose the name that they feel suits them throughout their lives.

my sis Charlotte is usually lottie or charlie, but it's changed a lot through her life, mainly depending on mood and age.

Lottie is pretty, but IMO it suits a little girl and an old lady.
if she's Lottie officially, it means that she may end up hating it when she becomes a stroppy teenager (my sis was Charlie during her teens and early 20s)

themildmanneredjanitor · 01/03/2010 13:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DorotheaPlenticlew · 01/03/2010 13:12

You may feel Lottie is fine for an adult, but it's not really about you and what you plan to call her while you are raising her. It's her name for the whole of life. Lottie is a really sweet name but is essentially a diminutive, and whether you agree or not, to some people it carries childlike connotations. Your DD may well think this when she's older.

She may decide, when she begins her campaign for Prime Minister or whatever, that it is handy to have the option of a name that doesn't sound so little-girlish.

DorotheaPlenticlew · 01/03/2010 13:12

ooh, x-posts

BigBadMummy · 01/03/2010 13:16

None of my three are known by the "names they were given". THey are all shortened versions.

If you want a particular name, then go for it.

We did give each of them a middle name though so they could use that if they didnt like their first names. And first names that could be shortened again, or haven't different variations, iyswim.

Original poster

AuntieMaggie · 01/03/2010 13:28

Thats fine about giving them choice to use what they want, but I don't know why I would name my baby something I don't intend calling it.

Also, Charlotte has bad connotations for me

OP posts:

Flightattendant · 01/03/2010 13:33

well, in that case I can see what you mean...you could either find a name that you liked, that Lottie could be short for, (or even an entirely different name!) and still call her Lottie, or you could use Lottie and be darned.

Compromise may be the key if you want to consider your DP though.

Carlotta, maybe is another variant, or - erm - Camelotte?

Flightattendant · 01/03/2010 13:34

scratch that, she'll never get a job with Camelotte as a name.

Flightattendant · 01/03/2010 13:35

I would think Violet could be shortened to Lottie.

boogeek · 01/03/2010 13:36

Carlotta? Or, um, Lutitia? (Maybe not )
Two of my three children are known by shortened versions of their full name and I hope they will like that when they are older - when I was at school all the "cool" girls had names that were shortened (usually to something with an i, possibly with a heart in place of a dot on top...I digress...) - Nikki, Suzi, Jenni, Mandi. I had nickname envy.

boogeek · 01/03/2010 13:36

LOL x-post on Carlotta.

RumourOfAHurricane · 01/03/2010 13:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LynetteScavo · 01/03/2010 13:43

I'm with your DH, AuntieMaggie.

I'm very traditional about names, and am a bit at Archie and Jamie and Alfie or Teddy....I would always put the traditional name on the brith certificate. Archibald is a fine name.

I think I'm just very old fashioned, though.

Original poster

AuntieMaggie · 01/03/2010 13:49

Maybe it's just cos I don't have a name that shortens well or I don't like what people try to shorten it to!

OP posts:

chipmonkey · 01/03/2010 13:55

ds3 is Tom. He is not Thomas because I don't like Thomas, I like Tom, and I know that MIL, for one, would have probably called him Thomas if that was what was on his birth cert. She called ds1 by his "long name" for ages because I had compromised and put the long version onn the birth cert and when I was moaning about it to one of dh's cousins, he said I shouldn't have called him one thing when I meant another. So I didn't do it again!

BettyButterknife · 01/03/2010 14:07

Well, speaking from personal experience, I am never called Charlotte, was called Charlie by parents, family etc when I was a nipper, but decided to change my name to Lottie when I was about 7. I couldn't handle school calling me Charlotte - didn't feel like me at all - and it seemed weird for people outside the family calling me Charlie which was essentially a pet name. So Lottie it was and has been for 25 years.

I am known as Lottie by everyone, in personal and private life, and wouldn't want it any other way. The only time I'm called Charlotte is in formal situations like medical etc. which I find very confusing and I'm sure they do too.

I have considered changing my name by deed poll to Lottie, as it's confusing to have a signature which reads Lottie but a bank card/passport etc with Charlotte, especially as they don't start with the same letter.

Anyway, OP, if I were you I'd call her Lottie and be done with it. I wish my parents had!

BettyButterknife · 01/03/2010 14:12

But I do know where your DP is coming from, as I love the name Ted for this baby but don't like any of the long names it comes from.

My parents must have learnt their lesson with my name, as they called my brother Sam. Not Samuel, just Sam. And that was 30 years ago - I'm sure times are even more relaxed now, aren't they?

jellybeans · 01/03/2010 15:01

I have a long name that can be shortened to 2 or 3 short versions. I have only ever used one of the shortenings, the long one seems too formal, only doctors use it and then most call me the short term anyway when they know me. Whats the point in the long name at all? It bugs me sometimes. I gave my DS a short version as the long version is not really our thing, we wanted a short name and like someone above, didn't want MIL/others calling him the long form (she would) or kids at school teasing about the long formal form.

I would go with Lottie. If you look at the recent names stats, many many names are more popular in the short form...Lexie, Zak, Archie, Alfie, etc that by the time they are grown up it will be 'normal' and less usual to have a 'spare' name. Many doctors are called shortened names like Chris etc. Many longer names are not the original/right ones anyway and have changed over the years so there is not much to say that the longer form is the 'correct' one anyway. Also, short forms are not the same as nicknames like 'dazza, shazza etc'.

Ellokitty · 01/03/2010 20:26

As someone who hates their name, it was very important to me to give my children the option of having adaptable names, that they could choose something they like.

IMO, it is more important that my child likes his/her name, than I like it, because at the end of the day I'm not the one that has to live with it.

Therefore, a longer birth name gives the child more choice, which is something that is some people (particularly those that hate their own names) consider to be important.

My DD1 has a choice of 6 abbreviations (inc the full name) to choose from and DD2 has a choice of 7. Hopefully, there will be something in there they like. We have always let our DDs choose what they like to be called. DD1 used to have a shortened name, but has since chosen to be known by her full name and DD2 has a shortened name, but has since chosen a different shortening that she prefers.

To me, it is my priority to find a name they will like, so that's my reason.

Jacanne · 01/03/2010 20:35

I am pregnant and we will be calling the baby Lotta - like you I don't like Charlotte (I know a nasty one). We really like Lottie and will probably call her that mostly but wanted a "grown-up" name for her, should she desire it in the future

EssenceOfJack · 01/03/2010 21:05

I had the same thing with DD2, her 'long' name is a very pretty name, but it doesn't really suit an out of control toddler. But thinking abotu it, I have probably only used her long version 2 or 3 times in ehr life.
But then she has the full version to use when she is older as that is how it is on her birth certificate.

They don't mean anything anyway, my brother has always been known as his middle name.

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