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Original poster

Little rant about name shortening

118 replies

PickasillyChristmasName · 09/12/2004 08:41

This isn't an important rant but it's something that bothers me a bit so I wanted to share it Smile.

DS is called Benjamin and DH and I call him that ie not Ben. We have no objections to the name Ben, but we call him Benjamin.

So why if we introduce him as Benjamin do people automatically call him Ben? Am I the only person with this problem? And is it Benjamins who always get shortened by other people?

Any other names that get shortened when you'd rather use the "long" version?

OP posts:
TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 09/12/2004 11:01

And Charlotte (Lottie) was my 2nd favourite name for my Maddy-Moo Grin

alexsmum · 09/12/2004 11:29

I've got a Matthew, who I(and his dad) occassionally call Matty moo.I loathe it when people other people shorten it.Doubtless he will end up a Matt when he's older but I hate it.He's Matthew.

Flumberrysauce · 09/12/2004 11:34

I think using the long version of a name all the time is a bit affected. Shorter names are much more friendly and easier to say. Do you want everyone to work really hard?

Heather is the funniest one, they always get called just 'H'

Ben is a nice cosy little name for a little boy. Benjamin does smack a bit of bunnies - maybe thats just me. I mean he's gonna get called all sorts of things at school - are you gonna complain to his friends if they call him Pongo or something.

Sorry just returning a rant with anothe rant.

golds · 09/12/2004 11:35

My ds is Christopher, I swore I would go mad if ANYBODY ever called him Chris, but they do and now I do sometimes, because its quite a difficult one for him to spell, he writes Chris. I personally thing Christybums suits him better.

I'm a Suzanne, I get Suze, Suzie, Sue whatever, but I hate being called Susan - Suzanne sounds much more grown up.

TumbleflumpDancingBum · 09/12/2004 11:42

ds1 is a Matthew, he prefers Matt, I call him 'mapoopy' or poop...Grin ds2 is a Thomas and prefers Tom, I call him 'tittle mouse' dd is called laura, she prefers this or loz, I like calling her her sunday name as it annoys her Laura-Anne...Wink I am so cruel....

WigWamBam · 09/12/2004 11:45

Flum, I don't consider myself affected - if you were me, would you want people calling you Trace? Particularly when said with a broad Brummie accent ...

merrymarthamoo · 09/12/2004 11:54

Dh is Nicholas but I have never known anyone call him that - not even his parents. I can't call him Nicholas and keep a straight face.

Ds1 is Samuel but has been Sam from day one. I somehow felt he had to have a "proper" name, not a shortened one, on his birth certificate. He gets called Samuel at the doctors, and that's the only place (they did call him Samuel when he started school but have given up now!)

Ds2 is Harry and pretty un-shortenable (that should be a word) but dh calls him Haribo sometimes which irritates me intensely!

JanH · 09/12/2004 12:06

Jessica is Jess; Frances is Fran; Joseph is Joe and Samuel is Sam. Of course. (When they were little it was Jessie, Frannie and Joey but they grew out of that - Sam was never Sammy for some reason.)

But then we sometimes lengthen the short names and get Jessaroony, Frannie-Annie, Joebo and Sambo. Grin (Sam's friends call him Sammo.)

They mostly get Sunday names on school reports.

Original poster
PickasillyChristmasName · 09/12/2004 12:10

Point taken Flumberry and of course I won't complain to his friends about what they call him.

(Although probably would take issue with Pongo Smile).

As DS is only just 1 he hasn't yet called himself anything and I would be very surprised if he calls himself anything other than Ben to start with. And that would be fine with me, as I have mentioned somewhere along the line I don't object to the concept of him being called Ben - I just don't like it when I introduce him as Benjamin and someone else then calls him Ben.

And yes, Benjamin is a name for a bunny; it's also the name for my DS!

And there isn't anything affected in being called by your full name. I am called Katherine by nearly everyone and I don't see how that is affected.

Anyway, glad to have provoked some discussion Grin

OP posts:
janeyjinglebops · 09/12/2004 12:16

We have given ds an official long name that I hardly ever use. Everyone calls him the shortened version which we prefer. We just wanted something a little less 'childish' as well in case he prefers if when he is a man!

DD has a 4 letter name, but we get asked a lot if it is short for Esmerelda - that drives me potty! Also it can be said 2 ways. I don't mind the first time but when I have corrected them and they continue to mispronounce it - I think that is RUDE!

jellybabe83 · 09/12/2004 12:17

My little Boy's called Benjamin too, (which I really don't think 'smacks' of bunnies, but there you go!).
We specifically chose his name, because we liked the name Ben aswell, and so we shorten it a lot, but also call him Benjamin a lot too. I think you're right to be annoyed if other people call him Ben, and you don't, but then other people may not neccessarily know that, so maybe if people do call him Ben, then you should correct them and tell them you'd rather he was called Benjamin as that's the name you've chosen for him....!
I admit to being a name shortener myself, and I use shortened names for my whole family..! I'm Fran, my partners Rob, and my brothers are Stu and Steve...! Just a habit, and I think some people are just like that. Anyway, starting to go on a bit here! My point was, let people know you're not happy with it, and they will respect that and call him by what you want him to be called!
xxx

WigWamBam · 09/12/2004 12:19

But people don't respect it, Jellybabe - otherwise I wouldn't still be having my name shortened.

Original poster
PickasillyChristmasName · 09/12/2004 12:20

I also feel silly saying "but we call him Benjamin" because people look as if you're a bit weird. When they say - is he Ben yet, I start wondering if it's a developmental stage he's meant to reach Smile

OP posts:
CathB2 · 09/12/2004 12:21

I dont think its affected to keep the long version if that is what you want to be called. Its your name (or the one you have chosen) after all! I dont particularly like any of the short versions of DD1's name except the one she came up with herself. DD2's is usually shortened, so we have a completely completely confused policy in our house. But if they decide later to change the versions they wnat to use thats fine.

I may be a trifle sensitive, as I have relatives who a) still spell my name wrong and b) call me Katy- which is not my name!

I know a Hugh who was known as H.

JanH · 09/12/2004 12:23

LOL, Picka! Is he Ben yet!

People really should use the names that people want to be called, not that they think they should be called. IYSWIM. It's just rude otherwise.

jellybabe83 · 09/12/2004 12:23

Sorry wigwambam, maybe I should've said some people will respect it.... Blush

WigWamBam · 09/12/2004 12:25

No offence taken, jellybabe, just an observation Smile

Blackduck · 09/12/2004 12:27

I just feel thankful that I'm not my sil who is known by the whole family as 'Bottom' and by her dh as 'H' (her name is Heather)

JanH · 09/12/2004 12:29

And of course dear John Peel's wife is called Pig.

Original poster
PickasillyChristmasName · 09/12/2004 12:30

Grin JanH

OP posts:
Original poster
PickasillyChristmasName · 09/12/2004 12:31

Of course I do have the problem that I have no idea what DS wants to be called anyway. Maybe he would have preferred to be called Zebedee.

If he wants to be Ben, Benny, Jamie, Benjy, or any other variation will be up to him Smile

OP posts:
frogs · 09/12/2004 12:50

My ds has a pretty classic name with an obvious and v. common short form -- a bit like the Benjamin-Ben thing. Except we've never called him by usual short form, because his childminder had a ds called this too, and it was confusing.

I'm really shocked by how many people use the short form without bothering to find out how he likes to be addressed. It feels really presumptious to me, and ds used to get quite confused by it: "Why does so-and-so keep calling me X when that's not my name?"

But then again, at home we usually call him Piglet, which he'll answer to quite happily...

Gobbledigoose · 09/12/2004 12:50

I don't want my David to be shortened to Dave but ds1 does it already - don't know where he's got it from!

Also got a James and would rather it remained James but I bet it gets shortened to Jamie (yeuk!) or J (not bad).

Thomas is Thomas or Tom - don't mind.

Gobbledigoose · 09/12/2004 12:52

Just had to laugh at JanH!!

We call Tom - Tombo or Tombelina!!

David I call Daver Waver!!

James I call Jamie-babes!!

Mad!

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 09/12/2004 12:53

DH wouldn't let me call DH James .. because he said it would be shortened to Jim Shock .. I love the name James too Sad

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