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Baby Names
KittyKatMom
member
Nicknames aren't mandatory.
KittyKatMom
member
in Baby Names
That is all.
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." - Jack Layton
BFP #2 12/26/11 ~ EDD 9/6/12 ~ MMC discovered on 1/27/12 @ 8w1d (measured 6w2d)
BFP #3 8/10/12 ~ EDD 4/23/13 ~ MMC discovered on 9/13/12 @ 8w2d (measured 6w6d)
BFP #2 12/26/11 ~ EDD 9/6/12 ~ MMC discovered on 1/27/12 @ 8w1d (measured 6w2d)
BFP #3 8/10/12 ~ EDD 4/23/13 ~ MMC discovered on 9/13/12 @ 8w2d (measured 6w6d)
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Nicknames aren't mandatory.
(read it. you know you want to.)
anderson . september 2008
vivian . february 2010
mabel . august 2012
(Standing up and giving a supportive golf clap for Kittykat!)
Our society is such a "nick name" society. My name really can't be nicknamed, but even so, I do have one friend who has shortened it. But.. it's in a sweet way, i don't care. W/ her, it really is more a term of endearment than anything.
My sons name really isn't nick nameable (Declan), but people absolutely are trying to find ways to nick name him. Deck, Decky.
I think MOST people will stick to his full name, so the few who don't (my dad!), eh, I don't care.
But I do wish people would be more cognizant of a parents wishes before just assigning a nick name to a child.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
I think when names are a mouthful, people have the tendency to want to nick them. It's not neccessarily right, but some names people feel need "toned down" a little, I suppose.
I can think of a bunch of names that can stand alond without nicking of any sort.
I'm a fan of "organic" nicknames. I think it should come from knowing the person & based on your relationship with them. I also don't care if the nn is derived from the given name. I'm really not a fan of predetermining nicknames for kids. Like, his name is William & we'll call him Will, but if anyone calls him Billy I'm going BSC.
To the pp with a Declan, the typical Dublin nn for Declan is Decko. In the Co. Tipperary it's Deck. I've also heard Decker, but I can't remember where in Ireland that person is from.
"This ribbon has been reported." - lovesnina
Thank you!
I don't have a problem with nicknames at all. I've actually gone by a nickname my whole life. But when people assume that every name should or will be shortened, I think it's weird. Really, it's okay for a child to be named William and be called just that... "William."
This is exactly what I was going to say. I don't really understand the point of a predetermined nickname.
I know this was used as an example, but we have a William. We call him "Will" and knew we would call him Will before he was born. We did that, because we didn't want him to be a Willy or Bill or Billy. However, if he grows to prefer one of those names or no nn in the future, that is his choice. If we have a daughter, her name will likely be Elizabeth. We were planning to call her Ellie or Libby, but lately I have been thinking that we will just use her full name and see if a nn naturally evolves.
Couldn't agree more. If you're going to name a baby X but decide to call it Y before he/she is even born, why don't you just name the baby Y?
Oh that doesn't bother me at all. (And if we had a William, we'd probably call him Will too!) What annoys me is when people *overthink* potential nicknames or disregard a name they really like because of potential nicknames. Or the people that assume that ALL names have to be shortened. I don't know anyone in real life who says "But if you name him Graham (our current choice for DS), what will you call him?" If you want to name your child William (or Catherine, to use a different example), but don't like the nicknames associated with them, it *is* okay to call them William and/or Catherine. Other people may shorten them, but *you're* the parents.
~Declare it..Claim it..It will be!!~
5/9/09
Here We Go Again!!
I don't think there's any need for nicknames at all, but I have no problems with nicknames either.
I'm also a fan of organic nicknames. DH's family kept asking what we were going to call the girls after we told them their names. I'm like Evelyn and Charlotte. They couldn't figure it out.
We introduce them by their full names, although about 50% of the time we call them Ev/Evie or Charlie/Sharlie (Charlie is the name my DH likes and Sharlie is what Evelyn calls Charlotte, so I like to use it sometimes).
I think nicknames should be personal and affectionate, not just slapped on like a label.
I'm not a fan of nicknames either, which is why we picked a pretty nickname proof name for our daughter (Nora)
I am a Kathryn who has always gone by Kathryn, teachers always tried to shorten it to Kathy or Katie, I always corrected them.
I say we all make an effort to bring back REAL nicknames that have nothing to do with the child's given name.....
Bucky, Lefty, Slick or Bubba, anyone?!!
(I actually know a teenager who goes by Bucky-- I have no idea what his "real" name is... it's just Bucky!)
Lol at Bubba and Slick.
I think some of the NN thing is cultural. Some languages have diminutive forms of names (or, well, nearly everything). For instance, in most Slavic languages, a person is rarely addressed by just their first name. In formal settings, a person will be addressed by their first name plus patronymic (e.g. Dimitri Ivanovich). In informal settings, a person usually will be addressed by a nickname (e.g. Dima or Mitya for Dimitri, Natasha for Natalya). It's relatively rare for people to be addressed only by their full first name, and it tends to happen only with a few shorter first names...
If I chose a name that didn't have a nickname, my family and friends would mangle a nickname/diminutive out of it. So, NNs are definitely a consideration for us.
Yes! My great uncles all have NN that have nothing to do with their real name. And hardly anyone can remember what their real names are.
My favorite is my uncle Dayton who went by "Codge". WTH? That's fantastic!
LOL. My cousin's nickname growing up was Boomer, because he farted a lot as a baby. I've never called him anything but Boomer. About 10 years ago he legally made it his first name!
Thank You! I agree. I hate it when people have a predetermined nn for their child. My DD has a name with 1000 nn possibilities (Katherine). And people always ask us what we are calling her. We call her Katherine. If she grows into a Kate or a Katie or a Kat or whatever, that's fine. But I am waiting to see what she is. Until that day (and maybe forever), she is Katherine.