what do you think of Tess as a nickname for Elizabeth?

htw

Elizabeth is a family name that I love, but I don't want a nickname and none of them are that appealing to me for one reason or another.  I know Tess is traditionally a nickname for Theresa, but thought if Bess can be a nickname for Elizabeth, why not Tess?

what do you think?

ttmccoot

i think it's a real stretch, and not a good one at that.

how about tessa elizabeth?

Spookster

I see no connection between Tess and Elizabeth... they are 2 seperate names ... if you like Tess name her Tess.. dont try and stretch Elizabeth into Tess...IMO it totally doesnt work at all.

happyin10

Why not?? People will call your child whatever you call her and she calls herself.  Many nicknames have nothing to do with given names anyway. 

Kimmy1836

I think it makes no sense.

strangebird

I don't see a problem with calling your child Tess, even though her name is Elizabeth; my family does similar things all the time. I do, however, have a problem with saying "Tess is a nickname for Elizabeth," because it's not. Call her Tess if you want, but don't say it's a nickname for Elizabeth--it can be a nickname without being derived from the given name.

Sweets2005

I agree, it is a stretch. Why not just name her Tess/Tessa/Tessie? Or name her Elizabeth Tess and she can go by her mn. OR Tess Elizabeth...?

htw

I have actually seen it used as a nickname for elizabeth -- geneology websites list it as a nickname for either Theresa or Elizabeth, so I didn't totally make it up out of thin air.  But, I know most people don't necessarily think of it that way, as clearly evidenced by the replies. 

BelleBaby

(1) I think it's a stretch to go from Elizabeth to Tess.

(2) Tess is a great name.  Name her Tess Elizabeth.

(3) Why worry about nicknames?  People will call her whatever they decide to call her, whether you like it or not.  DH's grandfather calls Benjamin "Benji" which I hate, but there's not much I can do about it.  So I wouldn't worry about it. 

pkate98

I think the nickname for Elizabeth is Liz or Beth.  Tess is short for Tessa or Theresa.

kristajew

happyin10:

Why not?? People will call your child whatever you call her and she calls herself.  Many nicknames have nothing to do with given names anyway. 

i totally agree. we call our son z or zay most of the time (his name is isaiah) and our daughter noni (eleanor). we started off calling her norah, but then z called her noni and it just kind of stuck.

magsugar13

Kimmy1836:

I think it makes no sense.

Why not name her Tess if that is what you want to callher.why bother with elizabeth? i dont get that....ever..

*Scuzzlebutt*

I would never think of Tess as a nickname for Elizabeth.

Ms Molly

I would not consider Tess to be a nickname for Elizabeth.

Rangergal9

We were going to use Elizabeth and call her Ellie.  Do you just not like the traditional nn's for Elizabeth, like Liz and Beth?  There is also Betsy as well.  I wouldn't see Tess as a nn for Elizabeth, but like others mentioned you can name her Elizabeth Tess and call her by her middle name.

PhilsWife07

If you say the name Elizabeth out loud, you can hear how Bess came to be a nickname for it. Tess appears no where in that name, in any form.

 

strangebird

This is an unbelievably exhaustive list of all the various forms of Elizabeth (there are hundreds), plus, if you scroll down to the bottom, there are several dozen nicknames for Elizabeth listed. Tess isn't on the list, but there are other off-beat variations you might like.

peonie222

There are tons of nicknames for Elizabeth...and TEss isn't one of them! Sorry. Tess rocks though - just call her Tess if you like it! Or Theresa, or Tessa.....and use Elizabeth as a middle...

 Nicknames are one thing, but I don't understand giving a baby one name with the intention of calling her something compeltely different.

Great choices though!

Allie30

happyin10:

Why not?? People will call your child whatever you call her and she calls herself.  Many nicknames have nothing to do with given names anyway. 

This. Man, the nickname police are out in full force today. My nickname actually only shares two letters from my name, but everyone knows who my family and childhood friends are talking about. 

Allie30

pkate98:

I think the nickname for Elizabeth is Liz or Beth.  Tess is short for Tessa or Theresa.

Or Eliza, or Ellie, or Lisa, or Betsy, or Betty, or Bette, or Bess, or Bessie, or Lizbeth, or Liesel, or Effy, or Libby, or Libba...

Peg and Peggy are nicknames for Margaret, and the letter P appears NOWHERE in the word Margaret. However, the letter T most certainly is in the word Elizabeth. Peg is derived from Meg which is derived from Margaret. By that reasoning, Tess can be derived from Bess which is derived from Beth which is derived from Elizabeth.

Ignore the hater nickname police, OP. I think Elizabeth is a beautiful name, Tess is a perfectly wonderful nickname for it, and you're smart to pick a nickname for her. I know two "Liz"s who both wound up that way because they never got to "pick" their own nickname and people refused to call them the whole name. 

MaddysMama07

I don't see Tess as a nickname for Elizabeth at all.

TwoThurstons

BelleBaby:

(1) I think it's a stretch to go from Elizabeth to Tess.

(2) Tess is a great name.  Name her Tess Elizabeth.

(3) Why worry about nicknames?  People will call her whatever they decide to call her, whether you like it or not.  DH's grandfather calls Benjamin "Benji" which I hate, but there's not much I can do about it.  So I wouldn't worry about it. 

Benji is not such a great nickname...especially since it was a dog's name at one point.

BelleBaby

TwoThurstons:

BelleBaby:

(1) I think it's a stretch to go from Elizabeth to Tess.

(2) Tess is a great name.  Name her Tess Elizabeth.

(3) Why worry about nicknames?  People will call her whatever they decide to call her, whether you like it or not.  DH's grandfather calls Benjamin "Benji" which I hate, but there's not much I can do about it.  So I wouldn't worry about it. 

Benji is not such a great nickname...especially since it was a dog's name at one point.

I know!  That's why I hate to hear him call him that, but it's kind of their "thing" so I let it go.  Pick your battles, right?  I just keep thinking, he's a baby, not a fuzzy mutt!

queenbone

I wouldn't think of Tess as being short for Elizabeth, but I wanted to mention another name. 

I went to school with twins named Contessa and Contressa and they went by Tess and Tress.  I hate matchy matchy names, but I think Contessa is very pretty and another way to get Tess if you ar enot a fan of Teresa

MaryYVR

Why does Elizabeth need a nn?  I know of a few Elizabeth's that go by Elizabeth.

cozylittlecave

I'm a Tess! And it isn't short for anything either... just Tess!

I did know the Tess used to be a nickname for Elisabeth, but I've never actually heard it in use that way (and I think most people will be baffled by it). 

fineskyline

Why not? I like this.

Right now, I am loving Liv as a nickname for Elizabeth. Go for Tess!

outnumbered

If you like Elizabeth just call her that.  why does there need to be a nickname?  My 5 year old is Elizabeth and she has no nickname.  She corrects everybody her calls her anything else.

braveangel2

Some thoughts and questions in no particular order...

Tess is a great name - something I've liked since seeing the Nicolas Cage movie, Guarding Tess.

Elizabeth is a great, classic name

I can't tell if you want her first name to Elizabeth or Tess

Tess is not a traditional nick name for Elizabeth

Tess as a nick name for Elisabeth is a stretch

Do you have a middle name you're stuck on? If not, Tess Elizabeth or Elizabeth Tess might be a good option

Generally people take cues from the parents when it comes to calling a child a nick name. If you call her Elizabeth and correct someone now and again, she will be Elizabeth - at least until she's old enough to decide her own nick name. Then it's out of your hands.

beepers9775

That doesn't make sense.