Great names. Bad nicknames.

MrsRMomma2B

So we love Julia for a girl and Matthew for a boy. However, I despise Jules and Matt as NNs. Jules reminds me of testicles, and Matt just sounds so harsh.

Will people automatically call him / her Jules or Matt? Or, does a NN only develop if the parents start calling the child the NN.  

KtB0605

<---- doesn't know how the in world Jules=testicles.

No. I don't think people will automatically call your child a NN. Especially if you are set on calling them a full name.  

MrsRMomma2B

family jewels. aka testicles 

KtB0605

That's a far stretch.

I wouldn't be worried about it.  

goldenleaves

I don't think people will automatically nickname your child. If this baby is a boy we will name him Matthew and call him Matthew. I have a cousin in his 30's that is called Matthew 90% of the time.

kayash

I honestly don't know anyone who really calls anyone named Julia Jules.

And I don't understand what's wrong with Matt.....and yes, most people tend to call Matthew Matt. So you'll probably fight that if you pick that name. So if you really don't like Matt either pick a different name or prepare to correct people.

eta: at least every Matthew I know has been called Matt. Granted I wasn't around them when they were babies so maybe the parents always called them Matt. I've just never met anyone who actually went by Matthew and I know quite a few Matts.

FutureMrsOKD

KtB0605:

That's a far stretch.

I wouldn't be worried about it.  

I don't think she was saying she was worried others would make the association, she was saying she doesn't like the NN because she makes that association.

OP, for the most part I think you can choose. My first name has 2 or 3 NN options. My mother despised 2 of them and just corrected people when they called me that.  It stuck for the most part, though my MIL calls me the one NN my mom hated the most. LOL.

On the flip side, my brother's name is Christian. She hated the NN Chris.  People would call him Chris and she would say "Chin!"  Unfortunately, his new NN became Chin, Chin chin, chinnerbug. Lol.  So, I guess it can backfire!

rebus82

SIL's name is Julia, and for the most part she's called Julie. DH calls her Jules, but he's done it since childhood and it's certainly never been about testicles. I doubt that's ever occurred to either of them.

I do think it's inevitable that Matthew will be shortened to Matt. Matthew is a mouthful and is really not something I see kids calling out across the playground. People come up with nicknames, whether logical or not, regardless of what the parents do. Kids in school will start calling him/her whatever they want, it's the nature of the beast. It's why you get kids (and grownups) that go around with nicknames like Armpit or Belch - parents certainly didn't start that (I hope). 

FutureMrsOKD

kayash:

And I don't understand what's wrong with Matt.....and yes, most people tend to call Matthew Matt. So you'll probably fight that if you pick that name. So if you really don't like Matt either pick a different name or prepare to correct people.

eta: at least every Matthew I know has been called Matt. Granted I wasn't around them when they were babies so maybe the parents always called them Matt. I've just never met anyone who actually went by Matthew and I know quite a few Matts.

My DH is Matthew. He was called Matty as a child, which makes me giggle.  He's now called Matt, Matthew, or a NN made from his last name.  Unfortunately, I don't think you'll have a lot of luck with this one not being shortened.

kayash

FutureMrsOKD:

kayash:

And I don't understand what's wrong with Matt.....and yes, most people tend to call Matthew Matt. So you'll probably fight that if you pick that name. So if you really don't like Matt either pick a different name or prepare to correct people.

eta: at least every Matthew I know has been called Matt. Granted I wasn't around them when they were babies so maybe the parents always called them Matt. I've just never met anyone who actually went by Matthew and I know quite a few Matts.

My DH is Matthew. He was called Matty as a child, which makes me giggle.  He's now called Matt, Matthew, or a NN made from his last name.  Unfortunately, I don't think you'll have a lot of luck with this one not being shortened.

Oh and just to add - at the last place I worked we had a customer named Matthew - his voicemail on his phone said Matt but his legal name - and thus the name on our paperwork - was Matthew. When we called his references they called him Matt. When we called his work and asked for Matthew Lastname it seriously took the girl on the phone a minute to figure out that was Matt Lastname. lol

BallSox

Fwiw, Even if you name your child something that's traditionally a NN (like L), you'll find people adding letters to make it the formal name again.  

No matter what name you choose, or what you tell people.  If this is really that stressful, I heard Prince is done with this:

 

FutureMrsOKD

BallSox:

Fwiw, Even if you name your child something that's traditionally a NN (like L), you'll find people adding letters to make it the formal name again.  

No matter what name you choose, or what you tell people.  If this is really that stressful, I heard Prince is done with this:

 

That's totally on our list for #2. 

MNgirl326

Lo's name is Michael.  We call him Michael as does everyone else. 

I am sure someday it will probably be shortened to Mike, probably by his friends. But he will always be Michael to us.

Name your kid the name you liike and don't worry about a NM that may or may not happen. 

Mysterious_wife

Allie is not short for anything.  She gets called Allison all the time.  My name also gets a NN and there really isn't a NN for it.  It happens with every name. 

CWinfree85

Mysterious_wife:

Allie is not short for anything.  She gets called Allison all the time.  My name also gets a NN and there really isn't a NN for it.  It happens with every name. 

Would that be Tiff?

magdalina.h

I wouldn't call a Julia, jules.

We call Lucas, Lucas. My parents called him Luke and I asked them to please call him Lucas. We know that kids will shorten his name, but we want him called Lucas. They laughed at me, but have stopped calling him Luke.

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lurkylulu2

You are making a huge leap that Jules=testicles. It kinda makes me think you're an idiot.

Birdies08

My name is Julia and I like the NN Jules and still very few people call me that. I hate when people call me Julie & that happens all the time.

Matt from Matthew will happen and if he likes it, he may chose to go by that. My parents don't like a common NN for my sister's name and she went by it for a few years. They just always called her her full name. On the other hand, my dad will only go by his full name, because that is his preference. He gets called the common NN & corrects people.

boxermama24

My husband has a very common "old fashioned" name that  could definitely be put with a nickname. He enforced his full name his entire life, and no one calls him by the nickname. However, my uncle who has the same name goes by the common nickname, so some of my family makes the mistake of calling my DH by the same nickname. He just shrugs it off because it's not intentional.

We plan to name our baby boy (should we have one) Matthew. We intend to keep it Matthew. I imagine someone down the road will say Matt. They will be politely corrected or, if it's not someone important/just someone in passing, I imagine we'll just ignore it.

btaylor19

I don't see Julia being an issue, but people will shorten Matthew to Matt, whether you like it or not.  My name is not exactly common, but it has a very common nickname. People almost always go with the nickname.   Even when I give my name at a restaurant or something, they shorten it.