Do you think people would shorten the name Jillian to Jill?

CrossLA · August 2010

We like the name Jillian. I don't really want it shortened to Jill when she's older. Do you think that'd be the natural thing for teachers, friends, etc to do?

papagena · August 2010

Yes, I think people would have a tendency to. A few friends tried to shorten my full name (which is all of two syllables) to Kris, which was most definitely NMS, and I let them know that, but if they did that with mine, I'd say it's a safe bet they'll try to with Jillian. Again - you can probably stay safe in the toddler years and eventually it will be her choice.

Chick7806 · August 2010

They probably would- just like my daughter will probably be called Jellybean by my parents her whole life (it's what we started calling her from the beginning)!

But you could always go around and correct them! I love the name Jillian! )

ermimac · August 2010

It depends. If she were clear that no, it's Jillian, then it wouldn't be shortened. As a teacher, I always ask anyway. (One of my friends had a student freak out because she wrote Drew on his folders and he did not shorten his name.) I've known a few Jillians, and they have always been Jillian.

colesmom_07 · August 2010

I have a niece named Gillian and we call her Gilly, Gilly-bean, just the pet names we've given her. But at school and church etc., everyone else calls her Gillian. Now, I keep a lady's kids whose name is Jillian. People tend to call her Jill. Maybe it's in the spelling?

nycjenny · August 2010

Yes.

And she will find it incredibly annoying if she's anything like me! My nickname gets shortened too! I hate it. I introduce myself with my full name (Jennifer) or use my nickname (Jenny) and people automatically chop it (down to Jen). You can try, but people have no respect.

I don't think you should let that discourage you from choosing a name you really like though. You, her family, will always call her what she's really named and that's what matters.

harmony3d · August 2010

Working on a college campus, I knew many a Jillian who was called Jill or Jillie/Jilly by her friends. None of them disliked the nickname, but I'm sure it came naturally for friends, etc... On the other hand, I also had a friend growing up who was just adamant about being called Jillian and not a nickname, so that's what we all called her, no problem. If you love the name, it can't hurt to try, and if someone calls her Jill, like a teacher, I wouldn't hesitate to correct them nicely! GL deciding!

Hyfagal · August 2010

I have a name that can be shortened like that and teachers always asked what I wanted to be called and stuck with it. My friends call me whatever they want. Some use my formal name and some shorten it.

WestCoastMommy · August 2010

eventually

Serpentesbride · August 2010

That is exactly why we vetoed the name Victoria. I knew it would get shortened to Vicky and I would have to strangle someone. If you are lucky it would get shortened to Jill likely it would go to Jilli. My daughter Gwendalyn was shortened to Gwenny.

jkaplan84 · August 2010

If you always call her Jillian you might be safe for a while, but she might choose to be called Jill when she is older. I am having a similar problem now with DH. Right now Alice is at the top of our list, but I think he wants to call her Ally (which I don't really like). I don't mind if she eventually chooses to go by Ally, it's just not the name I am choosing for her. As a Jennifer who had issues with Jenny/Jen/Jennifer for the first 25 years of my life, I don't want my child to go through that too.

*~toddsfuturewife~* · August 2010

My name is Jillian! Good choice Wink

When I was younger evveryone called me by my full name but as I got older, like around high school years, people started shortening it to Jill. I dont mind either way but my mom still corrects people. To alot of my friends I am Jill but family they still say Jillian.

Mrs164 · August 2010

People will call her what you want them to call her. My name is Candyce and just about everyone I have ever met with the same name goes by Candy. My mother was adamant from the beginning that she did not want people calling me Candy and would politely correct them. Nobody has ever disrespected her request, or as I got older, my request. And in all honesty, at one point when I was older I didn't mind the nickname, but everyone already knew it was Candyce. I really feel that you have control over whether or not family, friends, etc become accustomed to shortening her name.

tropicalmama · August 2010

I've been wondering the same thing! I love the name Gillian, but don't love Jill. I would absolutely end up calling her Gilly or Gilly-bean though, so I don't suppose I could complain too much...

wda519 · August 2010

My name is jessica and i've found that people tend to ask before shortening to jess (except my grandpa who is the only one who calls me jessie). However i named my son reegan thinking that it can't be shortened but people call him reegie, reegs, etc. which annoys me. My son who is now 3 will correct people who shorten it. People will learn.

MichelleL1118 · August 2010

Probably, especially with friends. As a teacher, I try not to ever shorten a child's name unless they express a preference to be called by a nickname, so it's probably not something you'd need to worry about with teachers. The only person I know named Jillian gets called Jill all the time, by most people she knows.

~adamwife~ · August 2010

My little sister is a Jillian and she is called Jill by most people.

LeggyNic · August 2010

Our Jillian is Jillian. We talk about her as Jillian. Although I find myself calling her Jilly off and on. I think family/friends recognize it as a parents' pet name and don't use it. The only exception being DH's aunt who calls her Jill, and knows we don't like it, but does it anyway. ERRR.

We went round and around about this when naming DD. But like pp have said, most teachers will ask what she likes to go by and friends/family will just call her what you call her. I have always been Nicole, not Nicky, even though I chose to go by Nic in college.

BabyS2008 · August 2010

I think so. I like the name Jillian as well, but I don't like the name Jill that's why we didn't go with that name!

heehee611 · August 2010

My little cousin's name is Gillian and we all call her Gilly. But I went to school with another girl named Gillian and nobody tried to shorten her name! She was always Gillian!

candr09 · August 2010

Yes. And unfortunately theres nothing you can do to stop it, unless SHE doesn't like "Jill". I went from being CorieAnn to Corie to Cor. To this day my parents will correct ANYONE who calls me Corie or Cor, but it doesn't bother me, so therefore 90% of friends call me Cor, Coworkers mostly call me Corie, its really only family and those who have known me my whole life who still use my full given name.

sighants · August 2010

My parents were adamant about my siblings and I having the names that they gave us, which were all long (9 letters, 7 letters, 4 (she doesn't have a nickname) and 7 letters) and easily turned into nicknames. Any time anyone tried to call us by a nickname, my parents said, "Thank you, but his/her name is ___________." Hearing my parents say this helped give me the ability as a kid to say, "My name is ____________," any time anyone tried to shorten it. I was able to maintain my 9 letter name until high school, when I decided to shorten it. Although my cousins still call me by my full name and not my nickname! My other siblings still remain nickname-less and we're all in our 20s.

Just my two cents!

gille01 · August 2010

I've never had that problem. Usually if I tell people my full name or my mother does like when I was younger, they would keep it that way till I gave them permission to call me jill as a nickname. I've never had it automatically shortened by anyone other than family.

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