Naming the child for the nickname

athleticmommy · June 2013

I never understood the reasoning of naming a child a particular name for the nickname. Like "Ellie" for Ellen or "Eli" for Elijah. I think shortened versions of names are worthy to be on the birth certificate too.

Bebuh · June 2013

Most of the ladies on here would say it allows for a more formal name later in life. Nick names can be really cute on a child, but weird on an adult. Likewise, some formal names can sound strange on a child, so the use of a NN can come in handy until they are old enough to "Fit" into that name. Having options allows a name to grow with a person.

plunderb · June 2013

Thanks for sharing?

aeh72 · June 2013

Bebuh:
Most of the ladies on here would say it allows for a more formal name later in life. Nick names can be really cute on a child, but weird on an adult. Likewise, some formal names can sound strange on a child, so the use of a NN can come in handy until they are old enough to "Fit" into that name. Having options allows a name to grow with a person.

Ditto this. I would also suggest that parents who name their child a name that is traditionally considered a "nickname" should be prepared that their child (or you as the parent) will spend his/her life responding to the question: "Oh, Ellie? Is that short for Elizabeth or something else?" Maybe not a big deal but something that will happen.

TheWop · June 2013

Sweet. I never understood people coming to a public forum to declare their thoughts randomly with the hope of changing a community's mind.

What's the harm of a formal name, and always calling them the nn? I know a ton of people who have never gone by their formal name except typed out on a resume. Other than that they're always the nn. Why not have options?

ktedmon · June 2013

My niece gets this a lot. Her name is Tory and we always say that is her given name.

LadyXaverian · June 2013

Cool story, bro.

TheWop · June 2013

SarahL77:
Cool story, bro.

Haha. Yes

athleticmommy · June 2013

Joy2611:
I think it's always beneficial to give a child options because, in the end, it's their name, not yours.

That's true I ended up dropping my middle name that my parents gave because it didn't serve a purpose for me.

blu-eyedwife · June 2013

Man you're on a roll today. Do you have some sort of research paper you're using this for?

SuperMom17 · June 2013

I can see wanting to give the child a formal name, that way as they grow they can opt to be called Elizabeth instead of Lizzie for example. That being said, I am a non-nickname person and insist my children be called by their full names. It's just a personal preference thing for me, and I personally wouldn't name my child something because I wanted to use a specific nn.

melody921 · June 2013

Eli is a full name, not just a nn for Elijah. But when it comes to names that are obviously shortened versions of something -- Mike, Jim, Nick, Ellie, Liz, Mandy, etc., I think parents should use the full name then just call the kid by the nn.

orangehills · June 2013

My niece is Ellie, that's it. It's fine for her true name, if she thinks it's too childish when she gets older, it would be easy enough for her to go by Elle.

athleticmommy · June 2013

blueyedwife:
Man you're on a roll today. nbsp; Do you have some sort of research paper you're using this for?

"Online Behavior"

SmileyJay · June 2013

Eh, to each his own. Nicknames have been a welcomed part of naming for as long as naming has been around.

It is a relatively new age thing to give kids names that are totally informal... Like naming a child Lizzie and not Elizabeth even if you always intend to call her Lizzie.

I think the main issue as other posters have mentioned is that the child with the shorter name will incessantly be asked what it stands for. The assumption is that the child is not just named "Dot" instead of "Dotty" or "Rob" instead of "Robert". I can just imagine it now...

"Oh, Hi Liv... I just love the name Olivia!"

"That's nice... my name is just Liv though..."

"Oh..."

Then there is an issue with formal documents. A hiring manager will assume that Rob's real name is Robert. For Tom is Thomas. Why did he decide not to put his full name? Oh, that is his full name... he seems less educated even though it is the parent's issue. Not to mention the flexibility of names... Little Robbie becomes Rob as he grows up but is professionally known as Robert. His dad is Robert also so his family just calls him Bo.

virgin4lyfe · June 2013

TheCraftyKoala:
Then there is an issue with formal documents. A hiring manager will assume that Rob's real name is Robert. For Tom is Thomas. Why did he decide not to put his full name? Oh, that is his full name... he seems less educated even though it is the parent's issue. Not to mention the flexibility of names... Little Robbie becomes Rob as he grows up but is professionally known as Robert. His dad is Robert also so his family just calls him Bo.

This! My grandma named my Dad Ricky. Full name. It's really annoying for him because on bills and things people assume his name is Richard and address it to Richard Lastname. He used to joke if they didn't know what his name was he shouldn't have to pay the bill.

virgin4lyfe · June 2013

TheCraftyKoala:
Then there is an issue with formal documents. A hiring manager will assume that Rob's real name is Robert. For Tom is Thomas. Why did he decide not to put his full name? Oh, that is his full name... he seems less educated even though it is the parent's issue. Not to mention the flexibility of names... Little Robbie becomes Rob as he grows up but is professionally known as Robert. His dad is Robert also so his family just calls him Bo.

This! My grandma named my Dad Ricky. Full name. It's really annoying for him because on bills and things people assume his name is Richard and address it to Richard Lastname. He used to joke if they didn't know what his name was he shouldn't have to pay the bill.

nearly_klo · June 2013

Both of my girls go by nicknames. I love both of their formal names and I adore their nicknames. Their formal names are big names for little people, and we live in Australia where everyone is shortened or nicknamed at some point so I picked nn's for each of them. You don't have to like it, they are my kids not yours. Horses for courses.

sunlavender · June 2013

Awesome

BeachBum73 · June 2013

laurasusan:
My child's given name is a NN for a lot of people (Kate), but I wouldn't name my child something like Ellie or Coco or Gigi. I suppose since Kate wasn't "cutesy" that it didn't bother me? It's probably one of the few NNs that I view as a perfectly acceptable full name.

I agree - my dd is Kate too. I don't like Katherine or Kaitlyn and planned on calling her Kate so I didn't see a reason to give her a more formal name. I'm just glad people don't call her Katie - I was fully expecting her friends to give her that nn (and they still might) but so far they haven't.

OP - I agree with your sentiment too but I tend to be a more casual person.

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