Your thoughts on nick names

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-06-2004
Your thoughts on nick names
17
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 4:20pm
Do you love them or hate them? I know a lot of people choose names that will have cute nn, while others choose names that will ensure their children do not get weird nn.

Personally, I am trying to choose names that won't be shortened to a nn. Girl's names I have chosen so far are:

Adora

Thora

Calla

Dahlia

Although I'm having a harder time with boy's names because I love Weston and Preston, which could become Wes or West and Pres.

What are your thoughts on nn?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2004
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 5:05pm
I love the name Weston. I wish I would have thought of it 8 yrs. ago when I had my son. I named him Wesley. We've always called him Wesley but all of his friends are starting to shorten it. I've also got a 4 year old Caitlin that wants to shorten to Cait now. That leaves my 6 yr old wanting a nn but there is no good nn for Morgan:) Anyways, I guess what i'm saying is if you pick a name that will be shortened plan on doing that in the future if you have more kids.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-29-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 5:29pm
I personally am in the camp that prefers first names that can be shortened to nicknames. I probably feel this way for 3 reasons:

1) I grew up in a "nickname" family (I'm Christine, but was always Chris/Chrissy, my sister Kathleen was Kathy, etc.);

2) I think names that provide for nicknames are more versatile. And they can give kids some say in shaping their individuality. So, if a girl is only Elizabeth to her parents, she may want to be known as "Beth" at school. Or if she was Lizzie all through grammar school, she may want to be the more sophisticated "Liza" when she transitions to high school; and

3) I think that nicknames are inevitable. Even if you personally are adamant that your child not be called by a nickname, you are not going to be there to correct every teacher, every child on the playground, etc. So Matthew inevitably becomes Matt, Christopher becomes Chris, Jessica becomes Jess, etc. So I'd rather choose a name that has a nickname I like, rather than one that I think can't or won't be shortened, but then inevitably is.

For example, Adora, to use one of your choices, could easily become "Dori" or "Addie." So while I think it's fine for you to want to avoid a nickname for your child, just be aware that almost every name has a nickname possibility that could crop up.

Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2004
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 5:45pm
I love nns, but only if they are valid...such as Josephine nn Josie. Then again we will more than likely be naming our first dd Maura, and I have NO idea what kind of nn would work for that. Hmm, maybe I should ask.

There doesn't seem to be any obvious nns for your girl choices (which I love, btw) except Adora. I automatically thought of Dora as a nn. Preston is nice, and I don't see anyone trying out Pres, but Weston will probably have friends call him Wes as he grows up.

There is a book, "Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana" by Rosenkrantz and Redmond-Satran that has a whole selection of baby names for parents who don't want nns. You may want to go to your local Barnes and Noble and check it out.

Good Luck!!

Jorie

Lilypie Baby Birthday
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2004
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 6:23pm


I tend to not like the shortened version of names. Especially the shortened version of boy names. So while I might not give my child a nn right off the bat, I think about the potential nns and make sure I like them before putting the name on my short list.

Peggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 6:43pm
I like longer names and so they usually get shortened. (The only exception I've found is my DS Christopher ~ they called him "Junior" for the first 1.5 years of his life and so now I refuse to call him anything but his full name. I don't doubt that it'll be shortened to "Chris" when he's older but certainly not by me :) I tend to think of them less as nicknames and more as pet names. For instance I always introduce myself as Elizabeth and my son as Nicholas but call myself Liz and him Nick afterward. And so we both answer to either/or.

There's my 2cents :)

~ Liz ~



iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 6:46pm
I prefer to NOT have nns. I give my babies names that I plan on actually calling them. I have found that I sometimes shorten my son, Jason's, name down to Jace. Don't know why I do it but I do. I also have a Christopher but call him the full name.

I'm confused by people who choose names based on their nns since they plan on calling them by those nns. Sometimes the full names are so beautiful & I don't understand why they'd want to call them by some nn. I've also seen on these boards where people are struggling to find a nn when the nn isn't even similar to the full name.

Everyone has their own preferences but I prefer to call my children by their given names.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 7:23pm
I love nn's. I plan to give all my children names that can be shortened for when they're younger.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2004
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 7:48pm
Well it just depends on the nickname for me. I find the nickname Janie for Jane much more palatable then Joanie for Joan even though I love both Jane and Joan as given names. I love the name Van for a boy but it sounds silly with our last name so if I had a "Van" it would be because it was a nickname for Donovan or Sullivan both names I love but love more because I could possibly call my son Van. I however would never pick a name based solely on a nickname ie I wouldn't name my son Samuel just so I could call him Sam and I wasn't fond of Samuel at all. Same goes for the opposite. I wouldn't name my son David and not be prepared for the fact that someday no matter how much I hate the name Dave but love David my son might choose to call himself Dave. I think that nicknames happen you could name your daughter Thora (beautiful name by the way) and someone could call her T. Good luck on your search though for the perfect name nickname or no nickname.

Lillie whose given name is Elizabeth

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 9:32pm
I like NNs because they give a name flexibility. NNs can be cutesy and used for children. They can be terms of familiarity and used by family. For example, my name is Michelle. My family has always called me "Shelley". My DH calls me "Mich". The rest of the world calls me Michelle.

About using a name without NN. I've posted this before, so I won't go into the whole thing. I have friends who don't "believe" in NNs. They both have always used their full names, Kathleen and Peter. They named their youngest DD "Anna." They would have been shocked if anyone suggested she be called anyhing other than "Anna." Well, during her toddler years she started calling herself "Nanny." She's now a teenager and is called nothing but "Nan" or "Nanny." It was totally unplanned, but that's her name now. The point is that you should NEVER say "never."

Avatar for lesetlo
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 11:05pm
It depends.

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