Giving a name, but calling baby another?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2004
Giving a name, but calling baby another?
2
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 4:49pm

I'd never heard of this before, but recently had a funny moment regarding names.

My DH had met one of our DD's friends' fathers & insisted two or three different times that his name was Pete. I thought his name was Toby b/c that was how the mom always referred to him. When I joked with her that my DH kept trying to call her Toby Pete. She laughed & said that is his name! Apparently he's a second or third, but his parents wanted to call him Toby, so they just did even though his given name has nothing to do with Toby. (But now he's a lawyer so he has to sign & go by his given name more.)
BUT they also named their new son Peter whatever the third or fourth, but call him Paxton!

I'd never heard of naming a baby something completely different from what you'd call him/her, but I guess that works, right? I think the only time it comes up is in legal or school situations & then you have to correct the teacher! :)

Thoughts?
Dee

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-10-2003
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 5:37pm

Yes I have heard of this.


My girlfriend named her son Richard Michael after her hubby Richard(his choice not hers) lol with the intention of calling him Michael. So his birth cert, license, etc will always have Richard but he only goes by Michael. In school it says like legal name and name child goes by, so that is what they do in that situation.


My grandfather is like that too. His parents named him Fredrick Jack but only called him Jack, so I dont know why they just don't choose the one they like best .

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-15-2004
Fri, 12-17-2004 - 6:23pm

It's strange but it happens. I am the only child. My mother and father happened to have the same intitias: RLH. My father wanted to name me Kim--mother wanted to name me Rhonda--so that we'd all have the same initials. So..they named me Rhonda and call me Kim. Rhonda is my legal name and that is what I use on drivers license, in school, military records--etc...

Good Luck