Nicknames?
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Nicknames?
| Sat, 04-14-2007 - 11:42am |
Hi,
I just had a question about "short" names. I really like Lainey for a girl and Leo for a boy, but DH thinks they cannot stand alone. Do they sound like nicknames? Will people always ask for their "real" names? We are not TTC until next summer, but I really like to pick names in advance. If they are too nicknamey, what nice names could work for Lainey and Leo? Thanks.
Tracy
I just had a question about "short" names. I really like Lainey for a girl and Leo for a boy, but DH thinks they cannot stand alone. Do they sound like nicknames? Will people always ask for their "real" names? We are not TTC until next summer, but I really like to pick names in advance. If they are too nicknamey, what nice names could work for Lainey and Leo? Thanks.
Tracy

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I really like both of these names as well.
I definitely consider Lainey a nickname. I would think it to be very odd if that were her full name as it is pretty cutesy (usually names that end in an -ee sound tend to be more nicknamey- ex. Maggie, Nikki, Lily, Addie, Abby, etc.) You could use Lainey as a nn for:
Elena
Alaina
Delaney
Laine
Elaine
Leo is a name that I have thought a lot about as well. It is one of my favourite names, but I don't think I could use it because it does seem nicknamey to me and I am not a fan of any of the full names (Leopold, Leonard, Leonard). I have been thinking of other options lately, and came across Leander nn Leo, or even better Leander O- (mn) nn Leo (ex. Leander Oliver, Leander Orion, etc.) I really haven't decided yet how well Leo stands on its own, so I guess I'm not much help there!
HTH,
-Nikki
http://destastory.blogspot.com/
Lainey is very cute, but it's a nn to me rather than a proper name. Lane, Delaney, or Helena/Alaina would be my picks as a first name to get to Lainey.
Personally, I love Leopold almost as much as I love Leo, but I really don't think a longer first name is necessary in this case. Leo works just fine on its own.
Allie
DH does not like any longer names for Lainey or Leo, but he think Leo NEEDS a longer name in order to use it as a first name. He really LOVES Lainey though. If we were to use this, is this the spelling people would use?
Tracy
They don't sound like nns ... they ARE nns. ;)
That said, Leo isn't a juvenile pet form (like Tommy, Billy, etc.), and I think it can stand alone as well as other popular nn names such as Max, Ben, Sam and Jack. That's not to say I would personally use it as a given name, since I'm all for giving a child options, but I wouldn't find it too odd or cutesy as a stand-alone name.
Lainey, on the other hand, is extremely childish and cutesy. I can't picture an adult called Lainey -- by anyone other than her mother/grandmother or best friend LOL -- at all! It definitely lacks any semblance of maturity or professionalism a woman might want at some point in her life. And with so many varied given names available this could be a nn for, it actually seems a bit negligent to use Lainey as her full name. Like you didn't give much thought to the fact that she won't be three forever (not saying that IS the case ... just what would cross my mind if I knew an adult named "Lainey" or saw it in a birth announcement).
Delaney
Delaine
Alaina
Elaine
Elena
Eleni
Helena
Ileana
Eleanor
Aileen
Alannah
Adelaine
Madelaine
Even simply Laine or Lane! I know many of the above have already been mentioned, but with these and so many other formal options, it really does seem short-sighted to name what will one day be an adult -- even old -- woman "Lainey," KWIM?
HTH
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Lainey is cute as a nickname but does not work as a first name - - too cutesy, doesn't work past a certain (very young) age. I would give her one of the several lovely names suggested by previous posters, and call her Lainey as a nickname. I disagree with the poster who suggested that you name her Lainey if that is what you plan to call her; that's what nicknames are for. If you give her a name that will grow up with her, you and she get the best of both worlds (cute nickname that you can use as much as you like, lovely first name that will give her options throughout her life).
Leo does not have the cutesy, insubstantial quality that Lainey has, so I could see it as a name, not just as a nickname.
Tracy
Edited 4/14/2007 11:42 pm ET by tracylkm
<<>>
I actually just read the comment you're referring to, and was about to reply to that but figured I'd read the last post first (so here we are LOL).
Anyway, as a "Kelly" myself, I found this statement hilarious! Even though it isn't a nn by any means, it is INCREDIBLY cutesy -- not mature or professional in the least. I always hated that my parents didn't have the insight to give me a more formal name, even if they did want to call me by a cutesy, juvenile form of it. At least I would have had the option. After all, my brother is named Stephen, not Stevie. ROFL I'm sure he appreciates that, now that's he's about to become a psychiatrist (paging Dr. "Stevie" LOL ... I think not).
For example, when I worked in advertising, there was another girl named Sarah in the same office. We were the same age, doing similar jobs, and yet clients always seemed a bit surprised when they first heard my name, but didn't have much of a reaction at all to hers. Almost like they expected a Kelly to be a ditzy, fresh out of high school type flipping burgers rather than handling their accounts, KWIM? I was more than happy to prove them wrong, of course, but the point is I shouldn't have had to.
Of course, as I mentioned before, Kelly IS a given name, so if that's the name my parents loved they didn't really have that many more mature options, but it really does seem flippant to use what you know is a cutesy, childish nickname rather than at least giving your child the option of an adult name to "fall back on," so to speak. Even if you plan on calling her by the nn 100% of the time, and don't *think* she'll ever want to have any choice whatsoever ... say, if she wants to become a doctor, lawyer or president, or if she marries into the ln Cheney. After all, Elaine Smith looks much better than "Lainey" on an office door, business card or ballot -- and I'm sure my grandmother would prefer to be treated by Dr. Elaine Smith rather than Dr. Lainey LOL -- and it's nice to give her an option if Lainey Cheney doesn't appeal as much as Madelaine Cheney, KWIM?
Speaking from experience, it seems a bit of a disservice to your child to assume she'll never in her life want a more mature option. Almost selfish, though that seems a bit strong. The fact that there are so many formal versions and only the toddler one will do just makes it seem like you're not considering that this is an actual child, and she might one day appreciate the extra effort. I know I would have. ;)
Hopefully you KWIM.
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