Similar potential nicknames on siblings

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2008
Similar potential nicknames on siblings
5
Sat, 04-19-2008 - 12:20pm

The girl name from our list that dh is most inclined towards is Gwyneth, which I really like as well. However it just occurred to me that nicknames could be a bit of a problem. Ds2 is named Quinlan and we often call him Quinn. The logical way to shorten Gwyneth is to Gwyn. Quinn and Gwyn? I don't know about that. Of course we could just make a point of never using a nickname. Ds1 is named Lucas and his name has almost never been shortened to Luc for some reason. But my dd is named Clarissa and she is sometimes called Rissa, although not that often. I'm not really sure why nicknames cropped up for the younger two and not the oldest or why we use Quinn's nickname quite a lot and use Clarissa's only occasionally.

Has anyone here tried to deliberately squash the use of the most logical nickname for a proper name? Has it worked with hardheaded relatives (I'm thinking of one in particular)? Do you think Quinlan and Gwyneth sound ok as a sib set? They would not be right next to each other in birth order, Clarissa would be between them. How would you deal with sibs who had potential nicknames that sounded similar? Or am I just thinking about this too much?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-1999
Sat, 04-19-2008 - 2:16pm

Hi there.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Sat, 04-19-2008 - 10:15pm

To me, Quinlan and Gwyneth are too close for sibs.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2007
Sun, 04-20-2008 - 1:27pm
You can choose the name, but you can't successfully impose a nickname or the absence of a nickname upon persons who really insist on their own way. What I mean is, most friends and relatives will probably go along with what you call her. You might have to remind some of them from time to time, but they're you're friends and loved ones, and they probably don't want to conflict with you over this. If, however, you have a relative or in-law who is really hardheaded, or is in a passive-aggressive power struggle over any issues of any kind, then you should expect him or her to use whatever nickname s/he wants, no matter what you call the baby. S/he may even use the nickname, just to prove that s/he can. Pitiful, but it happens. Of course, once your daughter is old enough to make up her own mind, she may choose Gwyn anyway (or refuse to use it). THat's as it should be, since it's her name.
Avatar for dr_kae
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 04-20-2008 - 2:25pm
I adore Gwyneth, but I wouldn't use it with Quinlan...the potential for confusion would be a bit too high for my tastes. (Maybe because I was Kristen and the dog we had growing up was Cuffie and my mom was forever getting our names confused...I don't have much faith in the mama brain to keep names straight.)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2008
Mon, 04-21-2008 - 7:38pm

Thanks for your replies. It's good to get opinions from people who are looking in from the outside. Dh says he still likes Gwyneth best of our girl names, so we'll see.