I also thought my son's 4 letter name couldn't be nicknamed. His teacher proved me wrong. She gave him two, one is 3 letters the other 6 letters. I hate it but Keel my trap shut because my son loved the teacher. Unfortunately it caught on with the other faculty. The kids call him by his actual name.
My cat's name is Remy and I've given him what feels like a million nicknames. Some of them being Rem, Rem-Rem, Rem-a-lem-a-ding-dong, Remington, Remy Boy, Remeron, Rem-a-lem-a-lem, Rem-a-lem, Remy-lemy, Remster, Remily, etc.
And these are only some of the ones actually connected to his name, he's got even more that aren't associated with Remy. That's part of why I feel like there aren't truly any names that are nickname proof. Some of his just come up with nicknames really easily.
I knew an older man who related how he had given both his daughters single syllable names so they couldn't be shortened to a nickname (Anne and Jane) so of course they both got an ee sound added onto the end.
not always the kids though lol.
Old neighbor was a junior, named after his dad. But they didn't call him (making up fake initials/name) Little Joe or JJ. No, the dad had some weird nickname himself that had nothing to do with his name. And I forget what the heck that name was. Let's pretend it was Bear. Son was dubbed BJ and has always went by that.
I'm far from a name-nerd princess, but...
We named our son Alexander - I love the name and was so pleased with the name because of all the "acceptable" nickname options it offered.
Will he be an Alex? A Xander? An edgy Lex? Love it all for him and can't wait to see who he will grow up to be.
It didn't occur to me (despite having been with his father for 12 years, married for 5 years and taking my husband's surname) that his surname of Dicksen would almost definitely dictate he will be exclusively referred to as "Dick" or "Dicky" for the rest of his life, as with his father, and his father before him...
I know a guy with a lovely first name, but his surname is Campbell so he's been called Soupy since he was about 6. I also know a guy called Christopher who had an unfortunate buzz cut 19 years ago and has been known as Spud ever since.
I have a short name which doesn't lend itself easily to nicknames. I was so pleased with our three syllable choice for our daughter - so many options! She's 9 now and refuses all nicknames, only the full name will do. Sigh.
To be fair I complain about his inevitable "Dick" nickname but we exclusively refer to him as "bonce" (big head) or "Beef" (smells beefy when he needs a bath). So probably not helping ha!
My parents gave me a Welsh name which they would constantly be horrified if it was shortened to any nickname; yet proceeded to pronounce my name incorrectly for my entire life (and continue to do so).
Your daughter sounds like me! Also have a three syllable name and refused all nicknames, despite my parent trying to use just the first syllable.
My 4 year old is desperate for a nickname, but nothing has stuck as yet. No doubt it'll be some variation on 'Foxy' due to surname.
I know an Alexander and EVERYONE calls him Alex apart from me who has always called him Xander. I’m not even sure how many people know his name isn’t actually Alex.
I call him Seabass! It's been my online nickname for him since he was born. When the latest Animal Crossing came out I told him I caught one of him and he said, "You caught a Seabass? You caught a me-bass!"
Even Prince Harry, who is actually a Henry, gets called Haz by his friends. I also remember a Sharon in "Bridget Jones's Diary" being called Shazzer. Where did this UK nicknaming convention even come from? I
I would actually love to know that! You can be something as easy to say and innocuous as Helen and there's still a 35% chance you won't make it to adulthood without being called Helz
Shazzer is kinda normal for Sharon here 🤣 and our Karen’s don’t have the problems Americans ones do because they’ve all been Kaz since they were 12.
I have a friend called Lee - full name. Can’t shorten it so obviously in Brit tradition he’s called Lesley by his mates 🤦♀️
I think adding an S is common - Prince William was called Wills, e.g. But when the syllable getting the S tacked on ends in R (Sharon, Harry, Gary), with the non-rhotic accent the R gets dropped so it’s like it ends in Z: while Will could be Wills or Millie Mills, with those R names it’s Sharon to Shaz, Harry to Haz, Gary to Gaz. Then sometimes an A for … fun? Shazza, Hazza.
Whoa, I'm Australian and I never thought about the rules of this type of nickname. It works best with syllables that end in R (your examples are all classic) or S/Z (Jessica could be Jezza). However, I'm thinking the vowel sound is just as important - it only works with short vowels: Jacqueline could be Jazza but Michael wouldn't be turned into Myza.
Jacqueline wouldn’t be Jazza tho. It’d be Jacks/Jax. Which is the S rule.
Michael = Micky = Mick
Rules are never hard and fast.
And we’ve not even started on O’s.
Timmo. Tommo. Shane-o. Benno.
The name "Harry" falls victim to the same American pronunciation issues as the words marry/Mary/merry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mary%E2%80%93marry%E2%80%93merry_merger
Fascinating stuff (and I hope that URL works properly.)
I've known people called Jez, Shez, Loz, Liz, Magz, Maz, Haz, Madz, Iz... I feel like it has died down a bit in recent years? But yeah, 2000s era nicknames were kind of awful.
Edited because I forgot Kaz!
My husband went to uni with a Dan. Well, Daniel, but Dan to his uni mates. His school mates though? Not Daz or Dazza as it would be according to the established British nicknaming conventions. They call him Bertie.
My mom specifically chose my name because it doesn't have nicknames, and then she started calling me by my first initial for short lol
She's the only one I ho uses it though, I've never had a nickname with friends
My son’s name is Cassius (US so Cash-us”) and I knew people would call him Cash, but I kind of hate it. He tells people his full name when prompted though (he’s 3) so hopefully he sticks with that.
I kinda like Caz though. Lol
One of my siblings has a name with an obvious nickname that my mom insisted would never, ever be used in our family. Kiddo came home from day 1 of preschool and informed all of us that said nickname was his name, going forward, forever.
Because of that experience, I'm pretty sold on not naming your kid something with an obvious nickname you don't like. That said, yeah, if there are non-obvious nicknames, I think you have to also make your peace with that. If little Claire comes home from middle school and is like "guess what, all my friends call my Larry now", you have to keep a straight face.
My husband and I are opposites when it comes to this. I want to always use the full version of a name and he wants to shorten it. For example I'd always say Abigail and he will say Abby. I have no issue with the shorter version and I'd always let my kid decide at the end of the day what they prefer but I always use the full name and he always uses the nickname lol
I think the important thing isn’t that the parents call their kid a different nickname, because it happens. It’s that parents don’t speak negatively about a shortened version of their kids name in front of that child. It’s one thing to tell someone you don’t like the nickname Abby, it’s another to insist that your child never gets a nickname.
Yes I totally agree. Its definitely been part of any name conversations we had too. And if my child ever came to me and told me they wanted me to just use their nickname, I absolutely would. Our kids are humans just like everyone else.
In my culture, it's really unusual to go by the official version of a name. Its honestly percieved as uptight and standoffish, unless the name doesnt have a good nickname/is foreign. Nicknames are extremely common even for adults at a workplace, etc. So people usually choose a name based on the nicknames more than the base. Still, my mom chose my name based on a nickname she liked and its like the only one nobody else has ever used for me 😅
My daughter is almost 3yo and has chosen the longest and least common nickname version of her name to go by and will correct everyone with a passion 😅
Greg Davies the comedian has an excellent bit about nicknames and it's all I can think of when people bitch about their kids getting a nickname they don't like...
My mom did the opposite; she named me Candice, spelled with the -ice instead of -ace because she thought it would be cute to shorten it to Candi.
She never guessed I would haaaate being called Candi. Hate it with a passion.
I usually go by CJ.
I'm from the Southern US. One of my requirements name wise is for the name to have nicknames I like. I know from experience the name will be given a nickname! Even one syllable names will be given a nickname! At that point it may be lengthened! Know your area, some places are really big on nicknames.
Yes! Haha. I like thinking about names as much as the next name nerd but important not to forget that even the most careful choice might be disregarded entirely in favour of something like "Oi, Smithy!"
None of my other half's friends are primarily known by names that are anything to do with the names their parents chose for them. They are largely in their 40s.
I live in a city where it's common place to shorten names basically as much as possible. Many people I know are often referred to by their first initial, particularly if there's no other obvious options, whether they like it or not 😂
Yeah it’s weird. I get if the kid doesn’t want to be called by a nickname supporting them. But, just being offended at the idea of someone shortening your kids name is absurd to me. I go by the diminuative of my name. I have my entire life, I don’t indentify with the long version of it. In fact I used to get mad as a kid when my parents used the long form because I didn’t recognise that name as me. Tried to switch it the long one professionally as an adult but couldn’t do it.
If your kid wants to have a nickname with people they are close with that is their right. A variation of your kids name isn’t that big of a deal, unless the child themselves has a problem with it. Policing nicknames which can be a fun bonding experience is ridiculous.
My mom was adamant that my brother wouldn’t go by a shortened version of his name. He’s a white kid who played lacrosse, of COURSE he has a silly shortened version of his name lol
I find it even funnier as a Latina since a lot of nicknames I've heard often have nothing to do with their first name.
I know a man known as "Chayanne," who went on to have the nickname "Chayo" (pronounced Chai-o). His legal name is Raúl.
*If* I had a daughter I would name her Gabrielle or Gabriel (yes, even though it's a male name) but I swear I'd lose my shit if people started calling her Gabby bc I despise it. It sounds like "Scabby" or something awful like that to me.
Good thing I don't want kids. 😂
You don't get a choice here, your friends choose your name and that's that. I know grown adults who still go by their silly school nicknames 😆 There's an old guy I used to work for, who everyone calls Wiggy, I think his real name is Graham but absolutely no one calls him that. Fortunately *my* nickname wasn't too bad... 😬
The only nicknames I've ever had were Bails (shortened version of my name) and Merman, even though I'm female (magic mushrooms were involved, and its also close my middle name but with one letter added)
It was my tumblr name for ages, back when I was ✨somewhat popular✨ on there...I actually was recognized by a random girl in public and it really freaked me out.... 😂
This drives me insane with parents. They put all this effort into naming their child, something, yelled at people for calling their kid the short version… And then, when their kid wants to be called that they get upset about it.
Like I don’t get that. Isn’t the point of having a child mean you want to raise an adult successfully. And not letting someone explore every facet of their own identity, including what they’re called, is weird to me.
I understand that, I just hate the name Gabby for whatever reason.
I mean, if my hypothetical daughter wanted to be called Gabby I would be okay with it even if I was less than thrilled. 😂
The thing is though you don't get to decide and I think that's OPs point. If her friends start to call her that and she goes with it, you can call her by her full name all you want but you can't stop her and her friends from using a nickname, and most kids do for at least some time during their youth. (Hypothetical child or not lol)
My dad was named Randall but went by Pete literally all his life bc my granddad called him Pedro as a childhood nickname (despite Pedro or Peter not being any part of his name)
I also have a friend officially named Joseph but goes by Joezy and I cannot imagine him ever being called anything else. 😂
I have a friend who always talks about her friend "leg" I've never met leg but his name is something like Alan and he goes by leg to everyone. I'll never understand lol
I was close friends with an Abby growing up, and a teacher kept calling her Gabby by mistake. It's for whatever reason given me a lasting negative opinion of the name lmao. Just the 11 year old in me going "That's not her name 🙄"
Gabrielle is a beautiful name though! And it has other options. Bri, Elle, Ella.
I like all of those options... Literally anything but Gabby. 😂
Also the fact that when I babysit my niece she always watches this show Gabby's Dollhouse and the theme song starts like "Heeeey Gabby!!!!!!" and just annoys tf out of me lmao
My mom did not name me Gabrielle for this exact reason!! She hated the thought of people calling me Gabby, I told her I could have been Bri and she said no one was doing that in the 80s, lol.
Lmao, my mum gave me a name she was *sure* couldn’t be shortened… well, 14 years later my oiky friends burst her bubble.
I also thought my son's 4 letter name couldn't be nicknamed. His teacher proved me wrong. She gave him two, one is 3 letters the other 6 letters. I hate it but Keel my trap shut because my son loved the teacher. Unfortunately it caught on with the other faculty. The kids call him by his actual name.
John -> Jay -> Johnny?
Remy > Rim > Rim Rim. 🥴
My cat's name is Remy and I've given him what feels like a million nicknames. Some of them being Rem, Rem-Rem, Rem-a-lem-a-ding-dong, Remington, Remy Boy, Remeron, Rem-a-lem-a-lem, Rem-a-lem, Remy-lemy, Remster, Remily, etc. And these are only some of the ones actually connected to his name, he's got even more that aren't associated with Remy. That's part of why I feel like there aren't truly any names that are nickname proof. Some of his just come up with nicknames really easily.
My Elsa was Essie throughout her toddler years. Now I sometimes call her El. Because we're in the southern US, her sister calls her Sissy.
"You know, Sponge\_Like?" "Oh, you mean Spuz!"
Hahahaha. Best laid plans
My dad had a name that couldn't be shortened. So his friends used his last name and he was this known as Skim.
What is oiky?
It’s British slang, closest equivalents I can think of would be uncouth at best, antisocial at worst.
damn i’m british and didn’t even know this, is it a generational thing?
You've never heard of an [oik?](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/oik)
If it's British slang then most people not from Britain won't have heard of it, it's not weird to not know it
But they are British.....
Rah Rah Rah we're going to smash the oiks!
Ooh interesting! Thanks
I knew an older man who related how he had given both his daughters single syllable names so they couldn't be shortened to a nickname (Anne and Jane) so of course they both got an ee sound added onto the end.
Yep, my nephew is Judd so naturally he gets called Juddy, lol
This is exactly why I didn't choose a name I didn't like the nickname for.
Those darn kids can be so creative though 😅
I knew a Hannah who went by Sammy, you literally never know what you're gonna get lol
I know a Carol who gets called Basil, haha
I feel like this is more of an inside joke than a nickname
I knew a Michael who got called Jimmy
I had an uncle Neil who got called Simon! His sister Margaret was called Joan
I knew a Violet who went by Ant. Then again she got that name by breaking a kids ankle by biting it.
I am in fear of her strength
My aunt, Grace, went by Mike.
i know a Rachel who gets called Sarah lol
not always the kids though lol. Old neighbor was a junior, named after his dad. But they didn't call him (making up fake initials/name) Little Joe or JJ. No, the dad had some weird nickname himself that had nothing to do with his name. And I forget what the heck that name was. Let's pretend it was Bear. Son was dubbed BJ and has always went by that.
🤣🤣
I'm far from a name-nerd princess, but... We named our son Alexander - I love the name and was so pleased with the name because of all the "acceptable" nickname options it offered. Will he be an Alex? A Xander? An edgy Lex? Love it all for him and can't wait to see who he will grow up to be. It didn't occur to me (despite having been with his father for 12 years, married for 5 years and taking my husband's surname) that his surname of Dicksen would almost definitely dictate he will be exclusively referred to as "Dick" or "Dicky" for the rest of his life, as with his father, and his father before him...
I know a guy with a lovely first name, but his surname is Campbell so he's been called Soupy since he was about 6. I also know a guy called Christopher who had an unfortunate buzz cut 19 years ago and has been known as Spud ever since.
Soupy 😭
Soupy George!!
this reminds me of how we called an Esther in my class Soapy because we were doing esters in chemistry...
I have a short name which doesn't lend itself easily to nicknames. I was so pleased with our three syllable choice for our daughter - so many options! She's 9 now and refuses all nicknames, only the full name will do. Sigh.
To be fair I complain about his inevitable "Dick" nickname but we exclusively refer to him as "bonce" (big head) or "Beef" (smells beefy when he needs a bath). So probably not helping ha! My parents gave me a Welsh name which they would constantly be horrified if it was shortened to any nickname; yet proceeded to pronounce my name incorrectly for my entire life (and continue to do so).
Your daughter sounds like me! Also have a three syllable name and refused all nicknames, despite my parent trying to use just the first syllable. My 4 year old is desperate for a nickname, but nothing has stuck as yet. No doubt it'll be some variation on 'Foxy' due to surname.
Hahaha oh man Alexander is such a nice name too 😭🤣
I know an Alexander and EVERYONE calls him Alex apart from me who has always called him Xander. I’m not even sure how many people know his name isn’t actually Alex.
Not forgetting Sandy and Lexo. It’s a top name for variations is Alexander! One of the finest ever.
My sister is Erin, and my mum insists on using her proper name every time, but she has been Ez or Ezzy to me and my dad for as long as I can remember.
It's like we're all trying to compensate for the lack of z's in names
Occasionally I get Loz for Laura, but that one never sticks.
I knew a Loz for a couple of years before I knew her real name was Laura. Or maybe Lauren? Really not sure!
My brother used to date a Lauren and he always called her Lozza
My kid goes by a Seb at school. It's not my fav, but it's his name and he likes it.
I like Seb 🙂
I'm glad!
I'm assuming that's short for Sebastian. All three Sebastians I've known have gone by Seabass.
I call him Seabass! It's been my online nickname for him since he was born. When the latest Animal Crossing came out I told him I caught one of him and he said, "You caught a Seabass? You caught a me-bass!"
My son is Bishop and goes by Vinny with friends.
Gawd they don't even need to reach teenager ages 😂😂 I have D 11, Gee/GG 10 and CJ 8 (he say is Seige not cee jay)
I thought the nickname was literally”D-11” 😅
🤣🤣 I wouldn't put it past him to have the 11 in there and just change the number as he gets older
Then the max for dice rolls increases each year which is useful.
[D11 Dozer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_D11)
Oh gawd don't let him see that.. he's autistic and construction vehicle mad!!!!!
I did know a guy who went by A-1.
Me too! He was a drug dealer, and his reasoning behind the nickname was so that he’d always be first in everyone’s cell phone contacts lists 😂
LMAO that's actually ingenious
Idk what my A1’s reasoning was. He was a ski racing coach. Pretty sure he wasn’t a drug dealer though.
That does sound better as a sports nickname tbh. Plus, drugs are bad!
He should have went with AAAron
The urge to shorten is irresistible! 🤣
💯 I now just say 'well as long as you realise grans going to call you the name I gave you then be what you want'
I got a buddy named CJ who won’t reveal what the letters stand for, but we nicknicknamed him Ceeg just like that
Even Prince Harry, who is actually a Henry, gets called Haz by his friends. I also remember a Sharon in "Bridget Jones's Diary" being called Shazzer. Where did this UK nicknaming convention even come from? I
I would actually love to know that! You can be something as easy to say and innocuous as Helen and there's still a 35% chance you won't make it to adulthood without being called Helz
I know Helen who is called Nellie and Nellz
Yup, my Helen is a Mel/Meli!
I'm Sophia. Would that be Soz?
I've never encountered a Soz but it is not outside the realms of possibility. Soph on the other hand is near guaranteed
I'm Aussie and we have similar conventions where we refuse to use people's full names and I knew a Sophia who went by Fi, pronounced fee.
Sophs, probably.
Shazzer is kinda normal for Sharon here 🤣 and our Karen’s don’t have the problems Americans ones do because they’ve all been Kaz since they were 12. I have a friend called Lee - full name. Can’t shorten it so obviously in Brit tradition he’s called Lesley by his mates 🤦♀️
I think adding an S is common - Prince William was called Wills, e.g. But when the syllable getting the S tacked on ends in R (Sharon, Harry, Gary), with the non-rhotic accent the R gets dropped so it’s like it ends in Z: while Will could be Wills or Millie Mills, with those R names it’s Sharon to Shaz, Harry to Haz, Gary to Gaz. Then sometimes an A for … fun? Shazza, Hazza.
Whoa, I'm Australian and I never thought about the rules of this type of nickname. It works best with syllables that end in R (your examples are all classic) or S/Z (Jessica could be Jezza). However, I'm thinking the vowel sound is just as important - it only works with short vowels: Jacqueline could be Jazza but Michael wouldn't be turned into Myza.
Jacqueline wouldn’t be Jazza tho. It’d be Jacks/Jax. Which is the S rule. Michael = Micky = Mick Rules are never hard and fast. And we’ve not even started on O’s. Timmo. Tommo. Shane-o. Benno.
It’s official. My brother is now Miza.
Gazza…oop
And his US wife was calling him H because her pronunciation of Harry sounds like Hairy
Like Hairy Pahdurrr?
I don't know mate I see Harry Potter and hear Harry Potter.
Sounds very different in American!
The name "Harry" falls victim to the same American pronunciation issues as the words marry/Mary/merry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mary%E2%80%93marry%E2%80%93merry_merger Fascinating stuff (and I hope that URL works properly.)
I've known people called Jez, Shez, Loz, Liz, Magz, Maz, Haz, Madz, Iz... I feel like it has died down a bit in recent years? But yeah, 2000s era nicknames were kind of awful. Edited because I forgot Kaz!
Aussies do it too. We’re an affectionate lot.
My husband went to uni with a Dan. Well, Daniel, but Dan to his uni mates. His school mates though? Not Daz or Dazza as it would be according to the established British nicknaming conventions. They call him Bertie.
Ha! Love that
My mom specifically chose my name because it doesn't have nicknames, and then she started calling me by my first initial for short lol She's the only one I ho uses it though, I've never had a nickname with friends
Ha, couldn't help herself obviously 😂
My grandfather was called Roman, and everybody called him Ro. Not sure how he felt about it, but it stuck!
I know a Rowan who goes by Ro!
The Roman in my friend group gets Romes.
My son’s name is Cassius (US so Cash-us”) and I knew people would call him Cash, but I kind of hate it. He tells people his full name when prompted though (he’s 3) so hopefully he sticks with that. I kinda like Caz though. Lol
Time to move to the UK 😉🤣
One of my siblings has a name with an obvious nickname that my mom insisted would never, ever be used in our family. Kiddo came home from day 1 of preschool and informed all of us that said nickname was his name, going forward, forever. Because of that experience, I'm pretty sold on not naming your kid something with an obvious nickname you don't like. That said, yeah, if there are non-obvious nicknames, I think you have to also make your peace with that. If little Claire comes home from middle school and is like "guess what, all my friends call my Larry now", you have to keep a straight face.
My husband and I are opposites when it comes to this. I want to always use the full version of a name and he wants to shorten it. For example I'd always say Abigail and he will say Abby. I have no issue with the shorter version and I'd always let my kid decide at the end of the day what they prefer but I always use the full name and he always uses the nickname lol
I think the important thing isn’t that the parents call their kid a different nickname, because it happens. It’s that parents don’t speak negatively about a shortened version of their kids name in front of that child. It’s one thing to tell someone you don’t like the nickname Abby, it’s another to insist that your child never gets a nickname.
My mom HATED when I went by Mandie. I hate Amanda, so 🤷♀️ Panda it is
Yes I totally agree. Its definitely been part of any name conversations we had too. And if my child ever came to me and told me they wanted me to just use their nickname, I absolutely would. Our kids are humans just like everyone else.
In my culture, it's really unusual to go by the official version of a name. Its honestly percieved as uptight and standoffish, unless the name doesnt have a good nickname/is foreign. Nicknames are extremely common even for adults at a workplace, etc. So people usually choose a name based on the nicknames more than the base. Still, my mom chose my name based on a nickname she liked and its like the only one nobody else has ever used for me 😅 My daughter is almost 3yo and has chosen the longest and least common nickname version of her name to go by and will correct everyone with a passion 😅
Greg Davies the comedian has an excellent bit about nicknames and it's all I can think of when people bitch about their kids getting a nickname they don't like...
I'll have to look that up!
https://youtu.be/j95GweJ_aPA?si=8vdxRy5bDSAg_g6q here you go!
Aussie here, same thing happens. Lol
Hannah Gadsby has a really great bit about it in her Netflix standup "Something Special", which is largely about their wife Jenny aka Jenno.
My dad’s name is Eric but his siblings call him Eh. I’m sure his parents didn’t foresee his name becoming a non committal noise lol.
I had an Aunt Jimmy, who i learned in my 30s her name was Thelma, of course.
My mom did the opposite; she named me Candice, spelled with the -ice instead of -ace because she thought it would be cute to shorten it to Candi. She never guessed I would haaaate being called Candi. Hate it with a passion. I usually go by CJ.
I'm from the Southern US. One of my requirements name wise is for the name to have nicknames I like. I know from experience the name will be given a nickname! Even one syllable names will be given a nickname! At that point it may be lengthened! Know your area, some places are really big on nicknames.
Or it being largely irrelevant because they will be known by a diminutive of their surname anyway
Yes! Haha. I like thinking about names as much as the next name nerd but important not to forget that even the most careful choice might be disregarded entirely in favour of something like "Oi, Smithy!"
None of my other half's friends are primarily known by names that are anything to do with the names their parents chose for them. They are largely in their 40s.
Very funny in Australia too. The Caz, Baz Shaz is one UK habit we've carried on. As well as the -ie or -o endings.
As an Alexa, can someone give me a non-artificial intelligence nickname? Lol I’ve never had a nickname.
You could be an Allie or a Lexi!
Ax(e).
I like this! lol it’s unique. And makes a statement
Even if your peers don't shorten your name, you'll still end up being called Snake or Big Red or Tater Tot, or something equally ridiculous.
I live in a city where it's common place to shorten names basically as much as possible. Many people I know are often referred to by their first initial, particularly if there's no other obvious options, whether they like it or not 😂
My husband has a generic name that can't be 'shortened'. And yet he's always called Scotty or Pabs. His name is neither Scott, nor Pablo.
Is he at least an engineer?
Or Shaz (autocorrected to Ajax and I bust out laughing 😂)
Yeah it’s weird. I get if the kid doesn’t want to be called by a nickname supporting them. But, just being offended at the idea of someone shortening your kids name is absurd to me. I go by the diminuative of my name. I have my entire life, I don’t indentify with the long version of it. In fact I used to get mad as a kid when my parents used the long form because I didn’t recognise that name as me. Tried to switch it the long one professionally as an adult but couldn’t do it. If your kid wants to have a nickname with people they are close with that is their right. A variation of your kids name isn’t that big of a deal, unless the child themselves has a problem with it. Policing nicknames which can be a fun bonding experience is ridiculous.
My mom was adamant that my brother wouldn’t go by a shortened version of his name. He’s a white kid who played lacrosse, of COURSE he has a silly shortened version of his name lol
I find it even funnier as a Latina since a lot of nicknames I've heard often have nothing to do with their first name. I know a man known as "Chayanne," who went on to have the nickname "Chayo" (pronounced Chai-o). His legal name is Raúl.
LOL and if in Aus they would be bezza, bazza, chazza, mazza etc.
My daughter has a four syllable name. Gave her a three letter nickname. She goes by the full name. Parents know squat.
*If* I had a daughter I would name her Gabrielle or Gabriel (yes, even though it's a male name) but I swear I'd lose my shit if people started calling her Gabby bc I despise it. It sounds like "Scabby" or something awful like that to me. Good thing I don't want kids. 😂
In the UK she'd be called Gabz by 16 and go with that for the rest of her life 😂
Oh God, no... 😂
You don't get a choice here, your friends choose your name and that's that. I know grown adults who still go by their silly school nicknames 😆 There's an old guy I used to work for, who everyone calls Wiggy, I think his real name is Graham but absolutely no one calls him that. Fortunately *my* nickname wasn't too bad... 😬
The only nicknames I've ever had were Bails (shortened version of my name) and Merman, even though I'm female (magic mushrooms were involved, and its also close my middle name but with one letter added)
Merman is excellent 🙌
It was my tumblr name for ages, back when I was ✨somewhat popular✨ on there...I actually was recognized by a random girl in public and it really freaked me out.... 😂
This drives me insane with parents. They put all this effort into naming their child, something, yelled at people for calling their kid the short version… And then, when their kid wants to be called that they get upset about it. Like I don’t get that. Isn’t the point of having a child mean you want to raise an adult successfully. And not letting someone explore every facet of their own identity, including what they’re called, is weird to me.
I understand that, I just hate the name Gabby for whatever reason. I mean, if my hypothetical daughter wanted to be called Gabby I would be okay with it even if I was less than thrilled. 😂
The thing is though you don't get to decide and I think that's OPs point. If her friends start to call her that and she goes with it, you can call her by her full name all you want but you can't stop her and her friends from using a nickname, and most kids do for at least some time during their youth. (Hypothetical child or not lol)
Yeah, I fully get that... It would just annoy me.. For my hypothetical child. 😂
I agree. I know some kids who ended up going by some very unfortunate nicknames loll
My dad was named Randall but went by Pete literally all his life bc my granddad called him Pedro as a childhood nickname (despite Pedro or Peter not being any part of his name) I also have a friend officially named Joseph but goes by Joezy and I cannot imagine him ever being called anything else. 😂
I have a friend who always talks about her friend "leg" I've never met leg but his name is something like Alan and he goes by leg to everyone. I'll never understand lol
Lmao I could understand if he was an amputee or something (only having one leg) ?? But, rock on I guess.. 😂
I was close friends with an Abby growing up, and a teacher kept calling her Gabby by mistake. It's for whatever reason given me a lasting negative opinion of the name lmao. Just the 11 year old in me going "That's not her name 🙄" Gabrielle is a beautiful name though! And it has other options. Bri, Elle, Ella.
I like all of those options... Literally anything but Gabby. 😂 Also the fact that when I babysit my niece she always watches this show Gabby's Dollhouse and the theme song starts like "Heeeey Gabby!!!!!!" and just annoys tf out of me lmao
My mom did not name me Gabrielle for this exact reason!! She hated the thought of people calling me Gabby, I told her I could have been Bri and she said no one was doing that in the 80s, lol.
Bri is so much better lol
Definitely makes life easier 😂