10 things you think about people giving your child a nickname
Who'd have thought it could be about SO much more than love it or hate it...
Picking a baby name takes a lot of time, consideration and - if you're choosing with someone else - can stir up a fair few disagreements, too.
So how do we feel when the name we spent so much effort choosing gets discarded by others for something else - usually a shorter version, sometimes a longer version - but most certainly not what we put on the birth certificate?
We put that questions to our mums and they responded in their hundreds. Here's what they said...
1. Some of you LOVE nicknames
"I love shortening names!...But it's nice having the option [of a longer name]. My son is Archibald but we call him Archie 80% of the time and my daughter is Annabelle and we call her Belles a lot. I don't care what people call my children as long as it isn't rude!" - Kimberley
"All 3 of mine have names you can shorten. I love it. I was always so jealous of the kids with shortened names as a child" - Laura
2. Some of you HATE nicknames
"My son is called Harvey. It drives me nuts when people call him Harv: hate hate hate it" - Emma
"Hate it - my boy's Alfie. Hate it when people call him Alf" - Gemma
3. Some of you reckon it's just par for the course
"Just one of those things. My daughter hates Emily shortened to Em, the other two don't really care!" - Helen
"I picked names for my girls that I liked that I could shorten down myself - coz whether u like it or not at some point in their life it's gonna happen" - Jennie
4. Some of you think it depends on who's saying it
"Only close friends and family are allowed to shorten my kids' names. George, Molly and Connie are George, Molly and Connie, not Georgie, Moll and Cons!!" - Claire
5. Some of you think it's up to the child
"I chose names for my children that where flexible. I did this so that as they grew they could develop their own personalities rather than have one inflicted on them" - Gill
6. Some of you think it shows affection
"Shortening names is a way of showing endearment, in my experience the only ones to take offence to shortened names are those who cannot deal with 'change' of any sort..." - Sharon
"I like it, and do it myself if I feel close to a person" - Jo
7. Some of you thought about it right from the beginning
"I gave my son a 3-letter name to stop it getting shortened. I shall be doing the same with the next one too" - Beverley
8. Some of you have "naughty" names
"We call our sons Nicky and Sam - but if in trouble it will be Nicholas and Samuel!" - Susie
9. Some of you have 'right' and 'wrong' nicknames
"It p*sses me off when people call my daughter Lilah... Her name's Delilah... if you're gonna shorten it at least call her [by] her nickname (Dilly)" - Gabby
10. Some of you say it just depends how you're feeling
"My daughter is called Candice. I shorten hers down sometimes to Candy or Can or sometimes I call her Candy Floss or Candy Cane or Candy Crush when I'm in a silly mood" - Karen
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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