View Message

I don't like them

I am of that opinion that if you are called a certain name, then thats what you should be called! I think this comes from being a Nicole who has had to endure being called Nikki my whole life. I often said to my mum 'why bother with Nicole? You should have just named me Nikki'
So in actual fact, I think if someone is going to name their child Abigail, then call her Abby all her life, why not just name her Abby in the first place? I'd rather the 'nickname' be the full name, than to be named one thing and than called another.

Generally, I don't like them. To me Abby, Gabby, Jimmy, Mandi, Libby, Jake, Joey, etc are obvious abbreviated names. I consider them nicknames and too informal for a full name.

---

I think variants can stand alone. I don't consider Anya a nn, but a variant. Elise is a variant of Elisabeth, but it can stand alone. I think Jack can stand alone too, and I love Jack but hate John.

---

It's mostly preference, I suppose, but history/tradition is a large factor.

Only for Anya.
Pretty much anything else is just wrong in my book. They usually don't age well, and I think a person needs a 'sensible' full name to use when they're older. For example, Penny should be Penelope, Persephone or something.
It's not a big deal for Jack or Kate, but I think they should both be nns for John and Katherine.