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Bottom line: Do NOT give your child a name if there is a nickname for that name that you hate. As others have pointed out, it's entirely possible for a person with a name that is usually shortened to go by the full name. But it's always a possibility that the child him or herself may choose to go by a commonly accepted nickname when he or she is older, and if you hate that nickname, it's better to avoid the name. My husband went by his middle name James, and the nickname chosen by his parents was Jamie. He decided when in his teens that he'd rather be called Jim. His mom endlessly complained about this. But it was a possibility that she should have foreseen.