New Post
Search
Help[Opinions] No nicknames, please!
A friend of mine hates nicknames and decided to name her son Luka because she believes that there are no nicknames for it (even though she preferred Ivan, but hates Ivo, Ivek, Ivica, Ivanec, Vanja...).
It got me thinking, what would you name your kids if you were going for a name that wouldn't have nicknames?
Rules:
-3 for each gender (not necessarily a sibest)
-names you would actually use in real life
-you can't use a diminutives as full names (for example Jack is ok, but not Johnny)
*feel free to comment on other people's responses if you spot a 'nicknamable' name
Mine:
BOY:
Ian
Gabriel (there is no Gabe in Croatia)
Sasha
GIRL:
Hope
Noa (changed from Poppy, because I forgot about it before)
Joy (Eva -just remembered the dreaded Evica, so I'm changing it)
-unfortunately it doesn't really work for most names in Croatia, since nicknames are often diminutives and you can make those with almost every name
It got me thinking, what would you name your kids if you were going for a name that wouldn't have nicknames?
Rules:
-3 for each gender (not necessarily a sibest)
-names you would actually use in real life
-you can't use a diminutives as full names (for example Jack is ok, but not Johnny)
*feel free to comment on other people's responses if you spot a 'nicknamable' name
Mine:
BOY:
Ian
Gabriel (there is no Gabe in Croatia)
Sasha
GIRL:
Hope
Noa (changed from Poppy, because I forgot about it before)
Joy (Eva -just remembered the dreaded Evica, so I'm changing it)
-unfortunately it doesn't really work for most names in Croatia, since nicknames are often diminutives and you can make those with almost every name
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 5:58 PM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
I can only think of Rom for Roman.
Ditto about your first sentence.
Ditto about your first sentence.
1
This is hard because almost all of my favorites can be shortened somehow.
Leo
Asa
Cain
Bridget
Athena
Daphne
You could still shorten those, I guess, but they wouldn't be common nicknames.
Leo
Asa
Cain
Bridget
Athena
Daphne
You could still shorten those, I guess, but they wouldn't be common nicknames.
1
I know, but I wouldn't use them
I understood it to mean names that you wouldn't use nicknames for, not names that there aren't nicknames for.
But if I misinterpretted, then I would swap Patrick for Ciaran and Mary for Effie. It was close between those two anyway.
I understood it to mean names that you wouldn't use nicknames for, not names that there aren't nicknames for.
But if I misinterpretted, then I would swap Patrick for Ciaran and Mary for Effie. It was close between those two anyway.
This message was edited 11/14/2009, 4:32 AM
1
But I'm a nickname person!
Part of my attraction to a lot of names is the nickname!
Here goes...
Finn
Jack
Charlie (or Rory or Connor)
Mae
Blythe
Ivy
I would want to call Blythe "Bee" for short but I don't think it is an easily nickname-able name. And it may or may not be cheating that two of my boys names are technically nicknames themselves...I would use Jack and Charlie as full names though IRL
Part of my attraction to a lot of names is the nickname!
Here goes...
Finn
Jack
Charlie (or Rory or Connor)
Mae
Blythe
Ivy
I would want to call Blythe "Bee" for short but I don't think it is an easily nickname-able name. And it may or may not be cheating that two of my boys names are technically nicknames themselves...I would use Jack and Charlie as full names though IRL
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 8:14 PM
1
I certainly can't think of anything:-)
Maybe there's Scandinavian nickname for Stellan?
Maybe there's Scandinavian nickname for Stellan?
1
Nah, where I live it's pronounced as only one syllable: "GRAM". There's no way to get 'gray' out of that - the 'a's aren't pronounced the same way at all.
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 8:48 PM
1
Wait, so does your friend's husband pronounce his name as 'Gray-am' or 'Gram'?
I just can't imagine that anyone could reasonably get 'Gray' out of Graham as it is pronounced where I live (to get anything that sounds even remotely like 'gray' into 'Graham', I end up sounding like I'm affecting a British accent), that they would ever attempt to, or even that they would think to, and I stand by putting it on my list.
I just can't imagine that anyone could reasonably get 'Gray' out of Graham as it is pronounced where I live (to get anything that sounds even remotely like 'gray' into 'Graham', I end up sounding like I'm affecting a British accent), that they would ever attempt to, or even that they would think to, and I stand by putting it on my list.
1
Some people pronounce it Gram and others pronounce it Gray-am; I guess it's more like Gray-em/Gray-um. Both are legit. Before I met him I would never have gotten Gray, either.
1
I'm not really arguing legtimacy, though; no one would pronounce it "Gray-um" where I live. I didn't even realize that that pronunciation existed elsewhere until a few months ago. If it's pronounced "GRAM" and that's the only accepted pronunciation in the region, no one's going to give a Graham the nn 'Gray'.
I mean, I understand that Gray could be a nickname possibility in another situation, but with the pronunciation that I would use it's not even fathomable. Maybe I should have put "Graham (pronounced as 'GRAM')" in my original post?
I mean, I understand that Gray could be a nickname possibility in another situation, but with the pronunciation that I would use it's not even fathomable. Maybe I should have put "Graham (pronounced as 'GRAM')" in my original post?
1
My favorites that pose the smallest change of a nickname:
Karl
Roch
Aron
Thekla
Joyce
Germaine
I mean, in theory you could nickname anything with an -ie or -y, but I was thinking along the lines of a more common nickname. Like Germaine could be Gerry... but would it really? It doesn't have a common nickname in English; it's not common enough to begin with to have one!
Karl
Roch
Aron
Thekla
Joyce
Germaine
I mean, in theory you could nickname anything with an -ie or -y, but I was thinking along the lines of a more common nickname. Like Germaine could be Gerry... but would it really? It doesn't have a common nickname in English; it's not common enough to begin with to have one!
1
I can't see any obvious nickname potential here, but I'd just like to say that I love your names! I think they'd make a neat sibset.
1
Just wondering, why did you put an accent on Regan?
1
Because I want people to pronounce it as ray-gan not as ree-gan and I don't really like any other spellings. Not sure if I'd do that in real life or not.
1
Don't do it, it doesn't make any sense :P Are you trying to get ray-gan by using the French pronunciation? That wouldn't work at all. The French é isn't pronounced like an AY.
You know, I'm French/German and whenever I try to explain the pronunciation of a French name that has an é in it, like Aimée, I use the AY sound to explain it as well (em-MAY) but that's actually incorrect. You know, the English AY is what comes closest to the French é but still it doesn't sound the same at all. The French é sounds more like a very long EH so you wouldn't get the pronunciation you wanted. Plus in French the -gan part would be pronounced differently as well.
I would just use Regan. Most people will pronounce it ray-gan anyway, from my experience.
You know, I'm French/German and whenever I try to explain the pronunciation of a French name that has an é in it, like Aimée, I use the AY sound to explain it as well (em-MAY) but that's actually incorrect. You know, the English AY is what comes closest to the French é but still it doesn't sound the same at all. The French é sounds more like a very long EH so you wouldn't get the pronunciation you wanted. Plus in French the -gan part would be pronounced differently as well.
I would just use Regan. Most people will pronounce it ray-gan anyway, from my experience.
1
ok, thanks for letting me know. I'll drop the accent. :)
1
Don't most Lucys and Sophies get called Luc and Soph (both of which I hate)?
1
In my experience, Luc and Soph are the kind of shortenings that are only used to grab someone's attention ("Hey Soph, could you hand me that pencil?").
For me the difference between casual shortenings like Soph and nicknames like Sophie are whether the bearer would ever introduce themselves with the name. So it would be perfectly normal for a Sophia to say "Hi, I'm Sophie," but rather unusual for a Sophia to say "Hi, I'm Soph".
For me the difference between casual shortenings like Soph and nicknames like Sophie are whether the bearer would ever introduce themselves with the name. So it would be perfectly normal for a Sophia to say "Hi, I'm Sophie," but rather unusual for a Sophia to say "Hi, I'm Soph".
1
Now that you mention it I can see that you're right:-)
The introducing oneself is the key here.
The introducing oneself is the key here.
1
I was thinking the same thing. For Hamish I have heard Hammie.
1
Well, I think when you get into singsongy pet name kinds of nicknames, any name can have them. In that case, Iris could be I or Irie or Rissy, Mara could be Mar or Marri (rhyming with Ari), and Audrey could be Audy or Rere or something. But, like Noey and Ezzie, they're not nicknames that are used as the primary way a person is addressed. I think there's a distinction there.
1
Hmm sure, I agree. Still it shows how you can butcher ANY name :) I actually think Ezzie for Ezra would happen. Or Ez.
Hmmm but really if we could've used any name that isn't used as the primary way a person is addressed we could have basically used anything except for names like Katherine, Michael and Elizabeth. You know what I mean? I mean most names don't have long established nicknames. Lily, Hannah, Jade, Amy, Ava, Sophia, Chloe etc but they still could end up as Lil, Hannie, Jadie, Aimz, Avy, Soph and Chlo.
I think the purpose of this thread was actually finding a name for which you can't think of any nicknames and it shows how it's pretty much impossible.
Hmmm but really if we could've used any name that isn't used as the primary way a person is addressed we could have basically used anything except for names like Katherine, Michael and Elizabeth. You know what I mean? I mean most names don't have long established nicknames. Lily, Hannah, Jade, Amy, Ava, Sophia, Chloe etc but they still could end up as Lil, Hannie, Jadie, Aimz, Avy, Soph and Chlo.
I think the purpose of this thread was actually finding a name for which you can't think of any nicknames and it shows how it's pretty much impossible.
1
I think ANY name can have a nickname. People will always find a way to shorten a name if they want to. Luka could be Luke or Luki. I think it's easier to shorten Luka than Ivan, personally, even thought Ivan could be Ivy.
I know an Esther who gets called Esthie and a Hope who gets called Hopie. Eva could be Eve, Evie etc
I'll try, though:
Astraea (I guess she could be Aea but I doubt it would happen)
Ivy
Kaia
Cornelius (yeah I guess he could be Corny, but I doubt anyone would do that)
Noel
Finn
Still I guess creative people can shorten ANY name. It's annoying because I hardly like any nicknames either but it can happen. Sasha could be Sash, Poppy could be Pop or Pops or something (eek hehe). I really can't find a way too shorten Ian, though, good one :) But I guess he could end up being called Big I or whatever, there's always a way.
I know an Esther who gets called Esthie and a Hope who gets called Hopie. Eva could be Eve, Evie etc
I'll try, though:
Astraea (I guess she could be Aea but I doubt it would happen)
Ivy
Kaia
Cornelius (yeah I guess he could be Corny, but I doubt anyone would do that)
Noel
Finn
Still I guess creative people can shorten ANY name. It's annoying because I hardly like any nicknames either but it can happen. Sasha could be Sash, Poppy could be Pop or Pops or something (eek hehe). I really can't find a way too shorten Ian, though, good one :) But I guess he could end up being called Big I or whatever, there's always a way.
1
Yeah, but I didn't mean creative nicknames that have no connection to the name. Those are pet names to me and strangers are hardly likely to make them up randomly.
As for Ivan, the nicknames used in Croatia are Ivo, Ivek, Ivanec, Vanja, while Luka doesn't have any nicknames (Luke and Luki don't exist here). Likewise with Eva in Croatia, though I guess there's always diminutive Evica.
Oh, and every Kornelia I know gets called Korny, so I doubt it would be any different for Cornelius - Corny.
As for Ivan, the nicknames used in Croatia are Ivo, Ivek, Ivanec, Vanja, while Luka doesn't have any nicknames (Luke and Luki don't exist here). Likewise with Eva in Croatia, though I guess there's always diminutive Evica.
Oh, and every Kornelia I know gets called Korny, so I doubt it would be any different for Cornelius - Corny.
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 5:45 PM
1
I've known heaps of Kornelias (it's common here) and none of them got ever called Korny.
All Evas I've known have been called Evie, though.
It depends on your country and some other things so saying that a Cornelius would definitely be called Corny is as wrong as saying that any Eva would be called Evie, it just depends on so many things.
All Evas I've known have been called Evie, though.
It depends on your country and some other things so saying that a Cornelius would definitely be called Corny is as wrong as saying that any Eva would be called Evie, it just depends on so many things.
1
My friend's mom was like that too! She hates nicknames so she picked her daughter's names (Indi and Skye) because they "cannot be shortened". She didn't figure me, the infamous lengthen-er-of-names, into her equation! (I often call them Skyetta, Skype, Skyelle, and Indiana)
I'd use:
Ruby
Daisy
Ivy
(though would I use them all in the same sibset? Hmm.... maybe. I am awfully crazy.)
Morgan
Guy
Eli
My boy names are the bomb.
I'd use:
Ruby
Daisy
Ivy
(though would I use them all in the same sibset? Hmm.... maybe. I am awfully crazy.)
Morgan
Guy
Eli
My boy names are the bomb.
1
Hmmm
I make nicknames out of everything so this is hard
Hunter is a good one but I don't like the name hunter
maybe..
Felix
Simon
George
Bruno
Pearl
Sarah
Mary
Wow there's so few names I can't imagine making nicknames for, and hardly any that I like
You're totally right about Ian though, and Hope maybe although I do call the Hopes I know Hopey sometimes.
I make nicknames out of everything so this is hard
Hunter is a good one but I don't like the name hunter
maybe..
Felix
Simon
George
Bruno
Pearl
Sarah
Mary
Wow there's so few names I can't imagine making nicknames for, and hardly any that I like
You're totally right about Ian though, and Hope maybe although I do call the Hopes I know Hopey sometimes.
1
I like Pearl.
1
Yeah I can think of about a million nicknames for Mary: Molly, Mamie, Maisie...There were so many of them invented when Mary was the most popular name. Still I think most are probably not used anymore, though Meryl Streep has a daughter named Mary who gets called Mamie.
Felix is very common here and many get called Feli for short.
Felix is very common here and many get called Feli for short.
1
Yeah but I don't think people would automatically do those.
1
Sorry, but I do have to agree about Si and Georgie (met a little George - Georgie, but I'm sure they don't use it when they grow up).
And I just met a little six-month old Bruno today and his mom kept calling him Brunek, but I guess that's not a problem in English.
And I just met a little six-month old Bruno today and his mom kept calling him Brunek, but I guess that's not a problem in English.
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 5:36 PM
1
I'm more inclined to think Georgie than Si, but Si would probably crop up occasionally.
1