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I don't think every name requires nns at all. To use one of your examples: I love William as a full name but I'm not entirely against using Will as a nn (never Bill, Billy, or, God forbid, Willy!) but for Michael - I would never use a nn for Michael because I love the sound of it. Madeline is another one I think sounds much better with a full name.

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The thing with nns though is that when people are children, names like Madeline or Michael or (especially), Phillip, just sound so adult. They're little kids! They're young and innocent, not to mention a lot of kids have trouble pronouncing some letters (for instance, I was 'Abby' (my name is Tabitha) to my little neighbor for the longest time because she was missing teeth and couldn't say my full name).

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Nns also are considered more informal and are thought of as names that special and for use only by the people you like. I, personally, don't mind people I barely know calling me Tab (though I do prefer Tabitha if they don't know me) but I will not tolerate them calling me Tabby. Tabby is what my friends call me and have called me since I was little. I think we associate those names with our childhood and we feel we can be silly and more open with our friends when we're called by our nns. That makes for the other association where when you want to be taken seriously or are in a serious (not neccessarily bad) situation and you want (or are addressed) by your full name.

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And just as an ending note: I know when my parents are angry with me because they say my full first name, Tabitha, where most of the time I'm just Tab or Tabby :) It's good to know when to hide!

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"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"

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"Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh I miss you, you know"
- 'Home', Michael Buble

This message was edited 2/16/2006, 2:42 PM