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Help[Opinions] Re: Nickname necessity?
in reply to a message by Spree
The thing that I find most weird ist when parents say "We love the name Patrick (or whatever) but we hate the nn Pat" and therefore let go of their favorite Patrick. As if there is no way of avoiding Pat (or whatever nn). Why just not call him by his full name and then it may stick?
Or if they say "Patrick Turner" is ok but Pat runs into the ln. If you are that formal to use the ln, why use the nn and not the formal name? This is an argument I've only seen on American sites. Even though parents sometimes consider less disirable nn in Sweden too, they don't worry how it will sound with the ln. I get the feeling that nn are so ubiquitous in USA that nobody calls a Michael or Katherine Smith that; he/she is always just Mike (or Kate) Smith.
And then the whole point of nn is lost imo. You call someone by a nn as a sign of familiarity and affection. But how can these be, if everybody calls this person by the nn.
So I guess that people use nn just b/c they don't have time to say the whole name. Which I can understand with Alexander and Alexandra, but not with Michael.
Another side of the coin is that people name a child Jackson or Katherine, even though they don't like the name that much; but they love Jack and Kate. Why not name them Jack or Kate them? No, that name is not good enough if the child becomes a judge or president of United States. If their child would have the qualifications and financial resourced to become the president of USA, I don't think the name would stop him/her.
"But it’s all right now.
I learned my lesson well.
You see you can’t please everyone
So you got to please yourself."
Rick Nelson, GardenParty
"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)
Or if they say "Patrick Turner" is ok but Pat runs into the ln. If you are that formal to use the ln, why use the nn and not the formal name? This is an argument I've only seen on American sites. Even though parents sometimes consider less disirable nn in Sweden too, they don't worry how it will sound with the ln. I get the feeling that nn are so ubiquitous in USA that nobody calls a Michael or Katherine Smith that; he/she is always just Mike (or Kate) Smith.
And then the whole point of nn is lost imo. You call someone by a nn as a sign of familiarity and affection. But how can these be, if everybody calls this person by the nn.
So I guess that people use nn just b/c they don't have time to say the whole name. Which I can understand with Alexander and Alexandra, but not with Michael.
Another side of the coin is that people name a child Jackson or Katherine, even though they don't like the name that much; but they love Jack and Kate. Why not name them Jack or Kate them? No, that name is not good enough if the child becomes a judge or president of United States. If their child would have the qualifications and financial resourced to become the president of USA, I don't think the name would stop him/her.
"But it’s all right now.
I learned my lesson well.
You see you can’t please everyone
So you got to please yourself."
Rick Nelson, GardenParty
"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)
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Replies
I can understand letting go of a name you love if you absolutely loathe the nickname. For example, I love the name Gabriella, but I have a profound and rather irrational hatred for the nickname Gabby. If I named my daughter Gabriella and it got shortened to Gabby, I don't think I could call her that without cringing. Yes, I could be a stickler and vehemently insist that everyone call her by her full name, but once she was old enough to express a preference, and especially when she started going to school and making friends, then it wouldn't be fair to try to dictate what other people were allowed to call her.
I also have to disagree with the "If you like (insert nickname here) then just name them that." If you absolutely hate the full version, then sure, name them the nickname. But if the full name is something that you can stand, I think it's only fair to give the child that option.
Sometimes I just feel like smacking people with the dictionary, just to see if they absorb any intelligence through osmosis.
-My friend Emma
I also have to disagree with the "If you like (insert nickname here) then just name them that." If you absolutely hate the full version, then sure, name them the nickname. But if the full name is something that you can stand, I think it's only fair to give the child that option.
Sometimes I just feel like smacking people with the dictionary, just to see if they absorb any intelligence through osmosis.
-My friend Emma
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lol, I totally love you Ylva. I find almost everything you say to be interesting lol especially about America. It's fascinating to see a foriegners personal point of view.
:-)
"Chan eil tuil air nach tig traoghadh"
"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
:-)
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh I miss you, you know"
- 'Home', Michael Buble
1
In my experience *everybody* does not call you by your nickname. Only one of my coworkers knows my nn and that's only because she is the one that I consider a good friend. In school, I went by my proper name and only my family called me by my nn. I guess what I'm trying to say is most people don't give nn as to replcae the first name.
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I know plenty of people who go by their formal name, children and adults. In fact, I'd say more go by their formal name than a nickname, in my experience.
Also, no, it's not a matter of just not having time to say the whole name. It's an endearment. For me, I love my sons' formal names and their nicknames and I use them both.
Why not use just the nickname? In my case it's because 1) I love names and like the styles of longer, more formal names, and the comfy feel of short nicknames, and 2)because it gives the child (and later adult) an option of going by their formal name or a nickname.
________________________________________
Also, no, it's not a matter of just not having time to say the whole name. It's an endearment. For me, I love my sons' formal names and their nicknames and I use them both.
Why not use just the nickname? In my case it's because 1) I love names and like the styles of longer, more formal names, and the comfy feel of short nicknames, and 2)because it gives the child (and later adult) an option of going by their formal name or a nickname.
________________________________________
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