What do you all think of nicknames? -I like them in general. It depends on the name; some names lend themselves to NN and I would see myself using a NN rather than a full name, but some names I prefer just the full name.
1) Do you think it best to let them evolve naturally, pick one beforehand or not have one at all? -Either works. I'm a nicknamer, so I tend to come up with things for people naturally, but I think picking a NN beforehand is fine, especially if it's a name with a lot of NN's and you like one in particular.
2) Would it bother you if you chose a nickname and people picked a different one or refused to use one at all? -I might be annoyed if someone picked a different NN (for instance, if I wanted
Elizabeth to be called
Beth but people started calling her
Lizzie). Of course, different people form different NN's for people, so if it were someone close to the person in question (for instance, if
Elizabeth's husband affectionately called her
Lizzie), it might be fine. I wouldn't mind if they called them by their given name.
3)
Will you help us decide on a nickname? We will have to put it on the announcement because nicknames are really important in my husband's culture. We had to choose one for our daughter
Clarisse (Clary or Clarybee) and now we have to choose one for baby due in a little less than 4 weeks! -Oh wow, I didn't know you were due so soon! Best wishes!
Here are our options for
Nadine:
- Din-din (very Filipino, my husband's choice)- Reminds me of dinner.
- Nin (my choice)- I like this more than Din-din, but it sounds so insubstantial
- NiNing (our compromise, it's a term of endearment)- Not sure how to pronounce this. NEE-ning or NIH-ning?
- Deenie- An obvious choice for me, but I hate the sound of it.
- Nady or Nadie (does this sound like naughty too much?)- This is my choice. I don't think naughty when I hear it. I like the spelling Nadie. Reminiscent of
Sadie.
-
Dean- Dislike
- Nadz- NO! This is slang for "gonads"!
- other options, etc? -
Nadine is a hard one. It's a name that I prefer as NN-less, but I understand that NN's are culturally important. Natty? Naynay? (Maybe not good with the Whip/Nay nay song so popular!)
Dina? Oooh, I kinda like
Dina. Deedee?Ninay?
Or could you wait and use a NN based on her characteristics? What's her MN going to be? I think it's cool to combine part of the FN and part of the MN to create a NN.