[Opinions] Re: Mn help, honoring questions, is a nickname as a given name ok?
in reply to a message by Aoiar
Luke:
1. Is this popular right now?
Yes, it is - if you add up the popularities of Luke, Lucas, and Lukas, they're more popular than #1. This doesn't mean they're common ... they make up just a little more than 1% of boys born, which is about as popular as Kyle when it was peaking (#18) in 1990. I think it will be somewhat common among his peers, at a level that will probably be pleasant and not annoying.
2. Can Luke stand on its own? - Yes.
3. Middle name ideas? - depends what you like. I'm not into Luke so I don't have any suggestions. All that comes to mind is, I think it would sound good with an A name. Luke A---- ?
4. Any bad associations? Luke Skywalker; the word look, lucrative, filthy lucre. Def not bad enough to stop you
Lucy Kate:
0. If you like Luke, you might figure that you only want one of Luke or Lucy.
1. Too popular? Not yet... probably getting more popular. I don't think it's likely to get so common as to be annoyingly so.
2. Should it be Louisa, Lucia(loo cee uh) or simply Lucy? - Lucy for Lucia works, Lucy for Louisa seems too contrived IMO. If it were my name I'd rather be Lucia "Lucy" / Lucia Katherine "Lucy Kate." But if you like Lucy alone, it does stand alone fine.
3. What do you think of Kate as the middle name? - It's fine. Doesn't dovetail with my personal taste, but seems nice enough. I don't mind the short form as a middle name instead of Katherine, but I'd rather have Katherine as my own middle name, than Kate.
4. Bad associations? The word "loose" drives me away from all names that have that sound. Lucy from Peanuts (dated, probably irrelevant).
I think it's fine to use nicknames as first names if you really want. However I have rarely heard from anyone saying they have such a name, and have never wished they had a full name instead. I think many people would prefer to have a full formal name and just use the nickname all the time. I would rather be Katherine nn Kat, than just Kat, myself. I would not care if there was another Katherine I was being distinguished from. Maybe someday I'd want to be Kate instead, or demand to be addressed as Katherine. It's nice to have that option IMO, and anyway a formal name sounds cool when used ritually (weddings, graduations, authorships, CVs). The main reason to use nicknames as proper names is if there are other likely nicks (Kate or Kathy for Katherine, for example) you truly dislike, and would feel like the name you loved was obliterated if the child preferred them.
Lucy is exceptional IMO, it's an English form of Lucia to me, and not necessarily a familiar form of Lucia like Kate is to Katherine.
- mirfak
1. Is this popular right now?
Yes, it is - if you add up the popularities of Luke, Lucas, and Lukas, they're more popular than #1. This doesn't mean they're common ... they make up just a little more than 1% of boys born, which is about as popular as Kyle when it was peaking (#18) in 1990. I think it will be somewhat common among his peers, at a level that will probably be pleasant and not annoying.
2. Can Luke stand on its own? - Yes.
3. Middle name ideas? - depends what you like. I'm not into Luke so I don't have any suggestions. All that comes to mind is, I think it would sound good with an A name. Luke A---- ?
4. Any bad associations? Luke Skywalker; the word look, lucrative, filthy lucre. Def not bad enough to stop you
Lucy Kate:
0. If you like Luke, you might figure that you only want one of Luke or Lucy.
1. Too popular? Not yet... probably getting more popular. I don't think it's likely to get so common as to be annoyingly so.
2. Should it be Louisa, Lucia(loo cee uh) or simply Lucy? - Lucy for Lucia works, Lucy for Louisa seems too contrived IMO. If it were my name I'd rather be Lucia "Lucy" / Lucia Katherine "Lucy Kate." But if you like Lucy alone, it does stand alone fine.
3. What do you think of Kate as the middle name? - It's fine. Doesn't dovetail with my personal taste, but seems nice enough. I don't mind the short form as a middle name instead of Katherine, but I'd rather have Katherine as my own middle name, than Kate.
4. Bad associations? The word "loose" drives me away from all names that have that sound. Lucy from Peanuts (dated, probably irrelevant).
I think it's fine to use nicknames as first names if you really want. However I have rarely heard from anyone saying they have such a name, and have never wished they had a full name instead. I think many people would prefer to have a full formal name and just use the nickname all the time. I would rather be Katherine nn Kat, than just Kat, myself. I would not care if there was another Katherine I was being distinguished from. Maybe someday I'd want to be Kate instead, or demand to be addressed as Katherine. It's nice to have that option IMO, and anyway a formal name sounds cool when used ritually (weddings, graduations, authorships, CVs). The main reason to use nicknames as proper names is if there are other likely nicks (Kate or Kathy for Katherine, for example) you truly dislike, and would feel like the name you loved was obliterated if the child preferred them.
Lucy is exceptional IMO, it's an English form of Lucia to me, and not necessarily a familiar form of Lucia like Kate is to Katherine.
- mirfak
This message was edited 3/13/2016, 4:40 PM