[Opinions] Re: Annie and Willa
Susannah is such a distinctive name that using Annie, not one of its usual or obvious nns, seems a bit like Susannah is being "dumbed down." Like the parents really wanted to use Susannah, but something about it, its uncommonness or its Biblicality or something, put them off, and instead of either picking another name entirely, putting Susannah in the mn slot or just using Susannah anyway and letting go of whatever objection they had, they tried to "play it safe" with a very plain, not very intuitive nn.
This goes double for FirstName Wilson, nn Willa. It feels very southern blueblood to me, and also like the parents were more interested in using family names and thus needed to stretch very hard to find distinctive nns.
It reminds me of one of the Bush twins a couple years ago naming one daughter Margaret Laura after both grandmas, and using Mila as the nn, and then later on naming another daughter Poppy after her grandfather, George. It's like "Really? The things you tell yourself..."
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin