Shortening names...
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Topic: Shortening names...
Posted By: Danaj
Subject: Shortening names...
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:19pm
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Has anyone else called their baby a name and people have shortened it when you don't want them to?
We've chosen Madelyn Rose and everyone keeps calling her Maddie. Maddie is very pretty but friends of ours had a gorgeous little girl not long ago and she is called Maddie. I don't want to copy, and if I wanted her called Maddie, I would flimmin well call her Maddie wouldn't I!! So, has anyone managed to keep people from shortening bubs name? I always correct people but no one seems to take any notice! Any suggestions? ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:26pm
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Unfortunately most people just wont listen.
With bub number two we are actually picking a name that can be shortened to something we like .. as its just a fact of life people will call your child whatever they feel like. 
We gave up on loads of names as we knew people would shorten it to something we didnt like or want. My DH almost turns green and has his shirt ripped off with annoyance when people call Isabelle, Isabella .. and thats not even shorter! 
------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:28pm
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That would really annoy me too. No one has tried to shorten Michaela (although I made it quite clear from the beginning that she wasn't to be called Mickey). Maybe you need to go hormonal on these people so that they get the message loud and clear.
p.s. Madelyn Rose is a beautiful name
ETA: don't give in to them and start calling her Maddie yourself either. Madelyn will quickly learn to respond to her correct name and if people want her attention they'll have to use her correct name too. -------------  
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Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:35pm
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I like this idea of going hormonal......... ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/">
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Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:44pm
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My neice is named Jaimee-Lee, my sister inlaw would ALWAYS correct people if they called her Jaimee and family and friends respected that and always called her by her full name. There second daughter couldnt spit the whole thing out and for four years she was called Jay-Lee, but only by Brooke.
Once she hit highschool she became Jay and there is not a thing my sister inlaw can do about it. My brother calls her Jay now to.... Your family and friends should respect your request, but at the end of the day, names will get shortened whether we like it or not. Especially at school! -------------   
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:47pm
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My mum named my brother Samuel and was adamant that he was going to be Samuel, not Sam.
All their friends and rellies got told off for shortening it and until he started school, she was pretty successful. Unfortunately kids love nicknames and he came home one day and announced he was only going to answer to Sam from now on. She tried again with me, but to no avail so then she got smart and chose names for my brother and sister which couldn't be shortened! ------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and: 
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Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:05pm
My sister has taken to calling my girls Hay hay and May may which drives me up the wall!!!!! Grrrrr  The worst part is my Mum has started to do it as well.
Lovin' the name Madelyn Rose very pretty -------------  
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:23pm
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Hay hay and May May? Oh hear Lisa. Very cute but I can see why you don't like it.
I know it's bound to get shortened when she starts school but it just ticks me off that people do it even though they know I don't like it. If it gets shortened when she is at school, then she can decide if she likes it or not and i'm happy with that. Have to laugh as i've already enrolled her in our school of choice lol. It's a private school so had to get in early! ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/">
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Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:31pm
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It could be worse, it could be Hay-day and May-day I agree Danaj, I am happy for my children to adopt a nickname once they start school if they're happy with it but to lump her with one when she's born is not something I'd do. As you said earlier, if I wanted her to have a shortened name I would of named her the shortened name in the first place. Out of interest my family is big on shortening names and so my niece has been called Beth by everyone else (including her mother) since she was born but DH and I both think Elizabeth is a beautiful name and we both prefer it so we've always called her by her proper name. She told us last year that she prefers the name Elizabeth too. -------------
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lisa85 wrote:
Posted By: hailstones
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:35pm
I  the name Madelyn Rose, in fact Madelyn is on our short list of names I love, fortunately I also like Maddie so wouldn't be an issue for us too much.
I agree with MrsMojo - go all hormonal, hehe. It is hard, people will always shorten names, hopefully you can fend it off until she gets a bit older and then she will decide what she likes. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: jaycee
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:47pm
My ILs didn't want names that could be shortened either and so named DH and my BIL Jon and Marc. Now they are known as JC and Macca  . The other issue is that their names are ALWAYS being spelt wrong - DH gets John and BIL gets Mark.
I hate beling called Julie (my name is Julia) but some people don't seem to notice the difference . That is why we went with easy to spell and pronounce names - but I am sure that the girls will decide they don't like them when they get older - that is what children are like  -------------   
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:52pm
Ditto! ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: KazS
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:53pm
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My friends name is Allister - someone called him Al in front of his Mum - we never shorten his name but his Mum quickly responded with a
"if i wanted his name to be Al i would have called him Al and not Allister" Have never heard anyone else shorten it since! |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 2:55pm
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I prefer names not to be shortened, stick to your guns and be all hormonal and call her Madelyn not Maddie.
I know a now grown man called Richard and when his teachers tried to shorten it to Dick he corrected them. Lovely name too. Are you going to send her to Carncot? I do know of a girl being enrolled at St James when she was 1. Before birth is pretty cool. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: BugTeeny
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 3:41pm
Funny - a friend of mine has two younger sisters with those same names... My name (Charlotte) gets shortened to all kinds of names - it's very rare when I'm actually called by my name. Charly, Charlie, Lotte, Char, Charls.... ------------- 
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Posted By: TraceyA
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 4:20pm
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My mum only ever called me "Tracey-Lee" when I was in trouble. Nobody else ever called me it until I was in high school and demanded that my name was TraceyLee and I wouldn't respond to anything else. I now have one friend who refuses to call me anything else and introduces me to people with my full name, and another who calls me TL.
When friends of mine named their son Harrison Lisa was adamant that it would not be shortened, well he's now most often called Harry, even by her. Dana, you should decide on what shortening of her name you like the best and tell anyone who can't seem to use her real name that could they at least call her xyz instead of yzx. We seem to have settled on William if we have a boy and I'm worried people will call him "Bill" which I hate (sorry to any Bill's out there). ------------- TTC #2 |
Posted By: Emmecat
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 4:36pm
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It could be worse Tracey....they might shorten it to Willy!!
-------------   http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 4:43pm
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When we named Andrew "Andrew" I didn't want it shortened at all. My MIL tried to call him Andy, AJ (middle name is John) and Drew. He wouldn't respond to any of them. Now he is almost 5 he will tell people that try to call him Andy that his name is Andrew. Years to come it may get shortened. Joshua on the other hand was always going to be Josh. If you keep calling you Madelyn around people they will one day (maybe) get the hint that is her name. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: rachelsea
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 4:51pm
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I liked Samuel too for if we had a boy but then didn't want people shortening it to Sam! But we're having a girl and have decided on Chelsea. I don't know of any common shortenings of Chelsea, but DH already refers to her as The Chelstar, lol (not in public though thank goodness!)
I also don't call other people by their shortened names, unless that's how I was introduced to them. My brother is Daniel, and I'm about the only one that calls him that, to everyone else he is Dan. I love Madelyn Rose by the way, very cute  ------------- DD 4yrs DS 2yrs http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: my4beauties
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 5:14pm
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How frustrating having people shorted Madelyn's name and she's not even born yet! I will never shorten anyone's name, til I hear them call themselves it first. So for people to always call Madelyn "Maddie" is really rude IMO, especially since you've never called her that.
My friend's daughter is Madison, and I hardly ever hear her being called that, it's always "Maddy", and I think it's sad as Madison (and Madelyn) sound so much nicer. I was put off Maddy by working with someone in England called Maddy and it annoyed me, for some reason. But now I'm used to it I guess, and like it more than I used too.
I hope you can make these people understand that your daughter's name is "Madelyn" one way or the other! ------------- My babies: R (9),G (7), J (5) http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 5:52pm
My ex DH was an Andrew who I used to call Andy (which evolved to Handy) .. he used to HATE it, but he ended up ing me .. so he stayed Handy lol
He was always Andrew at work though .. so I guess it was his way of feeling grown up ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 6:00pm
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I'm glad i'm not being super sensitive on this. I mean, we put so much effort into finding the perfect names for our children just to have other people change it?
I know what you mean ladies, I love Andrew but not so keen on Andy and William is a beautiful name and was on my first list too but I was also worried about Bill. And Dick from Richard? I've never been able to figure out where that one comes from lol? Or Bill from William for that matter. MrsG, Yep, she'll be going to Carncot. I work with schools and I love their methods and small class numbers. The girls are just so polite and lovely when you go in. Nothing against the other schools, Just that i've seen schools struggle to do what they would dearly love to do purely because of a lack of funding. It's about 8k per year to send her but they take through to year 8. T ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/">
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Posted By: My3Sons
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 7:32pm
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I just realised all my kids have names that cant really be shortened
Zayne, Leo and Drew. My FIL was really confused by Drew, he was like "Andrew??". No just Drew. They all have nicknames though. I do wish we have used conventional spelling for Zaynes name though, it is always getting misspelled.
You have chosen a gorgeous name for your wee girl!! ------------- Mum to Mr 10, Mr 6 and Mr 4
 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 7:48pm
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I hate how people pronouce names wrong with out even questioning you how their name might be said...ie A-lee-a
Here's a funny opposite thing. We usually call Alia by a variety of names, most commonly Ali (as in Mohammed Ali cause she could kick really hard inside me). Some one else tried to call her Ali & she said my name is Alia...I had to giggle! Madelyn will tell them what's what as well ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 7:51pm
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I love the name Madelyn Rose, and don't know why people want to shorten it anyway , its so pretty !
I do wish I had called Caitlyn something other than Caitlyn sometimes, because at times I would LIKE to shorten it, but my sister is Kate. This baby , if its a girl, is Amelia, but I don't mind if it gets called Mia,or Mila . I think once you get to school , the names get shortened , I've always been Kels , never Kelly as far as my friends go, my best mates are Rach, and Karz (short for Karlene) but that was all on OUR terms , our mothers made sure our names people called us were the ones they gave us. I quite liked Patrick for a boy, but DF said it would be called Pat, and no offence to anyone , but I didnt like Pat so much . ------------- 
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Posted By: linda
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 7:58pm
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We called DS1 Harrison and that was going to be his name...no shortening of it at all. But then as he grew he really just seemed to suit Harry so before we knew it we started to call him Harry. I never would have thought we would have done that but guess you just never know. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Alex 6 and Harry 8 |
Posted By: Daizy
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 8:26pm
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We seem to have had the opposite problem. Maddi has always been Maddi, its just who she is. When ever people used to call her Madison it would throw me a little. The name Madison has since grown on me and I do try to call her it more often as it is the name we gave her
I could have just called her Maddi but having a name that can't ever be shortened I really wanted something that she could adjust if she wanted. I would never shorten someone elses name unless I knew thats what the used all the time. If you just keep correcting people they quickly get the idea (usually). I love the name Madelyn Rose just as it is! Maddi was nearly a Madelyn - DH won. In my belly she was just Maddi as we were undecided and I guess it just stuck. Keiras middle name is Rose, otherwise it would have been Maddi's. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:09pm
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Sometimes short names get extended though - I'm Kate, but I'm constantly called Katie or Katherine...and sometimes Kay. I'm a bit like Andrew....I say my name is Kate and that's it, it's not short for anything.
When we have a bubs, DF is adamant that any name we choose will not be able to be shortened. |
Posted By: whitewave
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:21pm
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I kinda had the opposite problem, I tend to like shortened names. I'm Jen, and it tends to throw me when someone unexpectedly calls me Jennifer other than my parents or inlaws! Although DH prefers to be called Danial even though he's used to Dan, so I tend to call him both.
Anyway, with bubs I wanted a nice name that I could shorten but also liked as his full name, knowing that my parents and inlaws are likely to call him by his full name all the time. I liked Campbell, and shortened as Cam, and the name has family history connections too. |
Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:37pm
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What a beautiful name for your wee girl
We picked Samantha not ever planning to shorten it to Sam, but well....she really suits it now. The only time I call her Samantha now is when she is in trouble  I do hate when other people try and make up names for her though.
Her full name is Samantha Rosalie and my grandmother keeps trying to call her Sammy Lee which I hate - Grrr! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:38pm
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I love the name Amelia but DH wasn't keen on it :(
I'm always getting called Donna or Dayna. My name is pronounced Dana as in Dana Banana (yes yes it's my life long nick name lol). I understand that people can get it wrong the first time round but when they still call me Dayna or Donna after i've already corrected them, then I just want to stab them with a pen. It really twists my knickers. I guess that's why I spelt it Madelyn rather than Madeline as people seemed to pronounce the LINE which wasn't what I wanted. ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/">
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Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:39pm
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Oh yeah, my first name is actually Dana-Leigh but I only get called that by my grandma or when i'm in the poop. Sends shivers down my spine uuuuuggggggghhhhhhhh just thinking about it scares me lol. ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/">
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Posted By: TraceyA
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 9:46pm
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I think one of the reasons I decided to make everyone use my full name when I was a teen was to sort of reclaim it from the "your in trouble" mindset. I hated that my full name would make me feel guilty ------------- TTC #2 |
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 11:00pm
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Ugh! I hate hate hate it when people shorten names and esp when they make them into names they were never meant to be- that's why my girls are Gina & Emma ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Neeks
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 10:13am
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I love the name Madelyn Rose.. it's so pretty!!! My cousin is Alexis (Alex-ee) Rose and people always emphasis the IS on the end.. she's just turned 6 and definitely puts people in their place when they pronounce it wrong LOL
I'm Anikka (A-nee-ka - like Anika Moa?) and I get called all manner of different variations.. ANNika ARNika and once I corrected a lady for pronouncing it wrong, and she said "Are you sure that's how it's pronounced??" UMMM it's MY name is it not?? *rolls eyes*
Keziah gets called Kez (which I can't stand)... and Kezzles which is cute while she's little LOL -------------  
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 10:36am
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I don't like people shortening Cooper's name to Coop. That's not his name.
I'm Melissa and have been Mel all my working life... my mum wont' call Mel at all... but all my other family and friends do.. and quite frankly I prefer Mel. The name you have chosen for your little girl is just gorgeous and just make sure you stand your ground and drum it into them that she is not to have her name shortened until she decides otherwise. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 10:50am
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LOL, I've had that before too. My name is Johanna with a silent H (it's hebrew... rather than american) and someone doing a survey pronounced it wrong so I corrected her and she told me matter of factly that "actually the correct pronunciation is Jo Hannah", I told her "actually it's my name, and it's pronounced Joh Anna and I'd rather not do your survey after all". -------------
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 11:00am
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Snap my name is always being mispronounced and misspelt. However the best I've heard my name said was by a native French speaker, as my name is French it sounded better than when I say it.
------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 12:24pm
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Oh and Madelyn is on DH's list too, but thats because he loves Maddie...
I am still hoping for Ruby -------------
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Posted By: my4beauties
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 3:44pm
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I never get to hear my name in full, only at the Dr's etc and then it's mispronounced. Dh rarely says my name, and to everyone else I'm Noush, or Noushy. The times I am called by my full name is when I'm in trouble.
You can't really shorten our kids' names. Rico.... hmm would hate for someone to call him "Reek" for short, Gia gets GG's, and there's no way you can shorten Jett! ------------- My babies: R (9),G (7), J (5) http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 6:31pm
J ? -------------
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 06 January 2009 at 7:20pm
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My mum always insisted that our names not be shortened. Unfortunately I think you have a choice of being uptight and correcting everyone all the time, or just ignoring them and let your daughter eventually make the decision when she is older. ------------- |
Posted By: Aithne
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 4:54pm
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I dont like it when people mispronounce my name. I dont think i have come across someone who has been able to correctly say my name, more often then not they still cant say it after me slowly saying it to them about 5 times. My name is Aithne, the i is silent so its pronounced like ath-nee. But people always seem to say it like athene or athanie. My close friends have shortened my name to Aith (with the silent i) and my uncle and mum call me Affie sometimes. My dad and sisters however seem to always call me Eithne, which i cant stand (i only met them 4 years ago) they think that is how it is properly pronounced in Ireland, which it isnt, dispite noone else calling me that around them. Eithne is a different name to mine !!
However if i name my son Rhiordon (Re-or-den) then i will probably shorten it to Rory and then let him decide what he wants to be known by when he is older. I would also never shorten anyone elses name unless they told me themselves to call them that. I prefer to call people by there whole name anyway. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 5:54pm
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The only people who call DH by his full name is his parents. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |