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I've notice that most of the Thomas 's I know go by Tom and most of the Nicholas ' by Nick and the William 's by Will. Do some names lend themselves more to nn use than others? I'm ok with these and for instance also with Kate, and I think they can be used also by adults maybe even in some professional contexts (there are faculty members in my university that go by these nns normally, but universities are more informal compared to other work environments). Somehow, they feel like "short forms" rather than actual nns. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the -y and -ie nns like Emmie, they seem ok for young children or if used occasionally, but are a bit too cutesy on the long run. What do you think about nns in general? I know some potential parents think of a nn beforehand when they choose a nn (I think I'd rather improvise one when the child is born, or see what the child prefers to be called as it grows), whereas others really hate the idea of their James going by Jim and their Amanda by Mandy.