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Help[Opinions] Can I use first and middle name? Nick name help!
My baby girl is 10 months old and her name is Sofia Juliet and we have been calling her Sophie.
I really love her middle name and also love that it’s less common than her first.
I want to call her Juliet but I’m afraid that will be confusing for her since everyone else calls her Sophie or Sofia. I also love the nick name Jules and Etty that can come from her middle name.
Side note, my sister in-law just told us she’s going to name her baby girl jewel so I feel like now I can’t really use Jules as a nick name since it will be so close to her daughters name.
Am I over thinking this? Is it weird to call your child both first and middle name or a nick name that is from her middle name? Too close to her future cousins name?
Any advice or opinions are welcome! Thank you!!
I really love her middle name and also love that it’s less common than her first.
I want to call her Juliet but I’m afraid that will be confusing for her since everyone else calls her Sophie or Sofia. I also love the nick name Jules and Etty that can come from her middle name.
Side note, my sister in-law just told us she’s going to name her baby girl jewel so I feel like now I can’t really use Jules as a nick name since it will be so close to her daughters name.
Am I over thinking this? Is it weird to call your child both first and middle name or a nick name that is from her middle name? Too close to her future cousins name?
Any advice or opinions are welcome! Thank you!!
Replies
Calling her Juliet wouldn’t be bad. My aunt is officially Mary Kirstyn, but has never been called Mary a day in her life. Her mother was Mary Sandra, called Sandra or Sandy. It’s not weird at all. To add to this, my aunt spelled “Kirstyn” “Kyrstyn”. She did this as a teen in 80s. I was born in 2011. She went back to spelling Kirstyn by the time I was born or when I was too young to spell. My mom’s phone still says Kyrstyn in her contacts. Anyway, my aunt was annoyed by the spelling change she chose. But a middle name was never a problem for her. If the daughter you care about is named “Juliet” or Jules in your head, please do this. You can call her Sofia Jules when her cousin is around. They’re both pretty names.
I think it's fine for her to be called both names but I would maybe start by calling her "Sophie Juliet" often enough that she learns that's her full name?
Honestly by the time she's old enough to understand that she has a first name and a middle name and that she could be called by either, she'll probably have her own preference already. You can prefer Juliet all you want but if she prefers Sophie that's what she'll be called. And if she prefers Juliet/Jules then the people who have been calling her Sophie will have to switch.
"Sophie Jules" or "Sophie Jule" sounds really cute as something you could call her for fun even if she usually just goes by one name.
Although if her full first name is Sofia and not Sophia, I think the short form should be Sofie and not Sophie...
ETA: Don't worry about the sister-in-law's baby. Lot of people have the same or similar names and they adapt. Maybe she'll be Jules most of the time but Juliet, Sophie, or Sophie-Jules when Jewel is around. Or maybe they'll be Big Jules and Little Jewel. Maybe she'll do it like in school and be "Jules [last initial]" . Maybe she'll get some other nickname like Juju, S.J., or Soph. Lots of people have names or nicknames that they only use when someone else in the situation has the same name.
Honestly by the time she's old enough to understand that she has a first name and a middle name and that she could be called by either, she'll probably have her own preference already. You can prefer Juliet all you want but if she prefers Sophie that's what she'll be called. And if she prefers Juliet/Jules then the people who have been calling her Sophie will have to switch.
"Sophie Jules" or "Sophie Jule" sounds really cute as something you could call her for fun even if she usually just goes by one name.
Although if her full first name is Sofia and not Sophia, I think the short form should be Sofie and not Sophie...
ETA: Don't worry about the sister-in-law's baby. Lot of people have the same or similar names and they adapt. Maybe she'll be Jules most of the time but Juliet, Sophie, or Sophie-Jules when Jewel is around. Or maybe they'll be Big Jules and Little Jewel. Maybe she'll do it like in school and be "Jules [last initial]" . Maybe she'll get some other nickname like Juju, S.J., or Soph. Lots of people have names or nicknames that they only use when someone else in the situation has the same name.
This message was edited 4/5/2024, 10:51 AM
I think you may be overthinking this a little. I've heard of plenty of people whose nicknames stem from their middle names, so I don't think it would be an issue if you called her Jules or Etty from time to time. Some people have mulitple nicknames, and they don't always relate to their given name at all. That being said, I think you should be consistent with what you call her most of the time, so it's not confusing.
Isn't this the same baby that was born Emilia Isabelle and is now Sophie Juliet? If this is a real baby, I think Vigdis is right, you're obsessing over this.
Didn't you already change her name?
My husband and I call our daughter Miss Mae, Mae being one of her middle names. I often call her Miriam Elizabeth (her first middle name.)
I think you're obsessing over the name. First, Emilia Isabel wasn't right, you changed it to Sophia Juliet. Now you prefer Juliet. I get it, I had name regret, too. For a while I wished I'd named my daughter Mae Cecilia, which is how she got the nn Miss Mae. 10 years later I'm quite happy I stuck with Miriam.
My husband and I call our daughter Miss Mae, Mae being one of her middle names. I often call her Miriam Elizabeth (her first middle name.)
I think you're obsessing over the name. First, Emilia Isabel wasn't right, you changed it to Sophia Juliet. Now you prefer Juliet. I get it, I had name regret, too. For a while I wished I'd named my daughter Mae Cecilia, which is how she got the nn Miss Mae. 10 years later I'm quite happy I stuck with Miriam.
She is only 10 months old so it she will get used to it fast. I think that you really want to call her that since you posted this before, so do it. Plenty of people go by their middle names and others go by names that are neither their middle names OR first names, like my grandmother. Her cousins name does not matter.
I wouldn't worry about your future niece's name. My brother and one of our cousins had the same first name. We just called them by their first and middle names to avoid confusion. Secondly, they may call her by a nickname or her middle name. Thirdly, your sister-in-law may change her mind and go with a completely different name.
My mother went by her middle name. My dad didn't like that name, so he started calling her by a nickname. She was in her teens. When folks called her by her original middle, you knew they had known her a long time. I guess you're never too old to go by another nickname.
Call your daughter whatever feels right and brings you joy!
My mother went by her middle name. My dad didn't like that name, so he started calling her by a nickname. She was in her teens. When folks called her by her original middle, you knew they had known her a long time. I guess you're never too old to go by another nickname.
Call your daughter whatever feels right and brings you joy!
She's young enough that you could just change her name to Juliet Sophie.
If you'd really wanted to call her Juliet/Jules, I think you would have used that as her first name all along.
Lots of people go by their mns, but more often they do that as their own choice later on in life; when their parents set out to call them by the mn from the start it's usually because 1. The child is named after a parent or 2. The parents felt under some kind of pressure to use a name they didn't necessarily love as the fn.
I personally would not enjoy having almost the same sounding name as a cousin if we spent any time together, and I especially wouldn't like it if my parents deliberately chose to go out of their way to give me a nn that was so similar to that cousin's name.
Lots of people go by their mns, but more often they do that as their own choice later on in life; when their parents set out to call them by the mn from the start it's usually because 1. The child is named after a parent or 2. The parents felt under some kind of pressure to use a name they didn't necessarily love as the fn.
I personally would not enjoy having almost the same sounding name as a cousin if we spent any time together, and I especially wouldn't like it if my parents deliberately chose to go out of their way to give me a nn that was so similar to that cousin's name.
Kids can deal perfectly well with different people in their lives calling them by different names. And this goes double because your child is only 10 months old -- she won't have any difficulty with this.
It certainly is not "weird" to call a child by a short form of a middle name. Back in the 19th century a rather high percentage of Americans were called in everyday life by the name which was in the middle position on their birth certificates. My paternal grandfather was officially named "Clarence Kent" but always called Kent. My maternal grandfather was officially "Grover Cleveland" but always called "Cleve." My mother's oldest sister was "Elizabeth Lucille" and always called Cille or Lucille. My first cousin closest to my age is officially Mary Eugenia and has always been called Gena. There are literally millions of people in English speaking countries who've lived since middle names first became common in the 19th century who have gone by their middle name in everyday life.
Now, if your daughter and her cousin are going to have frequent interaction, it might on occasion be confusing to have them called Jewel and Jules. It will probably be more confusing for other people than them, though.
It certainly is not "weird" to call a child by a short form of a middle name. Back in the 19th century a rather high percentage of Americans were called in everyday life by the name which was in the middle position on their birth certificates. My paternal grandfather was officially named "Clarence Kent" but always called Kent. My maternal grandfather was officially "Grover Cleveland" but always called "Cleve." My mother's oldest sister was "Elizabeth Lucille" and always called Cille or Lucille. My first cousin closest to my age is officially Mary Eugenia and has always been called Gena. There are literally millions of people in English speaking countries who've lived since middle names first became common in the 19th century who have gone by their middle name in everyday life.
Now, if your daughter and her cousin are going to have frequent interaction, it might on occasion be confusing to have them called Jewel and Jules. It will probably be more confusing for other people than them, though.