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HelpRe: How easy is it to start using a new nickname?
in reply to a message by Violet
I legally changed my name as an adult. My new name is a variation of my former mn so yes, it was a complete departure for most people. I discovered that the people who loved me and supported me before the name change continued to love and support me and the people who made snarky remarks are people I wasn't really close to anyway. Frankly, I was so happy that I didn't care about the few snarky remarks. It was quite liberating. ;-) Anyway, it can be done. It does take time and patience and you can tell who is trying and who is not. One of my dds was called Katie until she changed it to Kate on her 14th birthday. She was simply tired of all of the Katies at school and there was only one other Kate. Some in my husband's family acted like it was some horrible obstacle to overcome and made a big deal of it. Give me a break! It's no different from Billy or Johnny or Tommy or Danny suddenly wanting to be called the more mature Bill, John, Tom or Dan and people do that sort of thing all the time.
Bottom line: If you're surrounded by loving and supportive people, this can be accomplished. Within three to five years, you'll be known as Elle in your day-to-day life. And btw, to go from Danielle to Elle isn't that much of a stretch to me. I think most people will get it. You'll likely have the most difficulty with your family who are used to calling you Dani because that's their special pet name for you. There are a few in my family who still call me Juju and I've just let that go for the most part because I do understand it's a term of endearment.
ETA: I live an hour away from my family and as far as I know, those who refer to me as Juju when I'm not there are careful to call me Elena to my face so there's that level of respect that I do appreciate. I've been very fortunate in this regard as has been my dd who has attended the same school with the same students and has experienced no problem going from Katie to Kate.
Bottom line: If you're surrounded by loving and supportive people, this can be accomplished. Within three to five years, you'll be known as Elle in your day-to-day life. And btw, to go from Danielle to Elle isn't that much of a stretch to me. I think most people will get it. You'll likely have the most difficulty with your family who are used to calling you Dani because that's their special pet name for you. There are a few in my family who still call me Juju and I've just let that go for the most part because I do understand it's a term of endearment.
ETA: I live an hour away from my family and as far as I know, those who refer to me as Juju when I'm not there are careful to call me Elena to my face so there's that level of respect that I do appreciate. I've been very fortunate in this regard as has been my dd who has attended the same school with the same students and has experienced no problem going from Katie to Kate.
This message was edited 3/30/2012, 5:45 PM
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