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HelpUncommon nicknames
Would you use a traditional nickname that doesn't sound much like its full name? Think along the lines of Margaret "Daisy", Alexandra "Sasha", Mary "Polly" or Sarah "Sadie"/"Sally".
Do you think these types of nicknames would work on a child in the US, or would they just confuse others?
Do you think these types of nicknames would work on a child in the US, or would they just confuse others?
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If I loved the full name and the nickname, I would. Yes, I do think it would confuse people but no more than a girl being named Michael or Ryan, or a child named Kaytelynne, or John going by his middle name of Andrew.
I know a young Mary who goes by Molly and people were surprised where Molly came from as a nickname but I don't think it is a big deal.
I know a young Mary who goes by Molly and people were surprised where Molly came from as a nickname but I don't think it is a big deal.
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There are a few, like Peggy for Margaret, that I think are well known enough not to cause any confusion. Sasha for Alexandra might fit in that category, too.
I'd rather see Daisy, Sasha, Polly, Sadie, and Sally given as proper names rather than as nicknames, but if I loved the thought of something like Sarah, nn Sadie, I'd use both. I wouldn't care if strangers thought it was weird. If questioned, it's not hard to explain that Sadie is an old-fashioned nickname for Sarah.
I'd rather see Daisy, Sasha, Polly, Sadie, and Sally given as proper names rather than as nicknames, but if I loved the thought of something like Sarah, nn Sadie, I'd use both. I wouldn't care if strangers thought it was weird. If questioned, it's not hard to explain that Sadie is an old-fashioned nickname for Sarah.
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I wouldn't. My niece is Mary Miranda and she goes by Mira. My sister's-in-law family has a tradition of using family names for first names and then calling the child by a middle name. So they chose to use Mary (her mom is Mary Renee who goes by Renee) Miranda and have her go by Miranda. They were worried about the nickname Randy so they decided to use Mira. Mira was five before she could figure out her name. It's a mess. Most people who had parents do this wish they never did. It's just confusing for all involved.
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No. If I liked the "nickname" I'd use it as a full name, because that is how I perceive them.
They're not too confusing. I think people could use them like that, and it'd be fine, even kind of cool. I wouldn't feel an uncontrollable urge to put them down as pretentious in order to protect myself from acknowledging that I and my tastes are relatively simple and pedestrian. I might think it was a bit artificial - not that it was putting on airs, but sort of like it was name-cheating (you get two totally different names from just one. No fair - everyone should get two for one, you shouldn't have to choose some generic old name like Sarah or Mary or Margaret to get that!).
The only one I can think of that I'd use, would be Betty for Elizabeth. Not that I'd want to use Elizabeth. I just think Betty is nice, but it seems more nicknamey to me than the others you listed. Too nicknamey to stand alone, for me.
They're not too confusing. I think people could use them like that, and it'd be fine, even kind of cool. I wouldn't feel an uncontrollable urge to put them down as pretentious in order to protect myself from acknowledging that I and my tastes are relatively simple and pedestrian. I might think it was a bit artificial - not that it was putting on airs, but sort of like it was name-cheating (you get two totally different names from just one. No fair - everyone should get two for one, you shouldn't have to choose some generic old name like Sarah or Mary or Margaret to get that!).
The only one I can think of that I'd use, would be Betty for Elizabeth. Not that I'd want to use Elizabeth. I just think Betty is nice, but it seems more nicknamey to me than the others you listed. Too nicknamey to stand alone, for me.
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No, I wouldn't. First of all because these nicknames don't make sense to me. I know they were created at a time when there were ten girls named Mary in a family and people had to tell them apart somehow so they thought of all kinds of nicknames such as Molly, Polly, Mamie etc But it's hard for me to understand how you get Daisy out of Margaret, for example.
I also think it would confuse people. Non-namenerds will likely not know that Sadie is an old nickname for Sarah and they'll just think of it as weird and confusing.
I'm guilty of having a soft spot for Sarah 'Sally' but I'd never use it.
Many of these names work really well on their own: Sasha, Elsa, Elise etc I'd never use them as nicknames.
I also think it would confuse people. Non-namenerds will likely not know that Sadie is an old nickname for Sarah and they'll just think of it as weird and confusing.
I'm guilty of having a soft spot for Sarah 'Sally' but I'd never use it.
Many of these names work really well on their own: Sasha, Elsa, Elise etc I'd never use them as nicknames.
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Marguerite = "daisy"
Margaret --> Marguerite --> Daisy
Even if marguerite isn't actually "daisy" in French (I'm not sure, but I feel like someone, maybe you, mentioned this before?) it's the logic of our misinformed ancestors. It may not make sense in reality but it made sense at the time.
Margaret --> Marguerite --> Daisy
Even if marguerite isn't actually "daisy" in French (I'm not sure, but I feel like someone, maybe you, mentioned this before?) it's the logic of our misinformed ancestors. It may not make sense in reality but it made sense at the time.
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If I really liked both names and saw it as an opportunity to use two favorites, yes, I'd do it. But if I were doing it just so that they had a "full name" to fall back on, or to honor someone else, I'd just use the diminutive.
I don't see it as that big of an issue though. In general social settings it's not like you'd have to announce it - "Hi, my name's Mary, but call me Polly." You'd just say, "Hi, I'm Polly." In school, most teachers usually ask if there's some other name you go by and then it doesn't require an explanation either. I don't see it as really any different than going by your middle name
I don't see it as that big of an issue though. In general social settings it's not like you'd have to announce it - "Hi, my name's Mary, but call me Polly." You'd just say, "Hi, I'm Polly." In school, most teachers usually ask if there's some other name you go by and then it doesn't require an explanation either. I don't see it as really any different than going by your middle name
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If I liked Daisy or Sasha or Sadie enough to want to use them at all, I'd just give them as the full name. I would think that somebody who names their daughter Margaret and then calls her Daisy is being unbearably "oh, see all the books we have read! We gave this fine, dignified name Margaret after dear Great Aunt Meg, but we shall call her Daisy! It's in all the books we have read! By the by, did you know we have read many books!"
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But if you're enough of a "name-nerd," wouldn't using an antiquated NN just speak to your love and knowledge of names? I mean, if someone has a hobby they shouldn't feel embarrassed to be more well-versed in that hobby than others might be - it's not pompous and showy, it's just their reality
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I don't really consider name-nerdiness to be a hobby. I might have, years ago, but being around people who really are name-nerdes has kind of soured me on it. To me, extreme name-nerdiness is the epitome of showing off and being pretentious. Like the annoying kid in class who is always going "actually..." and nitpicking apart the lesson till it's barely recognizable and has totally bored and confused the other students.
And Daisy as a nn for Margaret seems especially pretentious and show-off because it is not natural. Meg or Maggie would be a natural nn for Margaret, but Daisy is only a nn because of some little trick of language. Marguerite is an old-fashioned word for Daisy, and somebody way back when decided that Marguerite was the same as Margaret, even though Margaret means pearl. So to insist on using Daisy as a nn for Margaret seems very much like putting on airs and trying too hard to show off how classically-literate and name-nerdy you are.
And Daisy as a nn for Margaret seems especially pretentious and show-off because it is not natural. Meg or Maggie would be a natural nn for Margaret, but Daisy is only a nn because of some little trick of language. Marguerite is an old-fashioned word for Daisy, and somebody way back when decided that Marguerite was the same as Margaret, even though Margaret means pearl. So to insist on using Daisy as a nn for Margaret seems very much like putting on airs and trying too hard to show off how classically-literate and name-nerdy you are.
This message was edited 3/16/2013, 3:24 PM
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"I don't really consider name-nerdiness to be a hobby"
So then what do you consider all the time you spend on this board??
"being around people who really are name-nerdes has kind of soured me on it"
If you're so soured by such things (which are the nature of this site) why do you frequent the page?
So then what do you consider all the time you spend on this board??
"being around people who really are name-nerdes has kind of soured me on it"
If you're so soured by such things (which are the nature of this site) why do you frequent the page?
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If you're so annoyed by name-nerds, why do you come to this board?
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There's plenty of people who aren't name-nerds who come here, and more topics discussed than just names.
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So she can continually attack anything and everything for being even slightly intellectual? Reeks of insecurity and inferiority.
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I can understand the nitpicking thing but would be more inclined to feel that if say, some couple chose Margaret "Daisy" for no particular reason and absolutely NEVER called her Margaret - then I'd probably think "what are you trying to prove?" But if it was chosen to honor an aunt Margaret, but they wanted her to have her "own" name (particularly if aunt Margaret is still living) and liked Daisy anyway, I'd think it was a nice gesture. I'd like Margaret "Pearl" just as well in this situation
This message was edited 3/16/2013, 3:34 PM
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Not every BtNer is a name-nerd. I like names, but I wouldn't consider myself to be one.
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I wasn't trying to imply that. I mostly meant, if you are at all studied in names (beyond the general public)/consider names an interest. That's why I put name-nerd in quotes
(eta - "you" being a general you, not anyone specifically)
(eta - "you" being a general you, not anyone specifically)
This message was edited 3/16/2013, 3:13 PM
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Eh, I still wouldn't do it. Again, if I liked an uncommon nickname but didn't much care for the "real" name, I would just use the nickname. I wouldn't care what other people thought.
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I'm not trying to convince anyone to do it, really. I was just saying that judging someone else for doing it and assuming they chose to to seem "well-read" feels weird - like calling an astronomer showy for speaking intelligently about stars
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I don't share the opinion that someone who does that is showing off how well-read they are. I didn't really go off Rox Star's original post, I just jumped off yours, and then it got a little confusing. Sorry about that.
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Probably not. All of those nicknames sound like way too much of a stretch to me...it's not much different than calling a child a completely different name altogether. I definitely think the average person would find it weird and confusing, and that's not specific to the US.
I will say that Sasha as a nn for Alexandra doesn't seem as bad as the others.
I will say that Sasha as a nn for Alexandra doesn't seem as bad as the others.
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I don't think they work anymore. Outside namenerd community they are rarely known in the younger generation. I can't speak of the US since I'm in England but I think it would just confuse people. Most of the nicknames you've stated Daisy, Sadie, Polly etc work well and are popular as first names in their own right anyway.
:)
:)
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Would I use one?
No, I would not. If I liked Daisy or Polly, I would just use Daisy or Polly. I see no point in using a fuller version when I wouldn't like it and if the nickname is perfectly respectable, which I think those names are.
No, I would not. If I liked Daisy or Polly, I would just use Daisy or Polly. I see no point in using a fuller version when I wouldn't like it and if the nickname is perfectly respectable, which I think those names are.
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I think it depends on how much people know about names. Nicknames like Polly were used back when fewer names were used and there were so many women named Mary that it got confusing. That practice isn't common anymore because there's a much bigger "name pool."
However, I don't think that should stop anyone from using them. The average person might not know that Polly comes from Mary, but it's easy to explain that it's an old nickname and it's not as if Polly itself is unfamiliar. All the nicknames you mentioned are also used as full names, but I think it's still perfectly acceptable to use them traditionally.
However, I don't think that should stop anyone from using them. The average person might not know that Polly comes from Mary, but it's easy to explain that it's an old nickname and it's not as if Polly itself is unfamiliar. All the nicknames you mentioned are also used as full names, but I think it's still perfectly acceptable to use them traditionally.
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