View Message

I agree that I typically don't like to see nn as official names. I have a friend who named his kid Mikey. He is 5 now, and everyone still calls him Mikey but I guess time will tell if he ever chooses to go by Mike.

---

My suggestion? What about Joe as the full name? You can still call him Joey, he can still go by Joey, and it's not as fancy (or whatever the reason) as Joseph.

---

(I knew a sixth grader last year who went by Joey. This is the name he wanted people to use, his full name was Joseph. I also know a man around 30 who likes to be called Joey, but only by his good friends. So he may like Joey anyway.)

I think Joey is completely obnoxious, to tell the truth. It's like Timmy in that it screams "Noisy brat in commercials" and it does not age well at all. It's just a bratty, babyish cutesy kind of name.
Joseph is so much nicer; I wouldn't call a kid Joseph for everyday use, but I wouldn't have any problem naming him Joseph so he could be called Joe. Joe is a great name that ages well, and as our VP and many others have shown, it works fine even in formal situations.

Either Joseph or Joel. Or Josiah! But not the infantile Joey. Give the poor kid a decent name for when he's an adult - and indeed for while he's still a child but having to face his friends every day.

I would use Joseph. Joey is still too child-like, I think. And Joseph will give him the option to use his full name, use Joey, or Joe.

There are some "nickname" names that work as full names, but Joey is not one of them! If you really don't like Joseph, then why not use Joe as his full name and call him Joey? Joe is a perfectly respectable name as far as I'm concerned.

I would much prefer Joseph to go on the birth certificate. Then he would have the option to go by Joe or Joey or Joseph. By the way, I know a 30 year old who goes only by Joey. I'm pretty sure his given name is Joseph but he has always gone only by Joey. So you could do something like that :-)

I think Joseph is proper and Joey sounds as both too nicknamey and too mobster like for a birth certificate.

I would use Joseph and nickname him Joey. Or, use Joey as the middle name. It just doesn't seem like it would be the best name to grow up with.

---

Or, why not name him Joe and nn him Joey?

I very strongly agree with you. Joseph should be on the birth certificate, and then you can call him Joey, which will most likely be shortened to Joe as he grows older. If your son grows up to be a professional, Joey will seem ridiculous on his business cards. What's the harm in putting Joseph on his birth certificate? It gives him more options---he can be Joey or Joe or Joseph. I do really dislike nicknames as given names in general, but I dislike the idea of Joey more than most others, such as Beth instead of Elizabeth, because I find Joey particularly childish.

---

I have to say, though, I wouldn't use a name I'm not crazy about to get to a nickname I like. I wouldn't put the nickname on the birth certificate either. I'd abandon the idea altogether. But you may be different.

I think you should put Joseph on the birth certificate. You would never have to actually call him Joseph, but he would always have the option of using it in future. Using just Joey takes away that option.

Joseph is better, I agree. Joe and Joey are fine, but Joesph sounds like an adult.