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I think these are standalone: Eliza, Kate, Tilda, Elle, Christy, Terry for boys only, Cliff. The rest are better as nns.

Nearly all of them can and do stand alone, although I've not seen anyone called Tilda or Fran who was named that at birth.
I think your average non-namenerd probably thinks of Sadie & Liam as names in their own right, & isn't even aware of the connection with Sarah or William - & both my husband and myself had Victorian relatives called just Eliza.
I wouldn't personally use any of them as full names though.

Absolutely! I love diminutives which popularly yet properly maintain themselves as "given first names"; and whether or not we prefer them, they frequently do, though I myself would give a fuller version to immediately offer the full arsenal of diminutives. Tom may frequently be a diminutive for Thomas / Thomasina - yet we also have Tommy as a pet-name; or Tom may be a given name unto itself; similar logic may be found with Kimberly & Kim (Kimmy); Judith & Judy / Jude (Jodie); Beverly and Bev. We can probably lengthen this list with just a few moments of reflection.

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This may not be a given or common rule, but I like to think of pet-names as nick-names of affection; however there is too much ambiguity amongst the definitions, connotations, and associations within the categorization of worldly naming styles, as well as in names themselves for a fixed premise. I just like to think of it this way.

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Sadie
Eliza
Katie / Kate
Tilda
Elle
Millie
Winnie
Annie
Fran - another one that is fine for either gender
Christy / Kristie / etc. this or other spellings would be fine for male / female

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Alex This too is fine for males or females
Liam
Gene (Jean or other versions would be fine for males or females
Terry (guess this goes for males or females)
Jerry Gerry - This too is fine for males or females
Larry
Cliff
Sam this too is fine for either gender
Ben

This message was edited 8/11/2016, 3:35 AM

I think they'd all be better if they had the dignity and versatility of a full name. I'd never use any of them as independent names, though there are plenty I'd use as nns.

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Full name forms I'd use would be Elizabeth, Matilda, Anne, William and Benjamin. I probably wouldn't use Eliza or Annie as nns, though.

Intriguing Query!

Sadie: yes
Eliza: yes
Katie / Kate: honestly I think Katie could stand alone. I know several people, including my cousin, who are legally named Katie. I think Kate needs a full name.
Tilda: yes
Elle: I don't think so, but a family friend has a granddaughter named Elle, and as far as I am aware it's not a nickname.
Millie: honestly no, but I wish it could because I love it.
Winnie: yes
Annie: no
Fran: no
Christy, etc: I say no, but I had a friend with a sister legally named Kristy.

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Alex: no
Liam: yes
Gene: yes
Terry: yes. It's my dad's full name.
Jerry: yes
Larry: yes
Cliff: maybe
Sam: no
Ben: no

I personally prefer Millie and Christy as nicknames, but they're all right on their own, too. Cliff and Fran are too nicknamey for me.

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The rest are fine as standalones. I love Sam and Eliza in particular.

This message was edited 8/10/2016, 6:23 PM

Sadie - standalone
Eliza - standalone
Katie / Kate - standalone
Tilda - needs full name
Elle - shouldn't exist, lol, but could standalone
Millie - needs full name
Winnie - standalone
Annie - standalone, just because I like it
Fran - standalone
Christy / Kristie / etc - needs full name.

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Alex - needs full name
Liam - standalone
Gene - standalone
Terry (guess this goes for males or females) - standalone
Jerry - standalone
Larry - standalone
Cliff - standalone
Sam - needs full name
Ben - needs full name

The names I can see standing alone are: Sadie, Eliza, Tilda, Elle, Liam, Gene (maybe), Terry, Larry, and Cliff. I don't have a lot of logic for my choices except that they sound as though they could be full names.

I think I have a different opinion than most. I believe that if you are going to call a child by a nickname then just name the kid that nickname. But this is coming from the mother of Max not Maxwell, Maximus or Maximilian just simple Max.

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I think all these names except Fran and Cliff are stand alone names.

ALl of the names you listed have a history of being used as stand-alone names. So, yep, I think they can hold their own.

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My personal preferences is usually for the longer name, but I can appreciate the diminutives as well.

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I personally think that Tilda, Millie and Eliza work better stand-alone of the girls. I also think that Gene and Jerry work better as stand-alones for the boys.

I think Sadie and Eliza are fine as full names. I'd prefer they have a full name but I'd be genuinely surprised if those were short for anything these days.

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The rest of the girl's list needs a full name IMO.

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Of the boys, I think Liam and Gene are fine as full names but I'd prefer the rest as nicknames.

I think these can stand on their own...

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Liam
Tilda
Kate
Eliza (I've heard this used as a full name plenty of times before, and I don't think it's weird.)
Sadie (Went to school with a few Sadies. Not one of them was Sarah.)

Those are completely usable as standalone first name:

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Sadie
Eliza
Kate
Tilda
Elle

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Liam
Gene
Cliff
Sam

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These are somehow inbetween:

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Annie

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Alex
Terry
Jerry
Larry
Ben

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Those don't sound right to me as standalone names:

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Fran
Katie
Christy / Kristie / etc.
Millie
Winnie

Sadie: No, and it's gross even as a nn for the supremely boring Sarah.
Eliza: Yes. Since its sound is actually quite different from the way the same group of letters is pronounced in Elizabeth, it actually seems more sensible as a variation of Elizabeth rather than as a nn.
Katie / Kate: Maybe. But Katie is too babyish on a grown woman.
Tilda: Yes.
Elle: No. It's worse than Ellie that way, just a sound.
Millie: No.
Winnie: No.
Annie: Yes.
Fran: No.
Christy / Kristie / etc. Yes.

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Alex: Yes.
Liam: Yes. It seems pretentious as a nn.
Gene: Yes.
Terry (guess this goes for males or females) Yes, probably.
Jerry: Yes.
Larry: Yes.
Cliff: No, not really.
Sam: Not really but I wish it did.
Ben: No.

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Sadie and Eliza - yes. The other girls name's, I think should be used as short versions of their 'proper' names.

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Liam is a name in its own right anyway - it's the Irish version of William.

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For the rest, I guess Sam, Cliff & Gene seem ok as names (I don't know what Gene is short for). Though I would use none of them...

Well you know me. The only one I think can stand alone is Liam, and that's because it's so counter-intuitive as a nickname for William anyway.

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Like what is the problem with putting a full name on a birth certificate and using a nickname? Everyone deserves a full name with a full etymology.

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Oh, I remember when I was living in Texas. Some jerk woman whose first name was Terry published an opinion piece in The Dallas Morning News. She had just returned to Texas after spending several years in Connecticut. The point of the piece was how much better Texas is than the Northeast and how terble it was to have to live in Connecticut. One of the things she derided was that people in Connecticut would ask her if her full name was Theresa, (which it wasn't, it was Terry) and nobody in Texas would do that. Well I thought that said something about people in Connecticut vs people in Texas, but I thought it was quite the opposite of what she was saying.

For the girls I think all the names can stand on their own with the exception of Fran. Feels like it needs Francesca, Francine or Frances to anchor it.

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For the boys I would much rather see Alexander, Samuel and Benjamin. The rest are ok.