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I like Dinah very much; pity that it shortens to the funereal Di. Dorothy and Dorothea seem to be, not popular exactly but more popular than they were, and that's fine by me. Doris, Dora, Denise, Darlene and Darla are awful! I prefer Diana to Diane, but only as a mn - the Di problem again. One of my best and oldest friends is Desirée, nn Des, and she's also sometimes known as Daisy: I don't like the name on anyone else, but I do love Daisy.

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My mother knew an older lady who was always called Dora; in her case, her actual name was Deborah! Which makes me shudder at the thought of Debby, but I shudder more at the thought of Dora.