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Your feelings on nicknames
I love longer (preferably unusual) names that can be shortened to common nns. A friend of mine prefers names that aren't or can't be shortened to nns. Here's a list of some of my favorite names/nns. Please tell me what you think about them. :o) (For instance, my friend would say, "If you're going to call her Ann, just put it on her birth certificate!"Girls:
Annis, nn Ann
Belrose, nn Belle or Rose
Coralie, nn Ora (Ora was my great-grandfather's name, but I've always thought it sounded more feminine)
Corisande, nn Cora
Emmaline, nn Emmie
Evangeline, nn Vannie
Felicity, nn Ellie
Jessamyn / Jessamine, nn Jessa / Mina or Minnie
Keturah, nn Ketta or Kitty
Lydian, nn Lyddie
Mahalia, nn Halie
Miriam, nn Mira
Priscilla, nn Rissa or Rilla
Sapphira, nn Sara
Boys:
Asa, nn Ace
Corben / Korben, nn Cory / Kory or Ben
Cornelius, nn Neil or Conor
Eben / Ebenezer, nn Ben
Isaac, nn Zac
Josiah, nn Joe
Judah, nn Jude
Lindal / Lindall, nn Lin (probably end up spelling it Lynn, though)
Malcolm, nn Mac
Rayner, nn Ray
Tremaine, nn Tré or Trae (ns how I'd spell it; just not Tray, lol)
Vaughan, nn Van
Wallace, nn Wally or Ace
Westley, nn Wes or West
Zebulon / Zebedee, nn Zeb
TIA for your opinions. ;o)
edited to add a boys name
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This message was edited 6/14/2006, 8:04 AM

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I like names that don't need nick-names; have two children of three who use the names they were given, unchanged. My own name usually has an'ie' on the end, which I don't mind. Husband has an Arabic name and that's what i call him.
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Generally, I am not a big fan of nicknames. I tend to prefer using the full form (unless it is a very long or hard to pronounce name). I agree with your friend in that if the name you're going to call your child also works as a name on its own (and doesn't sound out of place being used as a full name), go ahead and make that the actual name.
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If you're planning to always call the child by the nn, and the nn is generally accepted as a name in itself, then it makes sense to use that as the full name. I'd probably agree about using Ann instead of Annis if you're always going to call her Ann. I really don't mind long names with nns, though, if you like the full name. I wouldn't see anything too strange about Cornelius nn Neil or Ebenezer nn Ben, or others you mentioned. The only ones I really don't like are Sapphira nn Sara and Annis nn Ann. Sara just isn't a nn I'd naturally think of for Sapphira, and it sounds contrived to me. I'm not sure what bothers me about Annis/Ann.However, if you're going to call the child something that is normally a nn or that wouldn't sound right as a formal name (too "nicknamey"), I'd use the full name and a nn. Out of your choices, for instance, I wouldn't use Emmie, Vannie, Ellie, Minnie, Kitty, Lyddie, Halie, Ben, Joe, Mac, Wally, Ace, Wes/West, or Zeb as full names because they either sound too silly for a formal name (I'd find it hard to take "The Honorable Ace Lastname" seriously) or are names I always think of as nns for other names (Joe could get awfully tired of explaning that that really is his full name!).ETA: Longer names with nns also give children more options about what they want to be called. Neil doesn't really offer many variations, but Cornelius does--he could come up with a number of nns for his full name.

This message was edited 6/14/2006, 1:57 PM

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I sort of agree with your friend. I don't think certain names should have nns while others are ok.
Annis, nn Ann : just use Ann. Annis could be made fun of on so many levels.Belrose, nn Belle or Rose : why not just use Belle Rose?Felicity, nn Ellie : one that I think doesn't need one.Mahalia, nn Halie : I love this name and its considered a future possiblity and I would never use a nn.Miriam, nn Mira / Priscilla, nn Rissa or Rilla : don't need them either.Sapphira, nn Sara : Sara alone is much nicer.
Asa, nn Ace : doesn't need it or just use Ace.Corben / Korben, nn Cory / Kory or Ben : again, doesn't need one.Judah, nn Jude / Malcolm, nn Mac : again...
I'm not saying that you're wrong to use a nn...just my personal opinions is all. =)
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I like longer names for nicknames .. and the idea of an unusual long name with a familiar nick, too.I'm not sure I care for the ones you've listed, though. To me, nicknames need to either be natural - what you blurt out instead of the full name when you're rushed or very affectionate - or if they're not, they need to be given spontaneously to a particular person who "fits" them.Ones I like:
Girls:
Annis, nn Ann
Belrose, nn Belle or Rose (except I don't care for the name Belrose much.)
Corisande, nn Cora .. or Cori. Coralie would also be Cora / Corie
Emmaline, nn Emmie
Jessamyn / Jessamine, nn Jessa (or Jessie)
Keturah, nn Ketta or Kitty - neat!
Mahalia, nn Halie
Miriam, nn Mira
Boys:
Corben / Korben, nn Cory
Cornelius, nn Neil - This one is really cool!
Isaac, nn Zac
Josiah, nn Joe
Judah, nn Jude
Malcolm, nn Mac
Rayner, nn Ray
Tremaine, nn Tré (or Trey?)
Westley, nn Wes or West
- mirfak
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I'm a planner...I like to pre-empt any "bad" nns that might come up by coming up with options ahead of time. :o) Or at least I'd LIKE to think I'm pre-empting them, lol. I'm glad you like Ketta/Kitty and Neil. I'll admit that Belrose is one that has to grow on you. The first time I heard it, my reaction was, "What? Ew.." but now I love it. ;o)Check Out Blinkyou.com for thousands of custom glitters and layouts
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I personally do not like nick names although I do call some people by them. Some names I like I really hate the nns for (Abby for Abigail, Bart for Bartholomew, Debby for Deborah, Theo for Theodore, or Zach for Zachariah). I don't really want my own children to have nns.From your list I would say just use Ann (spelled Anne), Belle or Rose, Cora, Sara, Kory, or Ray.I really don't like the nns for Evangeline, Keturah, Mahalia, Miriam, Priscilla, Isaac, and Josiah. But that's just me :-)_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
~~~ John 3:16
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I prefer short one syllable boys names that dont need to be shortened. My favorites are: Grant, Jack, & Pierce. I like longer boys names if they have a one syllable nn. For example: Gabriel "Gabe", Thomas "Tom" and Julian "Jude". Then there are the short two syllable boys names like Ian and Charles that I also like.
For girls I prefer longer names and nns arent really that important to me. My favorite girls names are: Elena, Gabrielle, Violet, Helena, and Julia.
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I sometimes don't mind nns when they are just a simple shortening of a longer name (Joe for Joseph) but usually prefer the full name. I would be in the same camp as your friend - if you are going to call her Ann, then just name her Ann (although please spell it Anne).
I much prefer the full name Malcom to Mac. On the flip side, I don't like Cornelius, but if you are going to call him Neil or Conor, then just name him Neil or Conor.
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I think nns are good, and it nakes hard to pronounce names easierAnnis, nn Ann- good
Belrose, nn Belle or Rose- Belle is better
Coralie, nn Ora- nah, I like Coral as a nn
Corisande, nn Cora- good
Emmaline, nn Emmie- good, but also Emma, or Em
Evangeline, nn Vannie- not vannie, maybe Eva.
Felicity, nn Ellie- no, but i guess i cant think of another
Jessamyn / Jessamine, nn Jessa / Mina or Minnie- yeah, or Jess.
Keturah, nn Ketta or Kitty- good
Lydian, nn Lyddie- good, when your young. When your older maybe just Lyd
Mahalia, nn Halie- I was thinking May
Miriam, nn Mira- good
Priscilla, nn Rissa or Rilla- Rossa or Pris
Sapphira, nn Sara- I think Sapph or Sapphie
Boys:
Asa, nn Ace- no, short snames dont rlly get nn
Corben / Korben, nn Cory / Kory or Ben- Cory/Kory
Cornelius, nn Neil or Conor- yeah
Eben / Ebenezer, nn Ben- no nn for Eben, Ebenezer's nn is Eben

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Ooh, May is a great nn suggestion for Mahalia...my mom's mn is Mae & there are several Mary's / Marie's in the family, so it could sort of honor them. :o) FYI, Vannie was my DH's grandmother, so that's why we'd use it instead of Eva...Eva is so pretty, though.
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My boyfriend is the same way. "If you're going to call her Thea, why not just name her Thea?" There aren't many names that I like nns for, but I'm not one to name a child something nnish. When they're older, it will look more sophisticated and respectable if Winnie can sign her name as Winifred and not Winnie. Here are some names I like nns for:Matilda "Tilly"
Theodora "Thea"
Winifred "Winnie"
Jillian "Jill"Satchel "Satch"
Vincent "Vince"
Westley "West"
Lazarus "Laz"
Finnian "Finn"
Julian "Jude"Also, Asa nn Ace on your list is really cute! =)

This message was edited 6/14/2006, 8:56 AM

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I like almost all your names/nns. In fact, the only one I really don't like is Satchel, nn Satch. When I hear "Satchel" I think "purse" or "bag." "Satch" makes me think "Sasquatch" for some reason, lol. ;o) I really love Mitilda "Tilly," Theodora "Thea," Vincent "Vince," and Lazarus "Laz" from your list.Check Out Blinkyou.com for thousands of custom glitters and layouts
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