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My name has definitley evolved over the years. My cousin was a year old when I was born, and could not say "Nicole" so she called me "Cole". My brother had a similar problem when he learned to talk, only he managed to say "uh-Cole". I was Nicole in school and at home, once my brother learned to talk. In junior high I was Nicky one year and Suzanne the next (Suzanne is my first name but my parents always have called me by my shorter middle name). Finally in high school, my name I go by now was born. While my teachers called me Nicole, my friends began calling me 'Cole after confusion with another Nicole in our clique arose. She said "Hey, lets just cut the name in half; I'll be Ni', and you be 'Cole." The name stuck. My brother still calls me this simply because it's easy, but my parents call me Nicole.

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As for advantages and disadvantages to "civil" and "personal" names, I have to agree with I beleive it was Davidh, who said that our social security numbers are already our "civil" names. While I do see how it could benefit children whose parents give them names they do not like, I think an "approved" list of names would cause problems in places like school where a teacher could be faced with 12 Jennifers and 9 Williams, or even 2 Nicoles. I do however like the idea of teen name changes and early adulthood name changes someone suggested. I can see how that would work very well.