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Isn't it funny how many people, who go by nicknames, object to being called by their full names? I've always been in the habit of once in a while (not always) calling a person by their full name. No rhyme or reason to it, just once in a while I'll do it. I remember a Chris who, whenever I said "Christopher", would say, "Don't call me that" and a Ben who would say the same thing whenever I called him Benjamin.

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I've never really understood it---if you're a Chris, isn't it assumed your full name is Christopher, so why make a big deal when you're called that? I've never had a nickname and I would object to being given one, not the other way around. I don't want anyone calling me Jan. But that seems different, because my name is Janice on my birth certificate, not Jan, and it seems reasonable to insist on being called by your full name rather than a nickname that someone else chooses. Objecting to being called what's on your birth certificate just doesn't seem as reasonable to me.

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My daughter has known a few people--all older, authority figures such as teachers---who refuse to use her nickname and insist on calling her by her full name, but it's never bothered her.