Annoying name shortening trend

I was only ever called by my full name if I'd been naughty!

Always thought it strange when names were shortened and then a 'z' added, such as Gary being changed to Gaz, etc but a few posts on here are from people who like it, so as long as name change or shortening doesn't upset the person with the changed name, then no worries!

Only one allowed to shorten my name was my mum. She actually used it as my pet name by adding the Oop. If I ever got called my full name by her I knew I was in trouble. A friend started to call me Al and I told her I really didn't like it

Oops I also have a neighbour called Marion

Nanna I was at school with 2 Marions and had a second cousin also called Marion all in the early 1960s, so they were out there!

My friends call me Barb. but my husband calls me Barbs. I suppose it is because Barbara is such a mouthful. I do not like the shortened versions. I have said, but they carry on regardless.

Why are some posters critically assuming OP is irrationally or disproportionally annoyed, I am sure the OP was just introducing a topic for friendly debate! Anyway, my name is not one that is usually shortened although I have known the odd friend call me by my initial only...H!!. When our daughter was born 40+ years ago we agreed to name her with a shortened version of a name, preferring that to the full name. Husband duly went to register her birth and Registrar insisted on recording the full version......I was not happy!!!!! and she was always called by the shortened version. Years later when she met her now husband he began to call her by her full name and this is the name she now introduces herself as ?

From being very young I didn’t like my name. I never met another Marion even though I moved schools constantly throughout my childhood (forces child) everyone had ‘normal’ names. How I longed to be a Susan or a linda or an exotic Michelle.
At high school it was shortened to Mar which was ok but still not pretty like Sue or Jackie.
However, when I was in my 30s I started a new job where there was a Shaz and a Daz so they decided I was going to be Maz. I loved it. Over time I am now Maz to everyone (even my ex husband who only ever knew me as Marion.
I even once received a postcard addressed to ‘Maz, Town, county!!
Now in my 60s I see Marion in many forums, on tv, radio newspapers - and I love it. But how do I go back? I now also think Marion is more age appropriate too.
My current (keep him on his toes) husband has only ever used Marion once - when we exchanged vows!!
Where were all you Marions in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s 2000s?

Once trying to put a new member of our sewing class at ease I asked her name. She told me it was Winifred. I then asked ,again trying to be friendly, if she was ever called Winnie. She took a step back and said"Why would I want to be called Winnie when I have told you my name is Winifred "!
She turned out to be great fun and I now totally respect what she did.

Greta your last paragraph made me laugh. The daily challenge on a cruise through Germany was to find the longest word we could pronounce. My brother, who lives in Germany told me to try ‘Der barkenpantensniffersnatcherwagen’ which he told me meant ‘the dog catcher’s van’. No wonder I didn’t believe him!

I think this abbreviatng names is much more common in England than certainly N.ireland. We moved to England in 1975 and noticed immediately how many people did it with my husband's name. We moved back to NI to retire and everyone uses his first name. Nicknames, if not unkind, I like. My husband was a teacher and, when our son, Patrick was a pupil there my husband's nickname was The Paddy Daddy! Needless to say our son's fellow pupils all called him Pat, Paddy or Patch, never his full name.

Much worse is the trend to name and register children with shortened names. For example, Vicky who is not even called Victoria or Alfie, Archie, I could go on. And they and their parents don't even know the real names they have used and abused.

My daughter's name Abigail got reduced to Biggles for a long time, a young acquaintence couldn't pronounce it and as we thought it was funny it stuck!

I have my own theory about this. It's not only people's names that are shortened. The English language does not like long words; more than two syllables and they will often be shortened.

brolly, pub, tv, uni, spagbol, pram, sci-fi, mod cons

there are many, many more.

In other languages, e.g. Scandinavian and German this shortening does not happen to the same extent. Words in these languages are often joined to create very long ones and it doesn't seem to worry the speakers. We like to chop words up. Perhaps they become more digestible that way!

As I said, just my theory.

My husbands name is Andrew it absolutely irritates me when people refer to him as Andy. He does not like it but is too polite to say anything I snap at them straight away.

Hi there my name is Elvira not Elvera bloody hate when people call me Vera ....It’s Elvira with an i...why can’t people be bothered to ask how it’s pronounced...just laziness I think.. Rant over ?

I agree- I have spent my entire life refusing to answer to Haze.
My name is Hazel not some sort of air freshener!

This has gone on for the last 50 years or more , so it's nothing new .

My parents and their families all had totally different names to their given names, it was only after my Mum died that I sent for her Birth Certificate and found her real name, even she didn’t know it.
My name was shortened when I went to secondary school, but at home I also had a family name, my cousins all still call me that (grrrr).
My shortened name is good , no one can spell or say my given name and explaining it all is tedious.
So I have a 3 letter name shortened from an 8 letter one. Sorted!

I think the shortening of names, and then adding an S at the end has come from Australian soaps.

I get irritated when footballers add letters to the ends of names of their team mates’ surnames. It’s certainly a strange trend.

I’m grateful for my shortened name-my longer name reminds me of being in school or being told off. My friend Eve is less grateful for being lengthened to Evie!

Funnily enough - I'm the one who shortened my name from Gwenda to Gwen!!

Funnily enough - I'm the one who shortened my name from Gwenda to Gwen!!

My name is Caroline and friends shorten it to Caz - I like it and it seems friendly. Do you think this lockdown is making you short-tempered and irritated more than usual? I know it is with me. The other day I had to turn off a loved comedy programme because a female comedian's hairstyle irritated me!!

In the 1900s to 1920s neither my father or his four siblings were called by their given name; they all had "family" names. When my mother died my son wrote a poem for the cremation with verses beginning "You are" starting with her given name as a child, her "family" name, the name my father called her and on to You are Mum and You are Nanny. The last verse is:

She is - not was
The very best we all knew
From everyone you touched, I say one last “love you”

Names matter to the people that use them and the people who carry them not to those who have no part in them.

I picked names for my children that could be shortened. I made sure I liked the shortened version. Only my eldest Andrew has never been called Andy. He’s mainly know as an abbreviation of his surname.