Changing my name

I was actually christened Debbie, I've never really liked it , I had one boyfriend that kept calling me Debs, he didn't last long !

My name was extremely unusual when I was born in 1944, and I never met anyone else with that name until I was 13. Now it is much more common and spelled in many different ways. Iwas in Sainsbury’s one when a young mother called her child who was running away. She used my name so I replied. The mother was most affronted. She had thought her daughter’s name was new and trendy. Not that of an old lady.

MissAdventure... isn't Peggy short for Margaret?

All you Elizabeths...
At least they aren't calling you Lillibet.
🤣

“They are calling the baby Rodney after Dave”

I’m sure this will be familiar to everyone!

I have friends who changed their names to what they felt made them sound younger! Bel used to be Beryl. Jean became Gina! And Joan became Joanne!

I wanted to call one of my babies Deborah but at the time there were lots called Debra. I greatly dislike names spelled wrongly but now parents can make up a name or spell it in a daft way.
In the past most children were given the same few names and nobody wanted to be unique.

My mum called my dad Jim from the first time they met, their friends did as well. When mum died 60 years later he said I prefer James!!!

PamelaJ1

whywhywhy

Tell them straight off that your name is not that and you don’t like it being abbreviated! It’s rude!

It doesn’t work. I gave my children names that I thought couldn’t be shortened.
Wrong😩
There is always a way.

So did I.

They get lengthened, or changed 😁

Yes PamelaJI I worked with a guy whose name was Ian. "Well, Ian," said I, "at least your name can't be shortened!" I was wrong. His friends called him 'ee'!

whywhywhy

Tell them straight off that your name is not that and you don’t like it being abbreviated! It’s rude!

It doesn’t work. I gave my children names that I thought couldn’t be shortened.
Wrong😩
There is always a way.

I have another name , not madeleine, which my family used when I was younger. But in our house you knew by what you were called the situation. so my father might say my shortened name and then lay the table please, if I didnt do it straight away he would use the same shortened name but the tone was different and he would say I asked you to lay the table . But if he said my full name I had better hurry up and do what i was asked as he would be quite angry. If we had any visitors, they would not know the signals but we did, and again if we were asked to do something it was both the tone and the name used that told us the reality that the visitor might not understand. I am a lecturer and teacher and an eldest, so my way is if someone calls me , in a way I do not like, firstly I will say politely but firmly, my name is ... please call me that. If they annoy me and continue to use my name in a way I do not like, quite often I just do not reply but look at them without blinking. When they look across to see why I havent answered they get the message. My sons name is Daniel, and I always call him that but his friends often shorten it to Dan, which doesnt bother me, but it is up to him, what he likes to be called but of course I have called him daniel since he was a baby, and think I am too old to change now. Mostly like the old song "It aint what you say, its the way that you say it!"

Wow! Can’t believe so many people find this such a problem. My name has 5 possible options- I’m just happy to someone want to chat with me.

My son is and always has been known by a short version of his middle name….from years before he was born that was the plan.
He was named after two great grandfathers ,one who had no sons and I promised my husbands grandmother IF we had a boy we would calll him after her late husband .
My FIL thought the baby should have his fathers name as his first name …..that’s what we did but we always called him what the other great grandfather was called.It has never been a problem .He,s 37 soon and through school and colllege and several jobs everyone has called him by the name we chose
It certainly hasn’t,t made his life difficult in any way

bobbydog24

My husband was always known by his middle name, even by his mother. Not a problem until he became ill and we had to visit various hospitals who obviously called him by his first name. Many a time we would hear his name called but not react. Never understood why his mum gave him two Christian names but always called him by the second one.

That is exactly what happened with generations of my Mum's family on her father's side. She thought it was ridiculous so didn't do that with us but my Aunt followed the family tradition. I wonder what will happen if they get dementia; my grandad was quite discombobulated by it.

I named my children unusual names but gave them more common second names just in case they wanted to discard their first names. Fortunately, none of them did.

My husband was always known by his middle name, even by his mother. Not a problem until he became ill and we had to visit various hospitals who obviously called him by his first name. Many a time we would hear his name called but not react. Never understood why his mum gave him two Christian names but always called him by the second one.

Baggs

Does it depend a little on where one comes from? My brother-in-law called all his kids by affectionate nicknames that he'd given them. You'd have no idea what their actual names were if you didn't know already! 😂

Likewise my son-out-law, from the same area of the country, likes to give everyone a nickname. He even gave DD's oncologist a nickname - never used in public of course - but I think it helped them to see the oncologist as an empathetic person (which he was) who easily could have been a friend in other circumstances.

My first name is not easily shortenable but I have had several different pronunciations of it over the years. Never bothered me.

Yes we all have nicknames in our family that are nothing like our actual names and this has now extended to SILs and their families who have taken it kindly and actually now refer to each other like this.
We also give nicknames to people we regularly see but in this case wouldn’t dream of using them to the people in question.

Does it depend a little on where one comes from? My brother-in-law called all his kids by affectionate nicknames that he'd given them. You'd have no idea what their actual names were if you didn't know already! 😂

Likewise my son-out-law, from the same area of the country, likes to give everyone a nickname. He even gave DD's oncologist a nickname - never used in public of course - but I think it helped them to see the oncologist as an empathetic person (which he was) who easily could have been a friend in other circumstances.

My first name is not easily shortenable but I have had several different pronunciations of it over the years. Never bothered me.

I am lucky that I have a name that cannot be shortened, instead other bits get added!! My daughter and granddaughter also have very short names . When very small, I remember my daughter's equally small friend, couldn't say her name but invented her version, which lasted for most of her very young years! Knowing most of my friends hate shortened versions of their names, I never address anyone by other than their correct given name.

I much prefer, and always use except when my legal name is required, the widely used shortened version of my name. Just don't shorten it to Mick!

My first name has three syllables and I always introduce myself that way. However, most family members and close friends call me by two syllables, though very occasionally the odd person has called me by one syllable. I also have a couple of nicknames. One was from my school days and there is one person who still uses that. My other nickname came about because my first nephew couldn't say my name and it came out as something slightly different, and that branch of the family has called me by that name every since!
My eldest grandchild cheekily tried to call me something other than Grannie to see how I would react! But I said I didn't mind what they called so long as it wasn't rude. They now call me Grannie quite happily!

I was christened Deborah but always referred to as Debbie from a young age as my best friend was a Debbra, as I got a bit older it started to bother me particularly as I was older than her. I never liked Debbie and so when I hit 40 and started a new job I decided that I wanted to be called Debs (thought it sounded a bit more modern) and with the exception of my elderly mother (she was in her 40s when I was born) insisted that everyone comply. Occasionally people who don’t really know me do decide to address me as Debbie and whilst it grates , I try not to let it bother me too much. It does annoy me if it’s in response to an email where I have specifically stated my name as either Deborah or Debs though.

"I am Spartacus, but my friends call me Spart" doesn't have the same ring to it, really.

MissAdventure

Babs03

'I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me, you can call me Al.'

Sorry, just a bit of light relief, blame Paul Simon.

If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal.
Lovely, silly song.

I am Al. 🖐

This is beginning to sound like the Spartacus film.

My MiL called all five of her children by three syllable names and would not allow any shortening of them at all.

She died ten years ago but we still feel a bit ‘naughty’ when we use the now accepted shorter names.

If you want people to call you by your full name just remind them, everyone forgets names from time to time. And maybe carry a personalised water bottle to refer to!