Posted 03 August 2009 - 08:25 AM
Do you have any nicknames?
For the most part, the only nicknames I've had are Reds (b/c of my hair) or HLA (which used to be my initials). Sometimes people have tried to come up with others, but they've never really stuck.
- Do you have nicknames that others have forced upon you?
I suppose Reds was, although I don't mind it and actually have an ongoing joke with a redheaded friend of mine where she calls me "Reds" and I call her "Reds 2".
- Do you prefer your nickname to your full name? No
Do your kids have nicknames?/Do you plan on using nicknames for future children?
Ariella - Ellie, Elle, (Or, when she was little: Ellie May, Ellie Lou, Ellie Belly, Ellester)
Alexander - Alex, Al, Buddy, Bud (When he was little: Big Al)
Miles - I'm not sure if there's a good one for Miles (I'm NOT gonna call him Miley). I guess we'll see what nickname his personality brings out.
Azaria - I'm thinking of calling her Zara; Roger wants to call her Sunny and Ariella wants to call her Aria.
Do you prefer nicknames that derive from a person's given name, or something personal that comes from your character/a funny event etc?
Either one. It just depends. Growing up, I envied my sister, Melissa, because she had so many nicknames - Missy, Miss, Liss, Lissa and there really wasn't any nickname you could make out of Heather (except to leave the "er" off and call me Heath, which wasn't cute or feminine). So, I have naturally gravitated towards names that had nickname possibilities. However, I didn't really plan a nickname for Ariella or Alexander before they were born; they just naturally came about. Ariella is just too much of a mouthful to say ALL the time.
I do think it's nice to have a more professional or mature-sounding given name for when the child grows up. For instance, I have an aunt whose daughters are named:
Christina (nn Chrissy)
Jessica (nn Jessie)
Katie
Emily (nn Emmy)
Now, I think Katie is cute and all, but what if she decides to go into medicine, law or some other serious profession when she grows up? At least the other girls have formal names they can use on a resume. She doesn't. I think it would have been fine to name her "Kate" and then call her Katie, but, I just feel like some people are not going to take her seriously at first with a given name that sounds so little-girlish.
So, to sum it up, I think you can get away with certain nicknames as a given name, but others, not so much. Just my two cents.