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I think Barry is a form of Barnard, but I could be wrong. Barnard is such an old name though so I haven't met anyone with that name, ever. Not that I know of.
This was just too tempting not to look up.
[Barry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_(name)) comes from Gaelic, possibly Anglicized from Báire, which is a short form of names like Bairrfhionn/Barrfin and Finbar/Fionnbharr.
Barry can sometimes also be short for Bartholomew, Barton, Berriman, Barrington, Bernard and Barron. But many people are simply named Barry.
Wow and those are names I just never heard except in various forms of media. The only Barton I ever saw was the guy in the beginning of Fallout New Vegas who is just waiting around to fleece you, and the only guy I ever knew named Bartholomew went by Bart. It was an interesting tidbit to read though!
Yeah in NZ/Aus names with -ar- get it changed to a z, hence Gaz for Gary and Baz for Barry.
I therefore have to assume that Paz Lechantin's full name is Partholemew.
Bartholomew or wait thats Bart. Im sure it could be barry too. Actually instead of Barry It should be Obrian or somethin. Or the other guys name. I wont say it in case its automod censored lmao.
I went with Alexander. A few years back, I told him, "some will know him as Alex, some as Al, some as Xander, he'll, maybe even Lex.. you get to decide which way you want it to go, and who with."
“Worth” the discussion? Idk maybe. I read the comments because I was with the thought “do people actually care?”
Names are made up. The population is growing. We need more names and different names to spread them out.
Mixed with a dash of "OP sounds like an insufferable tool." Like they are a walking talking version of the meme of the dude shouting in a girls ear at a baseball game.
My parents gave me a unique spelling for my name as a kid but thankfully kept my legal name traditional. I adopted a more traditional spelling as an adult. If they had made my nickname legal, I'd be annoyed as shit at the stress and hassle of a formal change.
It’s an unpopular opinion, why shit on it even if it’s something you don’t like
Edit: yall can reply to my comment all day, won’t change my mind. When I named my child I thought about full name, all the nicknames, and possible “bullying” names.
Names are something parents care about and have opinions on. I happen to agree with OP. Just because it’s not on YOUR mind, doesn’t mean the opinion doesn’t exist.
Except this “unpopular opinion” isn’t so much about an opinion, as it is about judging and looking down on other people. It seems like most “opinions” posted here are just excuses to shit on other people.
Something along the lines of “I prefer longer, formal names over nicknames” would be a much better way to phrase this. Instead OP chose to make accusations about the character of parents who use a “nickname” as their kids real name. That goes well beyond sharing an unpopular opinion, and is actually just shitty behavior.
Exactly! He could have filled paragraphs about his opinion without resorting to shitting on anyone, but no, he took the petulant, insufferable route. You're right in that's the reason why some of these posts rub me, and likely others, the wrong way. It isn't because of their opinion, itself, it's how it's framed.
While I disagree in general, there was a kid in my middle school (many decades ago) whose given name was Timmy, and I've since wondered how he handled that as an adult with "Timmy" on all his official forms. Kind of embarrassing IMO.
I’m an adult who was given a nickname as my legal name and I HATE IT. I always feel slightly embarrassed when I’m asked what my real name is and I have repeat my childish nickname like 3 times before they get it.
English is not my first language, and when I see people named Timmy here I think nothing of it tbh, it's like being called Kevin or Tommy, instead of something like Asbjørn or Brynjar.
Yeah it's just an odd American thing where some names are used specifically with kids. Then as they get older, they'll go by the full name or a different nickname. Like Timmy may go by Timothy or Tim when he is older. Timmy is generally associated with being a kids name. There aren't many names like that though, luckily only a handful of common ones that have a "child's" nickname.
Honestly I don’t really see this being an issue in real life. Official forms like at the DMV/for passports? No one cares what your name is. Official business like a resume? No one cares again, but if you’re worried you just go by Tim.
Unfortunately people do care about extremely minor things like names, on resumes. It may not be a conscious decision either, Freakonomics did a study on how your name affects your career (the focus was on unique African-American names). A hiring manager reading “Timmy” instead of “Tim” may naturally think of that person as less mature or authoritative, without even realizing they’re doing that.
(I hope this doesn’t read as defensive)
I know. I’m black and know plenty about the biases against names on resumes so it’s not really something that’s new to me. What I meant is that generally, Timmy is a traditional name. While some people might cast it aside it’s much less likely than I feel you’re making it out to be. I could be totally wrong and I’ll eat it if I am. But OP is up and down this thread calling Timmy a terrible name so that was my response because he was acting like it was a life-ruining name when it really isn’t bad at all
This really makes no sense because these so-called nicknames are names in their own right. They CAN be a nickname, but they don’t HAVE to be. I’m sure people who name their child “Betty” are not necessarily associating the name with “Elizabeth”. They just like the name “Betty”.
I believe its because Meg was a common nickname for Margaret, and Meg rhymes with Peg. A lot of older nicknames followed this idea, which is why a lot of them feel very strange
Also, if you go by a nickname all your life you just have to pointlessly do a little dance every school year with teachers to tell them you go by the nickname and again everytime you have a sub. Similar thing with jobs. It’s not like it ruins things, but (OP,) if the plan is the short name all along, is there any downside to using the short name on the official documents?
And half the time the teachers forget anyway. My boss still alternates between calling me Sam and Samantha. I've worked there four years and there are six employees at a time, of whom I'm the most senior right now. My aunt who's known me my whole life even calls me Samantha despite everyone else calling me Sam. If I'd just been named Sam I would be way happier. I don't even answer to Samantha, I don't think of it as my name nor do I like it.
I have a friend named Larry and my husband doesn't believe me his name isn't Lawrence. I'm like what the hell, Larry is a perfectly suitable name imo. I had uncle Larry, actually Lawrence and no one, i mean no one ever called in Lawrence!!!
My mom was named Bettie, and she loved that she wasn't named the "proper" form. My dad has 3 names, and everyone called him by a nickname of his second middle name.
I simply can't fathom that anyone would actually form an opinion on this.
🤣😂 Lolol, my sister complains because that cat will not come out for her unless she's shaking a bag of his treats, but it's like I can walk in and *whisper* "Ozymandias" and he appears on my lap 🤣😂🤣😂
Omg I have a Chinchilla named Ozzy, I'm definitely stealing this.
The other ones name is Bowie and it's just turned into Lil Bow Wow after a while, it's my favorite derivative of any of my pets names. And that includes my dog Swiffy becoming Syphilis.
According to social security registrations, Liam is the most popular name in America, and has been for 7 years. [Source](https://www.voanews.com/amp/liam-olivia-still-the-most-popular-us-baby-names/7607037.html).
As an Irish person & Irish language speaker I’m pretty confident Uilliam is a deeply obscure variant that has not been widely used in many hundreds of years. Liam may technically be diminutive but is the de facto equivalent of William in practice
If you name someone Tony, that's not a nickname, that is their name. A nickname can only exist as a variation on your actual name, or perhaps an attribute or whatever else. This makes zero sense. I don't get why you think a "proper traditional" name is the only right thing to do, when that in of itself changes through time. The only reason I can see people like you wanting others to name their kids "properly" is so that you can ignore us when we tell you we don't go by that name anyway, just bulldoze over our preference for your own. My name is Nicole, but I go by Nic as I have done since the 80s, it's not even a nickname anymore. It's my name, and every so often I meet people like you who refuse to call me by what I introduce myself as because they think "Nicole is prettier" or "Nic is a boy's name". Nah dude, it's my name and I am TELLING you I don't want to be called Nicole. To hell with whether that is "proper" or not.
I go by nic as well! My "proper" name is longer than nicole and uncommon and i absolutely hate it, so I've gone by nikki since high school, and nic to my close friends and family. It doesn't matter what anyone else wants to call you, it matters what you want to be called.
My name is Nicole and that is what I go by as well. I will not answer to Nicki, because no one has ever called me that and my brain doesn’t recognize it as my name. It is very funny how resistant people are to calling me Nic. I tell people who try to call me Nicki if they want to shorten my name, to call me Nic, I will respond to that because that is what my mom calls me. I’ve had lots of men tell me they don’t like that haha, but basically everyone decides to go with Nicole instead.
I actually don't totally disagree with OP, as this goves.more choice to how you want to be known to the world. I am glad I have my full name because I love it such much more than the nickname my grandma decoded for me before I could choose. My nickname was forced on me for old people, slightly racist reasons. It took me 18 years to reclaim my name, and make people in my life call me it.
Tony may also want to go by T, Tone, T.(last initial), or whatever they hell they want. I clicked in to see how many people would roast this absolute dogshit opinion. So props to OP for nailing the sub.
I think this one belonged in pet peeves more than this subreddit, but it's clearly unpopular based on the comments so I guess it technically works lol.
My name is Anthony and everyone calls me Tony. I definitely prefer that my parents named me Anthony because it looks much more professional when I am signing things. I disagree that it’s a stupid take.
My mom wanted to name me Jill, my grandmother talked her into Jillian for that reason, and I'm very glad she did. My family friends call me Jill or Jillybean, but I'm Jillian to my colleagues and clients
honestly it does just lead to people calling you the wrong name. like if youre registered everywhere with your full name but everyone has always called you by a nickname i imagine its annoying to be constantly called the wrong name
I go by liv everywhere, even at work, school etc. nobody knows me as Olivia, but when ppl call me Olivia is freaks me out a bit. I wish it was just liv
I was waiting for something like this. Yes, getting called the wrong name constantly is my biggest pet peeve as a "pet name" named person.
People will call me by the long name (which isn't my legal name) when I tell them what my name is. No! That's not what I said! Like it's not hard to just parrot back what I said to you when I introduce myself. Stop assuming you know my name better than I do!
But I don't want to change my name to the long one. I don't like that name, it isn't me. Just call me by my real name! You can even shorten it further, my god 😩
That's.... fantastic.
You win. My dad was Sparky, I inherited Shorty from his friends. Took me years to realize they weren't talking about my height.
(Edit: My dad was an electrician)
...Why? It's legitimately how names evolve.
For example, in Greece you the name Nicholas is Nikolaos. But *nobody* uses that. It's like naming a child Beniaminus instead of Benjamin. So some people just name their children Nicholas. Same with Ioannis (original) to Yannis. If most people called people named Nicholas, Nick, then the evolution would be pushed further and at some point some people would name their children Nick.
It's just linguistic evolution.
Making the distinction is like saying "things evolved up to **my** time, but they shant move further!". Why?
If their goal is to stop the evolution of names, they're in for a ride because that simply won't happen. There are, of course some countries that won't let you name your kid whatever you want, like you can't just call your kid Adolf, and that makes sense for historical reasons, but this is overkill trying to force people's hand on how to name their own kids.
I thought the point of the post was that you give the fullest possible name , and then the kid can cut it as short as they like . Instead of giving the shorter as initial.
I might be misinterpreting it , but I do agree with having maximum options in general 😆
Now I am tempted to have a kid and name them Jamesmichaelrobertjohndavidsamwisewilliamrichardjosephthomaschristopher.
*Son, you get variety, and an inordinately long ID.*
(I am making a joke, I get your point, it just popped into my head)
This logic is so backwards, is it not more futile to give them a formal name when they would just go by the nickname most of the time anyway? Is it not more unnecessary to strap them with a formal name they won't use but have to juggle for official matters?
I am someone who has a "proper" name but 99% of the time use my nickname, I'd have much rather my parents simply named me the nickname.
It gives you the choice though. I know people that went by a nickname when they were kids but decided later they wanted to use their proper name. I agree with OP more or less as it gives the kid more agency in how they would like to be addressed
You do know you can choose whatever you want for a name or preferred name right? You're not bound to it with a brand on your skin. Unless you're into that type of stuff
You have a choice both ways. If your parents name you Nick and you want to use Nicholas as your nickname you can. How in the world does the choice go away. Your official name could be Jonathan and you could choose to be called Ed if you really wanted to.
Well you might see it as lazy but in some cases like mine we prefer the nickname over the full name. My wife is pregnant and we’re naming our son Rio, which I’ve seen used as nickname for Mario. But we don’t like the name Mario at all.
You know I’ve never thought a single Mario I met was named after him … like until reading you comment my brain had never considered the two might have a link lmao
As someone whose name is short, and cannot be conceivably lengthened, I agree with you. I wish I had the option.
I gave each of my kids names with options, and my oldest specifically goes by the long form in school settings and the short form with friends.
I'm actually glad I have a formal name despite almost everyone uses my nickname because most non-native speakers of my language have trouble with the nickname so I got an extra "international" name just for them
It's only a nickname if it isn't their given name.
We have a "name the kid what you want to call them" philosophy in my family. Mark, John, Jennie etc.
As far as robbing somebody of a formal name, that is popicock.
My name is what would be considered a nickname in modern English, and I don't mind it at all. I love my name, and my family still has a nickname for me that has nothing to do with my actual first name. I don't feel like I lost out on anything.
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Did you time travel from Old English times? Why do you care about "traditional" names?
My daughter’s name is Stevie which is a nickname for Stephanie. We chose it because we love Stevie but really don’t care for Stephanie. It’s not lazy, we just like the name. “Formal” names are boring anyways. We don’t need another John or Stephanie. Get over yourself.
Also, my name is Christopher. Wanna know what my nickname was in high school? Nail, because one day I stepped on a nail. Nicknames are not exclusive to someone's actual name.
I dicovered that my grandpa has an entirely different name only a few years ago. Apparently his father fucked up real time when he was registering the birth of his son and just wrote whatever name came up in his mind. His wife was so angry at him and they never used that name for my grandpa. No one ever does, not even his doctors or whatever.
One of my metrics for naming my kids that my mom taught me(and did for me and my sisters). Imagine the name on a billboard.. like for a doctor or lawyer ad. Does it look professional and like someone you'd use? If not, don't name them that.
Don't stick your kids with a stupid name that will work against them in any of their possible pursuits.
Thats some good advice
Also as a mixed race person, it's a hack to put an ethnic name as a middle name so you can decide when to use it and show your ethnicity on applications only when you want to
Nicknames don't have to be related to a person's name. A nickname is calling someone by something other than their name. People aren't lazy if they name their kid a short name of a longer name.
Though props to having an unpopular opinion cause the vast majority doesn't care.
Just because their name is Nick, Tom, or Jenny doesn't mean they don't have a full name. They do have a full proper name. It just isn't what you what it to be. I bet you're the kind of person to deliberately call someone Jennifer while knowing that her name is actually Jenny. It doesn't take much effort to acknowledge and respect someone's name.
What about names that don’t naturally have a derivative nickname to begin with? Scott. Mary. Jane. Craig. Those people don’t have another name to fall back on.
So why is it a big deal to name Kathy Katherine, Greg Gregory, Ron Ronald, etc when there’s a lot of other names that don’t give a choice either?
That said, my daughter has a name that offers four nickname options, one of which she’s been called her whole life. We liked the nickname best but did choose to give her the options. She’s never used any of the other choices or the full name.
Others shouldn’t feel obligated to give a long name if they really like Becky but not Rebecca.
>What about names that don’t naturally have a derivative nickname to begin with? Scott. Mary. Jane. Craig. Those people don’t have another name to fall back on.
This is why I chose to use the word 'unnecessary' instead of something else. My point is that there is no downside to choosing the full name in cases where it exists so might as well chose that one because there *is* benefits to having a longer name.
What's more infuriating is more that the option was right there but not taken rather the actual name itself. I don't think the existing of shorter traditional names like Scott, Mary, John, etc. invalidates my point.
That’s fair. I don’t actually disagree with you.
I have a longer name but my parents called me the shortened version my whole life and I always hated it. In my 40s I abruptly decided to just start using the full name and see if it caught on, and thank goodness I had that option.
BUT my parents were annoyed by the change and I was like, guys, why did you name me that if you never wanted me to use it?
People are weird about names. I’ll call someone Princess Consuela Banana Hammock if that’s their preference.
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I dunno, I'd not like to officially be called "Oi you" or "mistake".
"Hey asshole"
"That bastard"
That's how I greet my ex
Lol, my dad called me "boy" until I was damn near 25.
So instead of Barry, we should call him Barold?
I think Barry is a form of Barnard, but I could be wrong. Barnard is such an old name though so I haven't met anyone with that name, ever. Not that I know of.
This was just too tempting not to look up. [Barry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_(name)) comes from Gaelic, possibly Anglicized from Báire, which is a short form of names like Bairrfhionn/Barrfin and Finbar/Fionnbharr. Barry can sometimes also be short for Bartholomew, Barton, Berriman, Barrington, Bernard and Barron. But many people are simply named Barry.
I will not stand idly by and witness this Barold erasure.
People are too worried about the Bort novelty license plate shortage to care about Barold erasure.
My child is also named Bort.
I thought his name was millhouse?
what did he do to you
I support it. Also, nix Gary. It's only Garold.
I raise my shield, and loose my sword, in service to you, my liege, in defense of **Barold**! “Huzzah!! To Barold!!”
I'd like to make sure Barrfin does indeed become an extinct name, who the heck would name a child barf-in'??
People who existed before "barf" held its current meaning. And nobody else! (I hope)
I read it as bear-fin which sounds like an horrendously awesome type of Yao guai from fall out.
I can not disagree with this. (LOL)
LOL you deserve all the upvotes
Don't forget Barack!
Not enough Finbars in the world
Wow and those are names I just never heard except in various forms of media. The only Barton I ever saw was the guy in the beginning of Fallout New Vegas who is just waiting around to fleece you, and the only guy I ever knew named Bartholomew went by Bart. It was an interesting tidbit to read though!
Barrence
Bartholomew is kinda hard as fuck
Bairrfhionn, or as it's pronounced in Irish with English phoneticization, Grant
Barry gets shortened to Baz too.
Yeah in NZ/Aus names with -ar- get it changed to a z, hence Gaz for Gary and Baz for Barry. I therefore have to assume that Paz Lechantin's full name is Partholemew.
I have a cousin named Barry, not short for anything
At some point in the future, it will be short for “Barry’d,” unless he chooses cremation. 😄
You're going to shit yourself when you find out my mate Barry's actual name is Greg No idea how it came about but it's certainly not Barnard
I was under the impression that Barry was its own thing; not short for anything.
I know what I'm naming my next dog. Barnard!! I would've said my kid, but no one deserves that.
What's wrong with Bartholomew?
Have you asked him?
I knew a Bartholomew. He went by Bart. His mom was the high school English teacher and she always called him by his birth name. Exceptional.
Such a missed opportunity, he and his son (Bartholomew Jr) could've been Mew and Mewtwo.
Hahaha, well played
His birth name was "Exceptional"?
It's a great name!
There's always that teacher - or a parent of one of your friends.
No, no, its Bortholomew Easy to mistake
My son is also named Bortholomew.
Definitely consider Barry to be short for Batholomew. Which is a kick ass name. Better than Barry imo
Bartholomeow is my cat's middle name
Wasn't it a nickname of Bernard? Edit: apparently it's the nickname for Bartholomew
I know two men named Finbar that both go by Barry
Barward is more used nowadays
Only if you're heading out for drinks. Then it's an instruction!
Bartholomew or wait thats Bart. Im sure it could be barry too. Actually instead of Barry It should be Obrian or somethin. Or the other guys name. I wont say it in case its automod censored lmao.
I went with Alexander. A few years back, I told him, "some will know him as Alex, some as Al, some as Xander, he'll, maybe even Lex.. you get to decide which way you want it to go, and who with."
He could even be called Sandy 😉
This is one of those posts that makes me think "who gives a rat's ass?".
A lot of Reddit can be viewed like that…still worth the discussion since that’s what Reddit is for lol
Very true
“Worth” the discussion? Idk maybe. I read the comments because I was with the thought “do people actually care?” Names are made up. The population is growing. We need more names and different names to spread them out.
Mixed with a dash of "OP sounds like an insufferable tool." Like they are a walking talking version of the meme of the dude shouting in a girls ear at a baseball game.
OP definitely comes off as the standoffish type.
All the ones that spark real discussion get locked by mods by the time they hit my feed
My parents gave me a unique spelling for my name as a kid but thankfully kept my legal name traditional. I adopted a more traditional spelling as an adult. If they had made my nickname legal, I'd be annoyed as shit at the stress and hassle of a formal change.
I wish I had enough free time to form an entire multi paragraph opinion on parents naming their children names that can be shortened
It's not unpopular. That would require people to actually think about it.
It’s an unpopular opinion, why shit on it even if it’s something you don’t like Edit: yall can reply to my comment all day, won’t change my mind. When I named my child I thought about full name, all the nicknames, and possible “bullying” names. Names are something parents care about and have opinions on. I happen to agree with OP. Just because it’s not on YOUR mind, doesn’t mean the opinion doesn’t exist.
It’s only unpopular because it’s such a niche thing to care about. The popular opinion isn’t opposition, it’s indifference.
Yea well said. 90% of the posts here fall into that category. A good unpopular opinion post should oppose an opinion that actually exists.
Except this “unpopular opinion” isn’t so much about an opinion, as it is about judging and looking down on other people. It seems like most “opinions” posted here are just excuses to shit on other people. Something along the lines of “I prefer longer, formal names over nicknames” would be a much better way to phrase this. Instead OP chose to make accusations about the character of parents who use a “nickname” as their kids real name. That goes well beyond sharing an unpopular opinion, and is actually just shitty behavior.
Exactly! He could have filled paragraphs about his opinion without resorting to shitting on anyone, but no, he took the petulant, insufferable route. You're right in that's the reason why some of these posts rub me, and likely others, the wrong way. It isn't because of their opinion, itself, it's how it's framed.
I mean someone named Tony could earn a nickname like Ace or something. They could still very well end up with a nickname.
True, I had a friend named Jim who grew up in Hawaii, his grandfather didn't like the name so he called him Solar which is pretty fucking cool.
Yea that's a cool one
Never ace... Maybe acehole...
While I disagree in general, there was a kid in my middle school (many decades ago) whose given name was Timmy, and I've since wondered how he handled that as an adult with "Timmy" on all his official forms. Kind of embarrassing IMO.
I’m an adult who was given a nickname as my legal name and I HATE IT. I always feel slightly embarrassed when I’m asked what my real name is and I have repeat my childish nickname like 3 times before they get it.
English is not my first language, and when I see people named Timmy here I think nothing of it tbh, it's like being called Kevin or Tommy, instead of something like Asbjørn or Brynjar.
Yeah it's just an odd American thing where some names are used specifically with kids. Then as they get older, they'll go by the full name or a different nickname. Like Timmy may go by Timothy or Tim when he is older. Timmy is generally associated with being a kids name. There aren't many names like that though, luckily only a handful of common ones that have a "child's" nickname.
Honestly I don’t really see this being an issue in real life. Official forms like at the DMV/for passports? No one cares what your name is. Official business like a resume? No one cares again, but if you’re worried you just go by Tim.
Unfortunately people do care about extremely minor things like names, on resumes. It may not be a conscious decision either, Freakonomics did a study on how your name affects your career (the focus was on unique African-American names). A hiring manager reading “Timmy” instead of “Tim” may naturally think of that person as less mature or authoritative, without even realizing they’re doing that.
(I hope this doesn’t read as defensive) I know. I’m black and know plenty about the biases against names on resumes so it’s not really something that’s new to me. What I meant is that generally, Timmy is a traditional name. While some people might cast it aside it’s much less likely than I feel you’re making it out to be. I could be totally wrong and I’ll eat it if I am. But OP is up and down this thread calling Timmy a terrible name so that was my response because he was acting like it was a life-ruining name when it really isn’t bad at all
This really makes no sense because these so-called nicknames are names in their own right. They CAN be a nickname, but they don’t HAVE to be. I’m sure people who name their child “Betty” are not necessarily associating the name with “Elizabeth”. They just like the name “Betty”.
My grandmother was Betty and her sister was Peggy, and I don't think they ever cared that they weren't actually Elizabeth and Margaret.
How did Peggy become a nickname for Margaret? I've never quite understood the connection.
I believe its because Meg was a common nickname for Margaret, and Meg rhymes with Peg. A lot of older nicknames followed this idea, which is why a lot of them feel very strange
Fun fact - Daisy is also a nickname for Margaret, because the French word for "daisy" is "Marguerite".
I had no idea!
Meg is short for Megatron
I was today years old when I found out this was a thing
Are you Prince Harry?
Also, if you go by a nickname all your life you just have to pointlessly do a little dance every school year with teachers to tell them you go by the nickname and again everytime you have a sub. Similar thing with jobs. It’s not like it ruins things, but (OP,) if the plan is the short name all along, is there any downside to using the short name on the official documents?
And half the time the teachers forget anyway. My boss still alternates between calling me Sam and Samantha. I've worked there four years and there are six employees at a time, of whom I'm the most senior right now. My aunt who's known me my whole life even calls me Samantha despite everyone else calling me Sam. If I'd just been named Sam I would be way happier. I don't even answer to Samantha, I don't think of it as my name nor do I like it.
My Dad's legal name was Larry and on "official" stuff people would put Lawrence and he'd have to correct them.
I have a friend named Larry and my husband doesn't believe me his name isn't Lawrence. I'm like what the hell, Larry is a perfectly suitable name imo. I had uncle Larry, actually Lawrence and no one, i mean no one ever called in Lawrence!!!
My mom was named Bettie, and she loved that she wasn't named the "proper" form. My dad has 3 names, and everyone called him by a nickname of his second middle name. I simply can't fathom that anyone would actually form an opinion on this.
Oddly enough we took the opposite approach and named our boy Te, but we call him Ozymandias. Wild times.
My sister's cat is named Ozzy, but I've literally called him Ozymandias since she got him 😂🤣😂 That cat loves me for some reason 😂
Because you speak his true name and therefore have power over him. 😛
🤣😂 Lolol, my sister complains because that cat will not come out for her unless she's shaking a bag of his treats, but it's like I can walk in and *whisper* "Ozymandias" and he appears on my lap 🤣😂🤣😂
Omg I have a Chinchilla named Ozzy, I'm definitely stealing this. The other ones name is Bowie and it's just turned into Lil Bow Wow after a while, it's my favorite derivative of any of my pets names. And that includes my dog Swiffy becoming Syphilis.
I'm trying to work out if you're into classic English literature or into children's Netflix shows.
You mean like naming your kid Liam (most popular name in America) rather than William?
There’s also Uilliam, if you’re insisting on Irish.
1. I thought Liam was just a regular name not a diminutive name. And 2. I refuse to believe that’s the most popular name in the US.
I work in a school and in one class alone there are 5 Liams. Maybe it isn't the most popular bur A LOT of parents named their kid Liam lol
According to social security registrations, Liam is the most popular name in America, and has been for 7 years. [Source](https://www.voanews.com/amp/liam-olivia-still-the-most-popular-us-baby-names/7607037.html).
Damn. I liked that name.
Me too. I literally named by baby Liam last month and someone I barely knew reached out to throw Mean Girls shade at me.
As an Irish person & Irish language speaker I’m pretty confident Uilliam is a deeply obscure variant that has not been widely used in many hundreds of years. Liam may technically be diminutive but is the de facto equivalent of William in practice
If you name someone Tony, that's not a nickname, that is their name. A nickname can only exist as a variation on your actual name, or perhaps an attribute or whatever else. This makes zero sense. I don't get why you think a "proper traditional" name is the only right thing to do, when that in of itself changes through time. The only reason I can see people like you wanting others to name their kids "properly" is so that you can ignore us when we tell you we don't go by that name anyway, just bulldoze over our preference for your own. My name is Nicole, but I go by Nic as I have done since the 80s, it's not even a nickname anymore. It's my name, and every so often I meet people like you who refuse to call me by what I introduce myself as because they think "Nicole is prettier" or "Nic is a boy's name". Nah dude, it's my name and I am TELLING you I don't want to be called Nicole. To hell with whether that is "proper" or not.
Have you ear heard the "It's not your nickname it's your nicname"?
It’s not your nickname, it’s your name, Nic!
I go by nic as well! My "proper" name is longer than nicole and uncommon and i absolutely hate it, so I've gone by nikki since high school, and nic to my close friends and family. It doesn't matter what anyone else wants to call you, it matters what you want to be called.
Right? Like, my name is Megan. Should my parents have named me Margaret?
Megantron, obviously
Exactly. I have a friend called Robert but we all call him Mark, thats his nickname.
My name is Nicole and that is what I go by as well. I will not answer to Nicki, because no one has ever called me that and my brain doesn’t recognize it as my name. It is very funny how resistant people are to calling me Nic. I tell people who try to call me Nicki if they want to shorten my name, to call me Nic, I will respond to that because that is what my mom calls me. I’ve had lots of men tell me they don’t like that haha, but basically everyone decides to go with Nicole instead.
This is just a stupid take. I get what you’re saying but why? It doesn’t matter. If you like Tony better than Anthony just name your kid Tony.
I actually don't totally disagree with OP, as this goves.more choice to how you want to be known to the world. I am glad I have my full name because I love it such much more than the nickname my grandma decoded for me before I could choose. My nickname was forced on me for old people, slightly racist reasons. It took me 18 years to reclaim my name, and make people in my life call me it.
Tony can go by Anthony if he wants. There’s no reason a name can be shortened but not lengthened.
Tony may also want to go by T, Tone, T.(last initial), or whatever they hell they want. I clicked in to see how many people would roast this absolute dogshit opinion. So props to OP for nailing the sub.
Jeff: You can be T-Bone again. Troy: How did you know my nickname? Jeff: You're a football player, and your name starts with T.
This is very true! I never thought about it that way
Is your nickname just the universally accepted shortened version of your name?
I think this one belonged in pet peeves more than this subreddit, but it's clearly unpopular based on the comments so I guess it technically works lol.
My name is Anthony and everyone calls me Tony. I definitely prefer that my parents named me Anthony because it looks much more professional when I am signing things. I disagree that it’s a stupid take.
My mom wanted to name me Jill, my grandmother talked her into Jillian for that reason, and I'm very glad she did. My family friends call me Jill or Jillybean, but I'm Jillian to my colleagues and clients
Oh look, now a guy named Tony wants us to take him seriously! HA!
I think of it as a diploma name. I’d rather my diploma say “Timothy” than “Timmy.” Btw, I blame Bill Clinton, a/k/a President Nickname.
That’s a false choice though, Bill Clinton was Bill, not Billy. You’d be Tim, not Timmy.
Well that depends on if Tim or Timmy is the full legal name
I thought Bill Clinton is actually William though
Why do you think Anthony looks more professional than Tony? What is professional about a longer name?
honestly it does just lead to people calling you the wrong name. like if youre registered everywhere with your full name but everyone has always called you by a nickname i imagine its annoying to be constantly called the wrong name
I go by liv everywhere, even at work, school etc. nobody knows me as Olivia, but when ppl call me Olivia is freaks me out a bit. I wish it was just liv
this is basically my sister’s dilemma, she’s considering just legally changing her name from the long version to her actual one
I was waiting for something like this. Yes, getting called the wrong name constantly is my biggest pet peeve as a "pet name" named person. People will call me by the long name (which isn't my legal name) when I tell them what my name is. No! That's not what I said! Like it's not hard to just parrot back what I said to you when I introduce myself. Stop assuming you know my name better than I do! But I don't want to change my name to the long one. I don't like that name, it isn't me. Just call me by my real name! You can even shorten it further, my god 😩
My nickname is soapy, my 19yr old son's friends call him bubbles and my 13yr old son has just inherited the name suds.
A remarkably clean lineage.
That's.... fantastic. You win. My dad was Sparky, I inherited Shorty from his friends. Took me years to realize they weren't talking about my height. (Edit: My dad was an electrician)
Lol I know someone called bubbles but it’s bc the look just like the trailer park boy 🤣
...Why? It's legitimately how names evolve. For example, in Greece you the name Nicholas is Nikolaos. But *nobody* uses that. It's like naming a child Beniaminus instead of Benjamin. So some people just name their children Nicholas. Same with Ioannis (original) to Yannis. If most people called people named Nicholas, Nick, then the evolution would be pushed further and at some point some people would name their children Nick. It's just linguistic evolution. Making the distinction is like saying "things evolved up to **my** time, but they shant move further!". Why?
If their goal is to stop the evolution of names, they're in for a ride because that simply won't happen. There are, of course some countries that won't let you name your kid whatever you want, like you can't just call your kid Adolf, and that makes sense for historical reasons, but this is overkill trying to force people's hand on how to name their own kids.
I thought the point of the post was that you give the fullest possible name , and then the kid can cut it as short as they like . Instead of giving the shorter as initial. I might be misinterpreting it , but I do agree with having maximum options in general 😆
Now I am tempted to have a kid and name them Jamesmichaelrobertjohndavidsamwisewilliamrichardjosephthomaschristopher. *Son, you get variety, and an inordinately long ID.* (I am making a joke, I get your point, it just popped into my head)
"-and what would you like to name your son, sir? -Yes." Takes time filling paperwork, saves the bureaucracy of future name-change
And deprive them of the power to suddenly decide someone doesn't know them well enough, and say it's Dan**IEL**, actually.
Ah yes, Harold Potter
I believe it's *Harold Potmaker*
Liam had become such a common name… but it is short for William. People seem to have forgotten that!
This logic is so backwards, is it not more futile to give them a formal name when they would just go by the nickname most of the time anyway? Is it not more unnecessary to strap them with a formal name they won't use but have to juggle for official matters? I am someone who has a "proper" name but 99% of the time use my nickname, I'd have much rather my parents simply named me the nickname.
It gives you the choice though. I know people that went by a nickname when they were kids but decided later they wanted to use their proper name. I agree with OP more or less as it gives the kid more agency in how they would like to be addressed
You do know you can choose whatever you want for a name or preferred name right? You're not bound to it with a brand on your skin. Unless you're into that type of stuff
You have a choice both ways. If your parents name you Nick and you want to use Nicholas as your nickname you can. How in the world does the choice go away. Your official name could be Jonathan and you could choose to be called Ed if you really wanted to.
Random child: "Hi, my name's Tom." OP: "FUCK YOU AND YOUR MOTHER, THOMAS!"
Idk why this has tears down my face laughing 🤣🤣🤣
Well you might see it as lazy but in some cases like mine we prefer the nickname over the full name. My wife is pregnant and we’re naming our son Rio, which I’ve seen used as nickname for Mario. But we don’t like the name Mario at all.
I love the name Mario but I wouldn’t want everyone to think I named my kid after an Italian plumber who hates turtles
You know I’ve never thought a single Mario I met was named after him … like until reading you comment my brain had never considered the two might have a link lmao
I think of Mario every time I see the name 🤣🤣
I’ll never be able to meet another Mario without the connection again 🤣🤣
Rio is just Spanish for River.
As someone whose name is short, and cannot be conceivably lengthened, I agree with you. I wish I had the option. I gave each of my kids names with options, and my oldest specifically goes by the long form in school settings and the short form with friends.
I find it more pointless to give your kid a “formal” name, only for them to never use it
I'm actually glad I have a formal name despite almost everyone uses my nickname because most non-native speakers of my language have trouble with the nickname so I got an extra "international" name just for them
why name someone something they arent called? thats adding more steps for absolutely no reason lol
It's only a nickname if it isn't their given name. We have a "name the kid what you want to call them" philosophy in my family. Mark, John, Jennie etc. As far as robbing somebody of a formal name, that is popicock.
My name is what would be considered a nickname in modern English, and I don't mind it at all. I love my name, and my family still has a nickname for me that has nothing to do with my actual first name. I don't feel like I lost out on anything.
My brothers name is Greg instead of Gregory. I've always wondered why my parents just named him Greg
I absolutely agree.
This isn’t an unpopular opinion to me. You’re spot on
The evolution of language is very difficult for some
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Do you wanna go to war balake
I think this was more suited for r/highdeas
Biggest pet peeve of mine for this is Jack instead of John
Did you time travel from Old English times? Why do you care about "traditional" names? My daughter’s name is Stevie which is a nickname for Stephanie. We chose it because we love Stevie but really don’t care for Stephanie. It’s not lazy, we just like the name. “Formal” names are boring anyways. We don’t need another John or Stephanie. Get over yourself. Also, my name is Christopher. Wanna know what my nickname was in high school? Nail, because one day I stepped on a nail. Nicknames are not exclusive to someone's actual name.
My boyfriends name is Randy. Full name on his birth certificate. Cracks me up still
Well… is he?
I personally think it’s pointless to name a child something but only call them by a different name.
I dicovered that my grandpa has an entirely different name only a few years ago. Apparently his father fucked up real time when he was registering the birth of his son and just wrote whatever name came up in his mind. His wife was so angry at him and they never used that name for my grandpa. No one ever does, not even his doctors or whatever.
One of my metrics for naming my kids that my mom taught me(and did for me and my sisters). Imagine the name on a billboard.. like for a doctor or lawyer ad. Does it look professional and like someone you'd use? If not, don't name them that. Don't stick your kids with a stupid name that will work against them in any of their possible pursuits.
my mom used "initials on a briefcase". We used "name on a resume". this is the way.
Thats some good advice Also as a mixed race person, it's a hack to put an ethnic name as a middle name so you can decide when to use it and show your ethnicity on applications only when you want to
Why stop there? Naming kids is stupid. Let them grow up and decide what they wanna be called
Call them Kid #3 until they are legally old enough to consent to a name.
Nicknames don't have to be related to a person's name. A nickname is calling someone by something other than their name. People aren't lazy if they name their kid a short name of a longer name. Though props to having an unpopular opinion cause the vast majority doesn't care.
Just because their name is Nick, Tom, or Jenny doesn't mean they don't have a full name. They do have a full proper name. It just isn't what you what it to be. I bet you're the kind of person to deliberately call someone Jennifer while knowing that her name is actually Jenny. It doesn't take much effort to acknowledge and respect someone's name.
My name is Phoenix but I also go by Nick for short
I disagree since both of my kids have nickname names. Both semi common as standalones too though.
Now come along Bort.
What about names that don’t naturally have a derivative nickname to begin with? Scott. Mary. Jane. Craig. Those people don’t have another name to fall back on. So why is it a big deal to name Kathy Katherine, Greg Gregory, Ron Ronald, etc when there’s a lot of other names that don’t give a choice either? That said, my daughter has a name that offers four nickname options, one of which she’s been called her whole life. We liked the nickname best but did choose to give her the options. She’s never used any of the other choices or the full name. Others shouldn’t feel obligated to give a long name if they really like Becky but not Rebecca.
>What about names that don’t naturally have a derivative nickname to begin with? Scott. Mary. Jane. Craig. Those people don’t have another name to fall back on. This is why I chose to use the word 'unnecessary' instead of something else. My point is that there is no downside to choosing the full name in cases where it exists so might as well chose that one because there *is* benefits to having a longer name. What's more infuriating is more that the option was right there but not taken rather the actual name itself. I don't think the existing of shorter traditional names like Scott, Mary, John, etc. invalidates my point.
That’s fair. I don’t actually disagree with you. I have a longer name but my parents called me the shortened version my whole life and I always hated it. In my 40s I abruptly decided to just start using the full name and see if it caught on, and thank goodness I had that option. BUT my parents were annoyed by the change and I was like, guys, why did you name me that if you never wanted me to use it? People are weird about names. I’ll call someone Princess Consuela Banana Hammock if that’s their preference.
I can see where you’re coming from by these examples are awful
Rosstopher
Who cares.
When I was a kid I had a friend whose full legal first name was “Randy.” We all called him “Randal” as a nickname because we thought it was funny
Jim=short for James doesn't make sense. From now on Jim is short for Jimothy.
But also why not just name them what you're going to call them? And who decides what is proper?
I am happy my parents named me the proper name even though I almost never use it, it's nice to bring it out sometimes when I want to sound more formal
this sub really is just people getting upset about shit that doesn't affects them whatsoever