What's your opinion on people who go by nicknames rather than their birth names? (father)

[Chowhound]

I never really thought much about this subject which is odd a bit because I only use my real name for legal things such as ID and credits cards and anything "official" like that.

When I was a baby I got my nickname based on a family friend. An embarrassing story really so I leave that part out. Anyways I've never liked my real name it's boring and very standard and you heard the name quite a bit still these days. My nickname happens to be much cooler and I never thought of is cool until just a few years ago. I thought that it's a pretty cool name. I only really noticed it when I saw others with the name and then it stood out more to me. It's a name you don't hear all that much these days, but it's common enough I guess.

It seems like the boomer and older crowd was more into nicknames. Mrs. Chow's mom will talk about her friends she has had all her life and just about everyone of them is some kind of cutesy nickname. Gen X'ers didn't do that nearly as much, not sure why, but it just is.

I found out from my father when I was much older that he named me after his brother. I don't recall him telling me that before but my real first name was from my uncle that I never met. He told me that his brother hung himself in his jail cell.

Sort of an odd eerie thing and I'm not sure why he would name me after him, maybe he thought it would have been respectful to him and his memory, IDK, my dad has since passed on and I wish I would have asked him exactly what he was thinking about when they named me.

[cat1116]

Some people may prefer to go with a shortened version of their first or last names.
Maybe they get tired of correcting pronunciations or just want to make contacts feel more at ease with each other. It's ok by me what they want to go by, after all it's their name.

[Chowhound]

Originally Posted by cat1116

Some people may prefer to go with a shortened version of their first or last names.
Maybe they get tired of correcting pronunciations or just want to make contacts feel more at ease with each other. It's ok by me what they want to go by, after all it's their name.

Yeah, I can see that. You've got names that typically get shortened all the time. James, Robert, William seemly almost always become Jim, Bob, and Bill.

I'm not sure about female names, maybe Elizabeth become Beth, IDK, can't think of anymore right off the bat here.

Well you go down south way and it seems like they add names. "Go tell Billy Bo Jim Bob that dinner is ready."

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by JacksonBradu

Title

I'm from a culture where that's just what we do. There's a reason why rappers go by aliases (Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, etc) and pop stars (Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Adam Levine etc) go by their real names

But what's your general opinion on people who exclusively by their nicknames?

No opinion. I prefer going by a diminutive of my first name because it's what my parents called me, what I grew up with and how my friends knew me. I'm only known by my full name in contracts, financial dealings and health records.

My former wife insisted that I be called by my full first name which was an annoyance. My wife likes the shorter version. I like her a lot better anyway!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Chowhound

Yeah, I can see that. You've got names that typically get shortened all the time. James, Robert, William seemly almost always become Jim, Bob, and Bill.

I'm not sure about female names, maybe Elizabeth become Beth, IDK, can't think of anymore right off the bat here.

Well you go down south way and it seems like they add names. "Go tell Billy Bo Jim Bob that dinner is ready."

Let's not forget MARGARET, Maggie, Marge, Margie, Peg, Peggy, etc.

[KathrynAragon]

I call people what they want to be called. I don't call them "Bob" if they introduce themselves as Robert, and I don't call them "Robert" if they introduce themselves as Bob.

All my life, people off and on have tried to shorten my name, call me by a diminutive, whatever. I just don't respond. If they try again, I say, "Oh, were you trying to get my attention? My name is Kathryn. That's what I prefer to be called." (Well, actually it's not but it's a name that can be shortened like Kathryn can be shortened to Kathy.)


That generally does the trick. However, I promise you, if my name was Mildred, I'd shorten it to Millie or even Molly - or totally pick another "nickname" and by golly, that's what people would need to call me by!

My real name is a bit unusual - not weird, but not a name you hear every day, and it's also a very beautiful name in my opinion - thanks, Mom and Dad! To me, shortening it trivializes it and takes away some of the melodious nature of it - makes it less like a grown woman and more like a common, snot nosed, kid. Yeah - I really, really, really don't like the shortened version of my full name in case you can't tell.

I noticed the other day that a woman at church signs her name "Pamela," and introduces herself with that name, and that her husband also calls her that. I had heard a few people at church refer to her as "Pam," and I immediately thought, "But that's not what she calls HERSELF." Personally, I think Pamela is a really nice name, so that's what I call her.


My dad had an unfortunate first name, named after his father. He also had a less than stellar middle name. So he chose a friendly - shall I say NICKNAME - based on his middle name but a shortened version of it - and that's what he went by his entire life. In his obituary, we put his first and middle initial, and his nickname - which was a very manly and pleasant name - afterwards in quotation marks, before his last name. No problem.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

No opinion. I prefer going by a diminutive of my first name because it's what my parents called me, what I grew up with and how my friends knew me. I'm only known by my full name in contracts, financial dealings and health records.

My former wife insisted that I be called by my full first name which was an annoyance. My wife likes the shorter version. I like her a lot better anyway!

Well, "Curmudgeon" is quite the mouthful.

[MegaJoy]

Originally Posted by JacksonBradu

Title

I'm from a culture where that's just what we do. There's a reason why rappers go by aliases (Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, etc) and pop stars (Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Adam Levine etc) go by their real names

But what's your general opinion on people who exclusively by their nicknames?

What difference does it make? No money your your pocket. It is, what it is. Does your message have a hidden agenda? I think so! I am moving on.....Enjoy your day!

[klmrocks]

Originally Posted by JacksonBradu

Title

I'm from a culture where that's just what we do. There's a reason why rappers go by aliases (Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, etc) and pop stars (Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Adam Levine etc) go by their real names

But what's your general opinion on people who exclusively by their nicknames?

Depends. I have a nick name for my daughter that only I call her. My husband sometimes calls her it too ( but he copied me ). It is an ironic nick name though.

It is common in my culture, but in my household growing up only my dad had a nick name he was called since being a kid. You could always tell how someone knew my dad by the name they asked for when they called on the phone.

If it was the nick name it was an old friend from Trinidad or his brothers.
If it was his middle name is was my mom or a family member other then his brothers.
If it was his first name it was someone from work or a company lol.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Well, "Curmudgeon" is quite the mouthful.

True but some shorten it to "Curmie or Curmy." I've been called worse and will answer to almost anything.