The Crib: A Blog for New Parents

Posted by pecuellar on 01/15/08 - 08:43 PM

Regardless of how carefully and specifically you choose your child’s name it will at some point get changed or substituted for another name no matter how much kicking and screaming you do. This all too common occurrence can happen in several ways at different times in their life.

Example One: The Adorable Sibling

You child has a sibling, cousin, or some other adorable young relative who can’t quite pronounce your child’s name no matter how simple it might be. My one year old recently started calling his sister Ab which is his version of Ava and his cousins call him Ego instead of Diego. Even if you were opposed to the nickname at first, the shear volume of cuteness often overpowers any objections you might hold.

Example Two: Rebellion

You named him Thomas but everyone has called him Tommy since he was the day he was born. However, when you child hits his pre-teen/teenage years he will inevitably insist on being called whatever version of his name you have never used. This is a common way to assert their independence and discover their individuality along with the opportunity to drive you nuts. When I was that age I had many friends who “changed” their name. Jennifer was suddenly Jenny, Michelle wanted to be called Mickey and Junior was now only to be referred to as JR.

Example Three: A Moment that Sticks

This is an accident or a mistake that is either never corrected or so hilarious that it sticks. My husband has two nephews and a niece that calls him Monkey Eric because they think that is his name. The oldest mispronounced “Unkie Eric” and then it was no returning. The error just gets perpetuated.

There are a hundred examples. Sometimes someone just decides they don’t like there first name and choose to use their middle name instead. I know a Wanda Michelle who chooses to go by Michelle and a Lydia Faith that is only known as Faith. Or a name is so common a nickname is necessary to keep up with who you are talking about. There are several guys names Chris that are close friends. They usually end up being called by their last names instead of first names to keep people from getting confused, although they couldn’t be more different in every other way.

Although I carefully choose to give my children names that I naively believed would prevent nicknames all of my children already have them. I have completely abandoned the idea that they would actually be called by their given name by everyone they know.