What is the point of naming your son Jacob or Joshua (putting these on a birth certificate) when you doggone know you’re going to be calling them Jake or Josh, respectively?
I’ve never known anyone who goes by the name “Joshua.” It’s always Josh. Same with Jacob; it’s always Jake.
Though the name may be spelled out in full in a news article about them, or on their high school diploma or medical records, etc., they are still called Josh or Jake by everyone in contact with them. Oddly, any “Jason” is almost always called Jason instead of Jase.
What’s the point of putting “Elizabeth” or “Alexandra” on a birth certificate when you know your kid’s going to be called any number of nicknames off of these names?
Show me ONE girl or woman who goes by “Alexandra” in terms of what people address her as in person. No sir! It’s either Alex, Alie or Lexie. Is “Alexandra” too difficult for people to pronounce? That’s on the birth certificate!
Are people, when they’re old enough to realize that the name their family and teachers call them by is a nickname off their birth certificate, too afraid to insist on being called their full name?
The nickname is often very bland and dull, like “Beth,” “Liz” or “Jen,” or is androgynous, like “Alex,” “Chris” or “Pat.”
What’s wrong with calling your little girl “Victoria”? Oops, I forgot—you DO call her Victoria when you’re angry at her for not cleaning her room!
Usually, the nickname is fewer syllables than the full version, but sometimes it’s actually longer, such as “Charlie” for “Charles.” Go figure.
And “Lawrence” is Larry rather than Lawry. Weird.
Sometimes, I think that nicknames are just plain dumb, making me wonder if they’re invented because the parent isn’t smart enough to use the full name on a recurring basis, so they just shorten it—which usually occurs soon after the baby is born.
If you’re going to wind up calling your kid John, Matt, Bill or Sam—and you’ll know this ahead of time once the full name is picked out before the birth—then why not just put these nicknames on the birth certificate and be done with it?
Or DARE you insist that all your daughter’s friends and teachers call her Madison instead of Maddy, or Abigail instead of Abby? Or heaven forbid if you insist on Mar-gar-et over Maggie!