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Mecha Dinosaur

Why do parents give their children names they never use shortly after birth? Why must these people spend all that time deciding on a multi-syllable name only to tack on a single syllable nickname that the child will use for the rest of their life barring legal matters?

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Mourna Biziou

I like having a more a formal name and a casual name. It denotes a level of closeness to the individual.

Also, people are going to give nicknames even if the name is one syllable. Nicknames aren't always necessarily a shortening, but many times a term of endearment.

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Joy Honey

Why do you ask, Binky-boo?

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"Mom, why is your eye twitching?"
-my 7 yr old son


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
— Mark Twain

Decadent

I have a short name and my sister shortened it even further to simply Ree. Every time she used my actual name, I knew she was in a bad mood with me or just in general.

My dad and uncle both called me Chicken occasionally. No idea why, but I knew what it meant when they called me that.

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Some day we will look back on all this, laugh nervously and quickly change the subject.

--

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I..

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

Joy Honey

I have always hated for anyone to shorten my name. It sounds like a mafia goon's name to me. The one time my mom tried to call me the shortened version, I reminded her she didn't name me THAT (omg Mom, ugh)!

She did have a few odd nicknames for me (and my siblings) - Ivan Stravinsky Stravorsky (or something like that). I never minded the nicknames, though. Just the shortened name.

Arilynn

My full name is spelled in a way that is unpronounciable to just about anyone. It is a complete PITA. I usually go by a shortened version that I like quite a bit and plan on legally changing to my own name sometime soon.

My family and friends have all sorts of nicknames for me. I give all my pets a ton of embarassingly kissy-faced nicknames. I always refer to my RL non-BF by a nickname I invented for him - it is easier for me than his name - or his name sign, which I gave him. I like them - if given with the right intent, they are an expression of affection and not as formal as the real name.

As for why my parents gave me the longer, PITA name - it was a bad compromise. One wanted a Japanese name (my dad is Japanese) and one wanted an Irish name (my mother is Irish), so they invented this mutant from something my mom heard. They thought it was pretty and liked the idea that it could be easily shortened for an obvious nickname or used fully in more formal situations. Still a PITA.

Leilany LaFollette

I usually call my little boy Luke. When he's older, he'll know that any time I call him Pepe Cristiano LaFollette, he better hide...

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My chronic nastiness and obdurate refusal to look on the bright side of things goes far beyond garden variety misanthropy.- Joe Queenan