I really liked the name Nicole in general but it specifically has one attribute that stands out – it’s ability to be shortened. Growing up I was Karen. In college I was Karen. As an adult I'm Karen. I always wanted a nickname (other than Karebear) that people in my tight circle could call me. Nicole is most often referred to as “Nic” when Jim and I talk about her between ourselves. I probably split equally between Nicky and Nicole when speaking directly to her with a healthy dose of “Nic” thrown in. The sitter and the kids at daycare call her Nicky most of the time, probably because that’s the easiest thing to say of the three. My grandparents always refer to her as Nicole because it’s “prettier” and Ryann calls her Ni-Cole is this super-cute voice.
Even shortening her name it has variety. Sarah spells it Nikki as does the sitter. Doesn’t matter to me. She’s gotten cards from people who put an H in Nicole (Nichole) which also doesn’t bother me. Maybe someday the variety will annoy her but it reinforces that her name has versatility and that’s what I was going for.
Now, saying all this you’d think then that I’d be adaptive to my friends changing names. Not so. Jenny J. will always be Jenny first in my mind even though she prefers Jen and goes by that in “real life”. I saw a facebook comment by Elizabeth P.; I don’t’ think I’ll ever be able to call her anything other than Betsy which is what she went by in college. If Viki insisted I call her Viktoria I think I’d reduce using her name by 80% - I just can’t imagine it.
If Nicole ends up gravitating to an abbreviated version of her name in her youth I wonder if her friends will have a hard time converting to Nicole when she becomes a professional.
About Me
- Karen
- Cincinnati native trying to juggle two kids, a successful marriage, a full time project management job and a part time teaching gig. Fortunately I love every component of my crazy life!
My Blog List
-
-
Willie, mio gatto bello8 years ago
-
-
Peeing on Trees and Other Nonsense11 years ago
-
Chord Buddy12 years ago
-
We Moved!!!12 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
10 comments:
you did the best you could to jazz up your name in high school, right, Karyn? :)
I'm with you - I never really had a nickname. I HATED being called Mart.
Until my first nephew tried to pronounce my name as Marsha. We had to quickly change that. Now family calls me Marti. But really, when speaking, that's no shorter than Martha.
I also agree about Jen being a Jenny, though I try to call her Jen b/c I know that's what she likes. But some of the time "Jenny" slips out without thinking...because to me (and you), that is her name!
I try to call Nicole whatever you do - therefore I refer to her as Nicole or Nic.
And by the way I'm still waiting for a super-cute picture of Nicole from the other day!! :)
Honestly Karen, I like DeeDee :-) I like names that can be shortened also, like Linds, Nic and Ry. I definitely find it hard to switch from a kiddie name to an adult name. My old neighbors were always Timmy and Robby and now that they are in their 30's they like to be called Tim and Rob. Luckily I don't see them much so I don't have to remember the change :-)
Oh yea, on your last statement - professional life and personal life are different. She can go by both. I go by Martha to friends and colleagues. In my family I go by Martha or Marti.
Kathy's a better example. WE HER FRIENDS FROM YOUTH all call her Kathy. Her FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE PLUS all call her Katharine. I tried informing them they call her by the wrong name, but they just say I'm the one that's wrong. (And Kathy might tell you I'm wrong and she doesn't want to go by Kathy anymore). But then OUR FAMILY calls her either Kathy or Kat.
So when Nicole is older she can go by Nic, Nikki, etc to friends and family and Nicole at work. Or whatever she wants. My mom is another one - you can tell how someone knew her by what they call her (her first name or her middle name).
L - you're cracking me up. My cheeks hurt from smiling. ha!
Every time I start a new job I introduce myself as Viktoria because I feel like it sounds more professional. My current job is the first place that it's stuck - everywhere else it's reverted to Viki within a couple of days.
I have accepted the fact that some of you will continue to call me Jenny even when I got by Jen now. The difference is I would be really annoyed if someone I met this year tried to call me Jenny when I introduce myself as Jen. I recognize that you knew me as Jenny. I like nicknames in general. Sometimes I wish I had a nickname that had nothing to do with my name...
I too always wished I had a nickname. My mom used to shorten is to Lis (pronounced "Lease") sometimes, but no one else ever called me anything but Lisa.
That's why we picked Maxwell. We'll always call him Max, but if he ever grows up and wants to sound more professional, he can use Maxwell. Plus, it will look damn fine on his MD diploma when he goes into practice with his daddy. HAHAHA.
At work, I go by Erdahl a lot. Obviously the kids call me MRS. Erdahl. But several of my coworkers just call me by my last name, mostly men. When I call their rooms, I say, "Hey, it's Erdahl." That way we don't have to use our first names in front of the kids.
My personal favorite is when you guys call her Nic-Knack
I am really attached to my name, because it is unique. In fact, sometimes I am actually upset when people misunderstand the Jenna Dietz for Jennavive. (If you say them together fast enough it may sound like Jennavive.)
Additionally, Jenna is not short for Jenny, Jennifer and cannot be shortened for Jen.
That being said I do however allow exceptions for family and close friends.
I am very proud of my name both my first and last - my parents took time in deciding it - so why would I want to tweak it into something less pretty (in my opinion).
But, the versatility of having an "adjustable" name can mean that one person can be referred to as many different names.
Post a Comment