Nicknames

I was prompted to think about Nicknames after reading a blog about the concerns of using them .....how should we spell the nickname?.....what name will/should the child use in school?.....with which name will the child be introduced?, etc, etc.

So, first of all, thanks Melanie, I mean fellow-blogger, for your forgiveness. I am one of those parents who intentionally used nicknames. So after reading about "Nickname" concerns, I talked with my daughters about their nicknames.

We chose unique names for our daughters - and yes, I too, was the majority rule for naming all but one of my daughters. And I LOVE all of my kids' names.

My eldest is Shalyse. I'd heard the name only once while pregnant and didn't have the opportunity to see how it was spelled so I had the dilemna of choosing how it should be written.....thus Shalyse. How do you shorten 'Shalyse'? Some of you reading this may not even know how to pronounce it; that seems to be the downfall for having the name, well, that's what Shalyse tells me. Anyways, I tried to think of different ways to nickname her but could never find a variation that I liked. I asked her what she thought about NOT having a nickname and she said she always felt left out because the other girls had nicknames...and I mean nickNAMES.

You see....I never had a nickname either. When I was Yvette Lopez, friends called me Y-Lo...but it was more of a joke than a nickname. I've used nicknames as sort of an endearment. Growing up, my parents didn't have endearments for each other nor for the kids - they didn't use 'hon' or 'babe' or 'love'. And when I became an adult, I liked it when I was 'hon' or 'babe' or 'love'. So I always wanted my kids to feel the warmth, love, and affection of a nickname. I thought that if I'd called Shalyse these endearments, enough, that she wouldn't miss having a nickname but I guess I was wrong.

Then came Leticia. Again, she tells me people often mispronounce her name. This one was named sorta by her dad. He wanted a spanish name and I just couldn't see using Maria, or Carmelita, or Lolita......... & Shalyse. Her dad mentioned he liked the name Tisha...which happened to be the Playboy bunny of the month but he still preferred naming her a spanish name. I liked Tisha too but didn't tell him that and I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of naming our daughter after his Playboy bunny of the month. So when I ran across the spanish name Leticia (which is pronounced La-Tisha), there was no persuasion necessary. We, of course, called her Tisha. But she's also called Tish, Tishie, and finally Tish-a-roo. As a "grown up", she doesn't go by Leticia much. She introduces herself as Tish. And she hates it when I introduce her as Tishie - which I don't even realize ISN'T her name, anymore. Excuse me!

So when Madison was on her way, I'd heard her name in the movie, Splash. I named Madison to call her Maddie. She also goes by Madz and Mada-boo. Her name-tag for her workplace is labeled 'Maddie'. And her best friends call her Madz.

Tayshaun. First of all, he's named from seeing the name during a Piston basketball game. And if I'd had it my way, he'd have been named Tayshaun Prince Tramel. I love the combination - and it doesn't have anything to do with the basketball player...(he's NOT cute). As a baby, we've called him Tay-Tay. At 3 yrs old, Tay-Tay just sounded too babyish for a boy so he and I played with some variations and he decided he liked 'Tayshaun-ee-mon" - as you see it in my Blog Profile Title. He's also responding to 'T' which the big boys call him. But I usually call him 'my love', 'babe', 'papa', and sometimes 'Kooper' (when I'm forgetful). Kooper is our shihtzu!

My girls say having a nickname wasn't confusing in school. Most of the time, the teachers asked for name preference anyways....they probably see a lot of "Juniors". I think the girls liked having their nicknames, obviously, since they still use them. And poor Shalyse has adopted a nickname from friends as she's grown up - sooooooo.

To end this looooonnngggggg explanation, I love nicknames! I vote you keep Olivia -"Livi"!!!!!