This does not revolve around people who name their kids off the wall names like Scout, Shauntrellutaun, Chaqueffa, Moonbeam, or Rodney. No. I'm talking about when people name their child something so that they can call them a nickname of that name.
Example time: Naming a girl Elanor so that you can call her "Elle". Here's a bright idea, just name her Elle. If that is what you want to call her, then name her that!
I don't mind people naming their child something like Charles and calling him Chuck, Charlie, or Chaz. But by all means don't name him Charles so that you can call him Chuckie - just name him Chuckie. Deal?
Example time 2: My brother's name is Samuel. Everyone calls him Sam. My parents named him Samuel, but not with the intention of calling him Sam, Sammy, Shlamenskee, Samantha, or Goober. Although all of these names are used for him, this is not why he was named Samuel.
I do understand naming a child something that gives them the option to go by a shortened version when they are older (Gregory -> Greg, James -> Jim, Michael -> Mike) rather than giving them a fixed name (Ryan, Brent, Jason, or Scott). This makes sense to me.
However, I just do not understand this logic (or lack of) when naming a child. If the opportunity presents itself to call your child a certain nickname then feel free to take it, but please do not name your child a name so that you can call them by a nickname of that name.
ALSO: What's up with naming kids old people names? Why are Emma, Elanor, Josephine, William, Evelyn and Velma so popular? You are just asking for your kid to be a 90 year old in a 3 year old's body.
