Thoughts on Alessandra

[Anonymous]

One of my DD's best friends is Alessandra - it's a lovely name, and she's such a sweet kid.
As far as I know no one tries to shorten it.

[Anonymous]

You can certainly try not to shorten it, but there are no guarantees. It's up to her. She may very well decide to go by Alex and you would not be able to stop her.

[Anonymous]

I have a college friend whose name is Alessandra and she has always been called Andra. She's a first-gen Italian-American with a three-syllable last name ending in A (short a-sound). I love her name!

[Anonymous]

I know a woman who is Alessandra and goes by Alessandra -- I don't know anyone who calls her Allie or any other nickname. I think if both parents are on board with no nicknames, you have some control.

The wildcard is how your DD feels about it. My DD has a longer name and she decided she wanted to go by a nickname when she got to school age. I don't really even like the nickname she picked (don't hate it, it's just nowhere near as pretty as her full name IMO) but it's what she wants to be called so I use it too. I do hope she goes back to her full name at some point, but I've accepted that it's her name and she gets to pick.

So just keep that in mind as you pick a name. At some point it's out of your control.