Maddie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH wants to name our daughter just "Maddie". His reasoning? He doesn't want other people to call her Madeline or Madison because he hates both of those names. Apparently one of his teachers chose to be the nickname police (refusing to call students by anything other than their legal name), and he hasn't forgotten about it ever since. He's now adamant that you have to name your kids what you want them to be called. I honestly like Madeline but not Madison.

Is Maddie as unprofessional as I think it is? I'm more concerned about her being able to succeed with whatever name we decide on.

What about what your daughter might want? She might prefer to have the option to go by Madeline or Madison instead of being stuck with Maddie. You say that he hates Madeline and Madison, but what if she hates Maddie?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't want to be named Maddie. Some nicknames have become standalone names, but that's not one of them. If he doesn't like Maddie's "real" names, pick another name.

[Anonymous]

There are 3 Maddies on my DDs soccer team.

[Anonymous]

What about Madeleine, which is the French version and doesn’t sound as harsh as Madeline. (Mad duh Len as opposed to Mad duh line or Mad duh Lin)

[Anonymous]

I know three 13 year olds named Madeline, Madeleine, and Madison. All go by Maddie. I don’t any 10 year old Maddie’s. We’ve all moved on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Madeleine, which is the French version and doesn’t sound as harsh as Madeline. (Mad duh Len as opposed to Mad duh line or Mad duh Lin)

NP no. The spelling makes this hard. And many people will still pronounce Madeleine the same as Madeline. I've known Madeleines who pronounce their names the English way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not do this. I have a friend whose parents named her Crissy so that her nickname was her name. Professional, a woman starts out with an infantile name.

If it bothered her, she could easily go by Cris or Cristina or Cristine. No one at work is going to check her birth certificate. This happens every day; I have a coworker whose given name is Aizhen, and she chooses to go by Liza. What is "infantile" is your attitude toward a FRIEND'S choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not do this. I have a friend whose parents named her Crissy so that her nickname was her name. Professional, a woman starts out with an infantile name.

I grew up with a girl whose full first name is Ali. Hasn't held her back in life.

[Anonymous]

I am team name baby what you are going to call her. Maddie is not my favorite, but I would absolutely name a kid Molly, Sadie, Betsy, or Carrie as a stand alone name and they feel similar to me.

I absolutely hate that my legal name is Jennifer and my parents never used it. I am a Jenny, and always will be. I wish it was my only name.

In the same vein, I think going by a middle name is a huge pain, but if you both love the name Maddie, use it and give her a middle name she could use someday if she wants.

[Anonymous]

My 10 year old is Madeline but her dad has called her Maddie since she exited my body - has just felt right to him. She answers to either and doesn’t have a preference. Could DH handle that if you prefer Madeline? Fwiw, a lot of people just automatically shorten her name to Maddie from the jump (just like her dad lol). We’ve only met one other Madeline and there’s been none at her school or day care/preschool.

[Anonymous]

Would you two consider Maude as a name?

[Anonymous]

Or Malinda? Melinda?

[Anonymous]

Miranda could also become Maddie

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH wants to name our daughter just "Maddie". His reasoning? He doesn't want other people to call her Madeline or Madison because he hates both of those names. Apparently one of his teachers chose to be the nickname police (refusing to call students by anything other than their legal name), and he hasn't forgotten about it ever since. He's now adamant that you have to name your kids what you want them to be called. I honestly like Madeline but not Madison.

Is Maddie as unprofessional as I think it is? I'm more concerned about her being able to succeed with whatever name we decide on.

I think that people with unprofessional names can still succeed.

I do think it’s easier in life if you go by the name you are called. If he never wants her to be called anything but Maddie, then Maddie on the birth certificate makes sense.

[Anonymous]

I think that Maddie is a professional handicap. It puts the thumb the scale against her vs a conventional full name.

Can that be overcome? Yes. As mentioned above, women with more problematic names have succeeded. However, why put your child at a disadvantage from the start?