If you named your DD Abigail (or know someone who has), do you call her Abby?

[Anonymous]

We are expecting the arrival of a daughter in a few weeks and we are still contemplating names. The name "Abby" is high on our list and is not very popular according the SS Administration website list of baby names, which is totally fine with us and is even preferred. However, we did notice that the nice name "Abigail" is very popular -- rated #8 I believe in 2008. We are wondering if Abby is a common nickname for Abigail? In other words, do lots of parents name their baby girls Abigail but then call her Abby? Please advise. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Every Abby I know (which is many) is an Abigail.

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp. I know a few young Abigails that go by Abby.

[Anonymous]

yes, a very popular name these days and the Abigails we know (adults and little ones alike) are nicknamed Abby.

FYI, there's a great book "The Quilt Story" (I am a quilter) by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola where the mom makes a quilt for her daughter and puts the daughhter's name - Abigail - on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every Abby I know (which is many) is an Abigail.

Ditto

[Anonymous]

Yes, as far as I know Abby is usually short for Abigail.

[Anonymous]

Yes - we have several friends and daycare classmates named Abigail. They all go by Abby.

[Anonymous]

Abby is a nickname for Abigail.

[Anonymous]

I think the only thing to consider by naming her Abby is that people will always assume her given name is Abigail. My friend Cassie is just Cassie and it really annoys her that people always say "oh, short for Cassandra" right when they meet her. I would guess and Abby would always be correcting people that her name is "just Abby".

[Anonymous]

These days there are more names that were previously "nicknames" that are being used just as first names now. Think Lucy and Molly for example, those used to be nicknames but now people are using them as first names. But I don't think Abby is one of these. I would think it was strange if a child was called Abby and their real name wasn't Abigail.

[Anonymous]

I have a close friend whose daughter's name is Abigail and NO she is NEVER called Abby.

[Anonymous]

I know a little girl named Abigail called Abby.

It is a fairly common name, but I love the name Abby. It's also a classic name vs. a more trendy name, so I don't think you will regret it in 10 years.

If you love it, I say go for it.

[Anonymous]

If you're looking for something less common, Abby is not a great choice because so many Abigails use it. One way to look at it is total numbers. Last year there were 14,901 Abigails born (versus 1,315 girls named Abby). If half of the Abigails use Abby as a nickname (a fair assumption, in my experience), then the total girls called Abby is over 8,000. In everyday use, that makes Abby as popular as Sarah, Grace, Taylor, Brianna, Lily, Hailey, Anna, Victoria, Kayla, Lillian, Lauren (names #20-30 on the social security list).

Traditionally, Abby is a nickname, so I don't see it as a classic name (unlike the pp). From www.behindthename.com:

ABBY
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: AB-ee [key]
Diminutive of ABIGAIL

What other names are you considering?

[Anonymous]

If you like it, go for it. Most people think they're choosing something different only to find that the following year everybody is on to it! We chose a name for DC1 that was traditional but not very common, only to find that she is the only one in her class that is doubled up (and the other family thought they were also going for something uncommon)!

[Anonymous]

DD is Abigail and goes by Abby (most of the time). If you want to name your DD Abby, I say go for it. She will have to live with "it's just Abby, not Abigail", since most people would assume that her full name is Abigail, but I personally don't think it's such a big deal. I know a guy whose given name is Bobby (not Robert).