I knew an Italian girl with this name growing up. She went by Sandra pronounced Saaaahn druh.

The one adult Alessandra I know doesn't use a nickname -- she just goes by Alessandra. It's a very pretty name and suits her, and while it's long, it flows easily off the tongue so it's not really a big deal for people to say the whole thing.

For this reason, I'd go with Allie. It's the most obvious and easy way to shorten the name. If you go with a more creative nickname like Essie or Andie, if it catches on, that will become her name and it will be harder to go back to Alessandra if she wants to when she is older. But if you go with Allie, she'll be able to float between her full name and nn more easily. She could be Allie to friends and family and then Alessandra professionally, and people won't get confused. Or if she decides when she goes to college to go by her full name, her college friends won't be that thrown to hear her old friends or family call her Allie because it's an obvious abreviation and not a totally different name.

Just my two cents.

Alessandra is a gorgeous name.

I think you should not overthing the nickname and see what she's like. Andie is cute, but such a different vibe than Alessandra. Allie/Ali is fine, but nothing to get excited about.

Alex? Soni?

Sandy is a terrible nickname. What would her nickname be if you lived in Italy? Go with that.

Love the name, with NN Sandy.

Andy/Andie is a great nickname for a girl. Very gen z!

Anonymous wrote:I know someone who uses Alessa as a nickname for that. I don’t like it but you may. Another option to consider!

Pretty!

Allie is not overdone, it is gorgeous and simple. That is my pick.

I know someone who uses Alessa as a nickname for that. I don’t like it but you may. Another option to consider!

Anonymous wrote:I like Andie but I don’t think it will stick as a NN.

Why?

I like Andie but I don’t think it will stick as a NN.

I love Andie as a NN.

Alex
Sandy

First, I love your disclaimer! So necessary for this crowd.

Second, Alessandra is a gorgeous name. I love Andie as a nickname.

Yes, we’re First generation Italian-American, both speak fluent Italian and visit family in Italy every year.

Now that that’s out of the way: what nickname do yo prefer for Alessandra? I like Ali but it feels overdone. DH likes Essie but I really don’t!

Do you like Andie?