On The Fun- and Danger- Of Nicknames

So far our naming standard has been a three syllable first name, one that's at least slightly unusual, and a far more common nickname by which the kids most frequently are called. Part of this was intentional (that there be an obvious, go-to nickname) and part accidental (I didn't necessarily set out to have a three syllable name each time, but now it feels like a pattern I'd like to keep.)

The intentional part was mostly my preference, and it stemmed from the fact that with a short, no nonsense name like Sarah (mine, in case you're new here,) there are no commonly used nicknames, and so if one's friends want to call you by something more creative, they are forced to get... well, creative. This can sometimes be disastrous. Without going into the painful details, my high school nickname, by which my friends and sister still sometimes refer to me, was China. And many longer, more appalling versions of it which I won't share here because for heaven's sake I have SOME pride. (Only a very little, though. Chinese Chicken. CHINESE CHICKEN was something to which I ANSWERED.)

Now, I know that one can end up with an unfortunate nickname no matter what, but I was determined that since nicknames seem more or less inevitable, the least I could do was provide my children with a few easy and obvious shortened versions of their given name in case their friends or relatives started casting around for something special by which to call them. At this point I've been so pleased with my plan that it's an absolute essential to any name suggestion for this little girl in my belly: there must be a cute, commonly recognized nickname to accompany it. I should note though that I am aware many people feel entirely the opposite, and hated having named that were always shortened as a kid. They therefore might intentionally choose names that cannot be shortened for their own kids, and their motives are entirely as good as my own. Just wanted to throw that out there. I am not judging non-nickname-givers!

I also know that in many families, abbreviated names aside, kids often go by pet names that have nothing to do with their own name. We are in fact no different, and our kids have nonsense nicknames too- though we tend to keep them in the home, and certainly hope they manage to shed them before high school, unlike their unfortunate mom. Addy gets Sissy a lot (I do wonder what will happen to that now that she won't be the only sister in the house,) Eli is called Brewster, which was a name arrived at by a long and lengthy process no one can remember anymore, and Jamie, weirdly, I often refer to as Weasel Baby. I think it started when I realized how sneaky he is and how much silent mischief he can get into. Apparently I associate weasels with sneakiness. That's a common consensus, right, that weasels are sneaky? Or am I confusing them with some other animal? Maybe he should be called Raccoon Baby, I don't know. Weasel is more fun to say though.

What about your families? I want to hear all about your nicknames: your own, whether you like it or not, whether your kids have nicknames, and whether that was intentional or just naturally came about. Does anyone ever call your kids by nicknames you hate? (I know for us there have been several names we ruled out because we couldn't stand their common shortened forms.)