Baby name help...sort of

[worm761]

So we know the baby will be a girl now. Her name will be Olivia Rose. DBF asked about how to shorten that. DS13 is Zachary though we call him Zach. So how would you shorten Olivia? I was thinking Libby. But when I looked, Libby is a shortened version of Elizabeth. Not sure how I feel about Liv. Opinions please?

 

[Halloweenqueen]

How about Liv?

 

[mishasmom]

What about Livvie?

 

[MickeyCrazedMom]

We have an Olivia in the family and she is called Livvie.

 

[RadioNate]

why do you have to shorten it at all? Can't she just be Olivia?

 

[sbell111]

You could also go with 'Olivia'.

 

[PebblesMK]

My cousin is an Olivia and we all call her Ole (Oh-lee)....I'm sure it's not for everybody but it fits her!

 

[Handbag Lady]

O
Ole
Ollie
Olive
Liv
Livvie
Evie
Little O
Vi

And why not use Libby for Olivia? If you like it, then it is short for Olivia!


(Can you tell Oliva is the name of a friend's daughter?)

 

[mom2travel]

We have several friends with an Olivia Rose - pretty name. The Olivias we know are called... Olivia or Livvie or Liv (though less so, but mostly bc they are little)

would agree that Libby makes me think "Elizabeth"

 

[Skylarr29]

I don't think it needs a nickname really. Dh and I are having our first in a few weeks and we chose a name that doesn't have nickname on purpose.

 

[lspst8]

I like the name Olivia .... I wouldn't use a nickname at all. If you call her Olivia so will everyone else.

I have a 4 year old cousin who is named James and that is what everyone calls him .... no Jimmie or Jim. My sister's fiance is Michael, not Mike.

If you love the name Libby, just name the baby that. I know plenty of people whose official names are Katie or Beth, and ti doesn't seem to have caused them any problems.

 

[sbell111]

If you love the name Libby, just name the baby that. I know plenty of people whose official names are Katie or Beth, and ti doesn't seem to have caused them any problems.

While I wouldn't name my child the shortened version, my wife's given name is 'Cathy'. I am the only one who ever calls her 'Catherine', which isn't her name.

 

[AprilShowers]

I have an Olivia Catherine. We weren't going to shorten it because we didn't like Liv. Here is a list of some of things she gets called. (all with affection of course!)
Olivia
Liv
Livie
Liver
Liver guts
Liver & onions
Livie Cath
Her sister calls gitchie (with a soft g sound) not sure where that comes from, but if you see my post about what DH calls me with affectio you'll understand.

Mostly we call her Olivia or Livie. The others are just fun!

 

[worm761]

Olivia is a family name and is for my grandmother who is very much missed. Changing that is really not an option. But we also realize that we will most likely end up calling her by a nickname. So we were just trying to figure out one that goes with her name. Otherwise the poor girl will end up being Squishy her whole life! My DS is still called Doodle all the time. Kind of embarrassing at 13. Just trying to head that off early. Thanks for the replies!

 

[NHdisneylover]

I have known several Olivias who go by Livvy (or Livvie).

DD is Marika Rose. We call her both Marika and Rosie. You can always go off of her middle name.

 

[sbell111]

Olivia is a family name and is for my grandmother who is very much missed. Changing that is really not an option. But we also realize that we will most likely end up calling her by a nickname. So we were just trying to figure out one that goes with her name. Otherwise the poor girl will end up being Squishy her whole life! My DS is still called Doodle all the time. Kind of embarrassing at 13. Just trying to head that off early. Thanks for the replies!

My wife's family carries the silly toddler nicks into adulthood. It drives me crazy. I told my wife that this will not be acceptable for our kids.

 

[tonilea]

You may be surprised. Our DS is named Thomas. I fully expected to call him Tommy, or L.T. (for Little Tom) or something. But he has always been Thomas. When others try to call him something else he corrects them.

 

[NotUrsula]

Nickname her anything you like; you don't have follow rules. (Really, if someone can name her child Yeolondolyn, you can nickname yours Libby.)

It bothers me somewhat when people use nicknames as given names, and then get upset when people who are trying to be respectful guess at the usual more formal name. It really shouldn't be an issue so much the other way around. My FIL was named Irwin, but was nicknamed Irv -- apparently no one had trouble understanding that.

We know an Amalie that is nicknamed Molly -- people guess that her name is Mary or Margaret quite frequently. I think that with Libby and Livi sounding so similar, most folks will just assume that they heard you incorrectly.

 

[sissybells]

I have a cousin named Olivia and her family call her Ollie. I think that is cute.

 

[MichelleVW]

why do you have to shorten it at all? Can't she just be Olivia?

that's what I was going to say!

Olivia is a family name and is for my grandmother who is very much missed. Changing that is really not an option. But we also realize that we will most likely end up calling her by a nickname. So we were just trying to figure out one that goes with her name. Otherwise the poor girl will end up being Squishy her whole life! My DS is still called Doodle all the time. Kind of embarrassing at 13. Just trying to head that off early. Thanks for the replies!

I think it's a beautiful name and see no reason why would you need to shorten it? My name is Michelle and my sister's name is Kathleen, and that's what we have been called our whole lives....kids don't have to have a nickname.