Childish first names for adults

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m_crane

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I cringe whenever I here my in relatives use the “y” added to the end my husbands first name. Example Johnny instead of John, Danny instead of Dan etc. I think it sounds so childish and since he no longer uses this version as an adult, why do they continue to use it? Does anyone share this pet peeve about adult names?
 
No, actually I kind of like it when people use adults’ childhood names and nicknames.

My cousins used to call their Mom and Dad “Mommy” and “Daddy” for a longer time than normal, too, like well into their high school years. I always thought it was sweet.
 
I’m with you - only the very young are suited to “y” on the end of their names. Adults in business should use their real names. 🙂

I had a friend when I was younger who insisted on “Michael.” If someone called him “Mike” or “Mikey” he simply did not respond. 👍
 
I always use my nickname and while there’s no “y”, there is an “ie” at the end. I despise my full first name. I could not explain why…I believe it’s because I associate it with condescension and disrespect, because it goes back to when I was younger and people refusing to call me my preferred name, even when I asked (“but I like your full name better!” “Great, I don’t!”). I’ve thought of using my middle name instead, but by this point, it would probably only confuse people. Just saying, people who call me by my full first name will not generate a response. Once you know what I prefer to be called, that is what you call me. I don’t care who you are, how old you are, whatever.

It depends on the person. You call them what they ask you to call them, nothing more, nothing less. That’s respectful, not a bunch of silly formalities.

Adult is about action, not what your name is.

And yes, I refer to my dad as Daddy. I’m 20, live on my own, and pay my bills while attending school full time and running two organizations, as well as getting involved in pro-life work. I NEED a way to be childlike!
 
Well, my family calls me “Barbie”. :rolleyes:

My siblings are Buddy (William Jr.), Jamie (James), Krissie (Kristine) and Becky (Rebecca). We are all over age 40 and all but one of us are parents. My nieces and nephews call me Aunt Barbie. My late grandmother was “Grammie”.

On the other hand, the children (mine and my siblings’) are Rick, Dan, Susannah, Jennifer, Vincent, Stephen, Patrick and Billy. Rick and Dan used to be Ricky and Danny but not since they grew up. Only the littlest (age 7) still has the diminutive “y”.

I guess it’s just one of those crazy family things!
 
I call my uncle “Danny” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. My dad and my aunts call him Danny…however, they don’t call my dad by his childhood nick-name although everyone else does. :rolleyes:
 
sanctamaria17 said:
And yes, I refer to my dad as Daddy. I’m 20, live on my own, and pay my bills while attending school full time and running two organizations, as well as getting involved in pro-life work. I NEED a way to be childlike!
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20, huh. You are still pretty young - I think you can get away with a “y” on the end of your name until you are about 35 or so. 🙂
 
As long as your husband isn’t cringing it isn’t something I would even think about. Family members often refer to childhood names because well they’ve know each other since childhood. My dad is nearly 80 and he gets called Charlie instead of Carl by his family. Nobody else does it except his family -I think its sweet actually.
 
I’ve been called Lainey since I was very little…1/2 of my family doesn’t know my real name…

Also I grew up with lots of Italian friends…“Hey! Paulie! Hey! Vinny!” I love it! 😃
 
jmcrae said:
I expect it’s either Elaine or Helen. 😉
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Yes, I phrased it wrong…they say when they realize who I am after I tell them Elaine…they look puzzled, then the lights go off and they so “Oh! Lainey!”
 
m_crane said:
I cringe whenever I here my in relatives use the “y” added to the end my husbands first name. Example Johnny instead of John, Danny instead of Dan etc. I think it sounds so childish and since he no longer uses this version as an adult, why do they continue to use it? Does anyone share this pet peeve about adult names?
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Some names sound childish with the “y” at the end. Other names with an “ie” or “y” just sound normal. I think it’s what you get used to hearing. The family probably just calls him what they’ve always called him without thinking about it. Besides that, family with the same name as another family member often get nick-names to distinguish the elder from the younger. It may help them distinguish “John” from “Johnny” if there are two men with the same name.
 
I think if people persist in calling you by name you have asked them not to, it’s a matter of respect. Some people are just fine with a diminutive, it could be cultural, or it’s fondness–all good reasons. But, if you ask someone to refrain from calling you something you don’t much like, then it becomes another matter. They don’t respect your preference; they don’t respect you. I hope that doesn’t sound too harsh, but I have dealt with this very situation. That’s how I see it.
 
I agree with Beachcomber…I call people by whatever name they introduce themselves with, or sign their e-mails with, etc. If I’m not sure, I ask (“Do you prefer to be called Nicholas, or Nick?”). If someone specifically asks to be called by a certain name, I consider it rude to do otherwise.

I personally am not offended by being called Susan or Sue, but I prefer Suzy and that’s what I ask people to call me (I’m almost 48, BTW).

Miz
(The diminutive form of Misery’s Fence) 😉
 
DH is Mike to me and his friends but if we go back home he becomes Mikey to those who are older than he is – and he’s 60. He just smiles, happy that there are older people who remember him from when he was little.
 
I’m Betsy, obviously, and I don’t mind my friends and family calling me that. It is from my middle name, Elizabeth, because my mother thought that, as a tiny baby, I was just not dignified enough to be called by my first name, Helen.

When I was nine years old, my family moved to a new state, and I decided I was an adult. :rolleyes: I used the name Helen in school and with all my new acquaintances. When I went away to college, I decided that Helen was entirely too stuffy, and went back to Betsy.

Now, if anyone calls me Helen, I know it’s either the Department of Motor Vehicles, who won’t let you use anything but your first name without a court order, or people from where we moved when I was 9.

Betsy (or Helen if I went to high school with you)
 
I am 27 and still call my dad and mom mommy and daddy. Although my husband says its okay because I am a girl LOL. But anways my dads brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews still call him Jackie not Jack, even my moms mom called him Jackie Boy, and my Aunt TC is still TC not Teresea although that how she signs all cards. There are cousins who are Sissy not Peggy, and Dennis at times is still refered to as Den Den, and Uncle Phil who is still ocassionally Pif And my husband has tried to go by Troy but is still TJ to the family, then he went to work with his brother in law and TJ has entered into his professional life. I think it is just one of those things you grin and bear it.
 
I suppose it can be annoying to some but it’s really not that important unless it’s your own name that’s involved. You should have the right to be called whatever you want.

That said, I have an older cousin who decided that he no longer wanted to be called Johnny when he was in his late twenties/early thirties. I told him that I only knew him by Johnny and I loved him as Johnny and that’s what I was going to call him but I would only use it privately or within the family. He agreed and I’m the only person allowed to call him that. It wouldn’t seem right to call him anything else.

And, yes, I called Mom and Dad, mommy and daddy sometimes. It depended on the situation. I would use either up to the day they died (I was in my 40s at the time) and I still refer to them that way sometimes. Other people - acquaintences, virtual strangers - are referred to by their more formal names if they have one or by the name they introduce themselves with. The people I love - babyish sounding -y- names all the way - at least in private conversations with them if they’re really against them publicly.
 
m_crane said:
I cringe whenever I here my in relatives use the “y” added to the end my husbands first name. Example Johnny instead of John, Danny instead of Dan etc. I think it sounds so childish and since he no longer uses this version as an adult, why do they continue to use it? Does anyone share this pet peeve about adult names?
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I’m the only one who adds an ‘‘ie’’ to the end of our son’s name. My husband does too, sometimes. But, my son says…’‘mom, when I’m at school, PLEASE don’t call me that…call me by my full name.’’ He’ll always be this though, to me…even when he’s old and grey. 😃 I think as kids, it’s a term of endearment. But, in business in the south? Oh my gosh…CEO’s and CFO’s called Bubba? Or Junior? Or Buddy? :eek: :rotfl: I just can’t believe that sometimes, when I hear that. lol But, it’s Flor-ee-dah. 🤷*
 
This probably isn’t quite the same thing, but my name is Zachary. I like Zachary better than “Zach”, and I suppose “Zachary” does sound a bit younger, but hey, I am young I guess. I don’t like “Zach” because people have a tendancy to turn it into a grunt, “Zachary” forces them to actually *say *my name. When I write my name, though, I ususally put “Zach’ry” down, because I prefer it to be two syllables, as opposed to three, but I don’t really mind what way people say it; just not “Zach”.
 
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