My name is Robert, I prefer the full version. It’s a name used by every generation of men in my family, and the diminutives get rotated to minimize overlap. Robert, Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robby, rinse and repeat. I feel lucky that I managed to snag the full version. I’ll also answer to Rob, which a few friends call me, but loathe the other versions. I had one girlfriend who felt that using a diminutive in our relationship showed closeness, and she was angry that I asked her to use my formal name… especially when she heard one friend call me Rob. (Her name, Heather, wasn’t exactly conducive to a pet name, so we were even.)
It was a struggle when I was a kid to get people to call me by my name, and I always felt that it was a bit disrespectful that they refused to listen to me when I said that I preferred Robert. My mom hated it, too, and stood up for me a lot about it. Women at our church were especially dismissive of the issue, insisting on calling me “Little Bobby.” “His name is Robert, he prefers Robert, please use his real name.” “Oh, no, he’s Little Bobby!” Grr. So, growing up with it being such a battle, I’m rather firm now as an adult about it.
I’ve only gotten used to my full first name in the last 10 years or so (I’m over 50), so either my full first name or the standard shortened version is okay.
The shortened version of my first name is very simple, and I preferred to be called that always. There are a lot of people who only know me by my shortened first name, and don’t even know my full first name, or last name at all. For some reason some people think I used the shortened name because my full first name is one of the less common variants that would use the shortened name. I don’t understand that.
Name’s Joshua, but I go by Josh. I actually find it rather annoying when people call me Joshua and I only use it on official documents.
I voted “a shortened version of my name” but now that I think about it, I should have voted “It varies” as my wife sometimes calls me “Joshie.” However, if anybody but my wife or mom called me such, I would become extremely annoyed.
I’m regularly called five different names by my friends (full name + 4 variations). I really don’t have a preference. Though, I have noticed that specific people stick with one name, and if they call me by a different one it doesn’t sound right.
My family and people at work use my full first name. Depending on who’s around, my friends use either a shortened version or my last name, as there are several of us with the same first name.
I voted “other” (middle name), but I prefer that strangers call me by my last name. They don’t. They use my first name, which makes me stabby. It’s hard to stab someone who’s just trying to be nice (under ~40 and they’re genuinely puzzled: they’ve known no other way). Friends and colleagues can use the full name or the shortened name, I don’t care. Bureaucrats may use first + middle.
I used to think my full first name (Julia) was too elderly and aunt-like. However, I got stuck with it at work, since there was a Julie already. It’s grown on me as I have grown more elderly aunt-like, and now I’m Julia everywhere except at home.
It varies. There’s a whooooole lot of people who know me as JJ, and I’d introduce myself to their friends as JJ (or have them introduce me as JJ). If I didn’t, then it’d be weird when my friends spoke of me as JJ and their friends were all “What?”
But no one in my family calls me JJ and it would be weird if they did. With family I’m Jess. It’s getting kind of awkward now with my friends’ kids hanging out with my nieces and they call me “JJ” while the nieces call me “Auntie Jess.” I’ve explained it a couple times to them.
I’ve never been JJ to any boyfriend, so exes and their friends know me as Jess. My business partner knows me as Jess and so do all his friends.
Funny thing is that I’m on Facebook as Jessica, I will introduce myself to strangers as Jessica, and my email accounts all send email from Jessica, but very few people actually call me that. I did notice the other day that an ex has me listed in his email address book as Jessica (I saw it in the email header) so maybe he calls me that. I think my clients from work call me Jessica.
The only people who will use both JJ and Jess are my two best friends. I’ll call and say “hey it’s JJ” or they’ll say “Pass the peanuts, Jess” or “Hey JJ!” - it’s like code-switching!
I used to hate it when people used some other variation of my name. It seemed kind of childish so I got over it. Now when people do that I just mispronounce their name.
My brother went by his middle name until adulthood, and we chose to name our kids that way. As adults both use either their first or middle names as they choose. When they were kids and known almost exclusively by their middle names it would even confuse me to hear a teacher or doctor call them by their first name.
So my name is Elizabeth Jean … I was named after my mom’s cousin, Elizabeth Jean Heinz. (yes, that Heinz). But she was from the south, so she grew up being called Betty Jean, and BJ for short.
Almost from the moment of my birth, I was called BJ or Beej. But never a day in my life have I been called Betty Jean, and my initials are E.J. You can imagine how pleasant it was in middle and high school, to be called hummer, etc…, and have to give a long winded explanation of where BJ came from since it is technically not my initials.
Interestingly though, BJ just fits my personality. No matter what professional atmosphere I am in, eventually folks will begin to refer to me as BJ. I have worked at the NIH, a K Street law firm, and now for 8 years in a tight knit legal community… eventually, everyone refered to me as BJ or Beej after some period of time.
Now even the bailiff’s and judges refer to me as BJ, and only call me Miss Lastname during court proceedings.
There is one prosecutor who simply refuse to use the name BJ, however, and calls me Liz. I hate it. He thinks it’s funny. Douche.
