# Preferred version of your first name?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 7, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697 "2013-05-07T13:48:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/61 "2013-05-08T00:16:08Z")
“Terence” (British spelling) as opposed to “Terry,” the name on my birth certificate, which I loathe.
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### Author:  [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/62 "2013-05-08T00:35:40Z")
Full first name. Actually, “Mr.” and my surname from most people, but I know that’s a losing battle.
People keep trying to use a diminutive. Apparently I give off an aura of friendliness without meaning to.
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### Author:  [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/63 "2013-05-08T00:52:04Z")
Voted “short version of my real name”. My real name is my father’s name, who I barely even know. Plus it’s difficult for anyone to pronounce. I probably should have stuck with my childhood nickname, but I stopped using that when I moved to college.
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/64 "2013-05-08T01:13:27Z")
My first name is Christina. I go almost exclusively by Christy, and introduce myself as Christy. I like that better. So file that under ‘‘a different version of my name.’’
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/65 "2013-05-08T02:27:48Z")
My name is Richard, but I am addressed as Rick by all my friends and people at work. My business cards say “Rick.” I am called “Richard” only by people who don’t know me, have read my name off a form or something, and are trying to sound friendly.
My parents still call me Ricky, which was what I was called when I was little. I like that, it’s cute.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/66 "2013-05-08T02:30:47Z")
> [@jayrey](#):
>
> My mother, God rest her sainted soul, called me “Dewey.” I miss that one a lot.
A friend of mine’s maiden name was, in fact, Julie Dewey. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/67 "2013-05-08T02:32:59Z")
At work we have 4 Richards in my department so we have
Rick
Richard
Ricky
Dick
I go by Rick.
(The next guy that shows up with this name will either go by Bob or I won’t hire him)
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### Author:  [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/68 "2013-05-08T03:07:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> My name is Colin. Never had a nickname in my life, because any time people tried something, it sounded kind of dumb, and they recognized that immediately.
My dad’s name is Colin but he usually goes by ‘Col’. When he travels to the US he gets lots of questions about how long he’s been in the army 🙂
My first name is André. After years of being called Andrew (teachers assuming a typo a has left off a letter on the class roll) or Andy(?) I’m so used to it I don’t bother correcting people.
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### Author:  [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/69 "2013-05-08T03:13:32Z")
My name is Gary. There aren’t really any nicknames for it, so people pretty much don’t have a choice in the matter. There have, over the years, been a few people who regularly called me by my last name; that’s fine with me as well.
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### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/70 "2013-05-08T03:47:03Z")
I’ve always been called by my middle name, which is Wade. I don’t think there are any other versions of Wade. A certain group of friends sometimes calls me by the nickname “Ringer.”
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### Author:  [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/71 "2013-05-08T03:47:19Z")
There is no shortened form of my given name, so I’m stuck with a single option. I abandoned the middle name my parents gave me when I married for the first time, and I can’t go by my surname because that’s how people address my husband.
I strongly dislike my given name but can’t think of a different name I’d like better, so I put up with it.
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### Author:  [@\_3Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_3Bill)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/72 "2013-05-08T04:50:49Z")
> [@Rick](#):
>
> At work we have 4 Richards in my department so we have
> Rick
> Richard
> Ricky
> Dick
> I go by Rick.
> (The next guy that shows up with this name will either go by Bob or I won’t hire him)
Is that not likely to cause some confusion?
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### Author:  [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/73 "2013-05-08T04:59:20Z")
My name is Erica, and that’s what I like to be called. It’s not easily nicknameable, so that usually works out well.
My sister has a slew of creative nicknames for me - she _claims_ they’re derived from my name, but I swear she’s just stringing syllables together (e.g. Yekakoo:confused:). I’d prefer if she used my name, or at least picked one nickname and stuck with it, but I’ve known her for her entire life and that’s not gonna happen, so I just roll with it.
My best friend sometimes calls me Eri or E. It’s kind of nice, but it’d be weird if she called me that all the time or if people who aren’t her started doing it.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/74 "2013-05-08T05:57:43Z")
I hate my first name, as it’s generally mispronounced. My mother decided to make up a new spelling of a perfectly good Italian first name. I vastly prefer to go by my middle name. I’ll answer to my first name, but only my family is allowed to use it on a regular basis. My best friend since middle school is also allowed to call me by that name. With everyone else, they can either call me Lynn or they can call me Ms. Lastname (Bodoni is my maiden name), their choice. I’m not really happy about my husband’s last name, and I wish I hadn’t changed my name to his.
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### Author:  [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/75 "2013-05-08T08:55:31Z")
My name is Daniel.
If you need, Dan.
If you cal me Danny, you better be my Mom, Brother or Sister.
daniel
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### Author:  [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preferred-version-of-your-first-name/657697/76 "2013-05-08T19:25:55Z")
I do not care what you call me as long as it is not late for dinner.
I prefer the common shortend version of my first name. Most folks use that.
I umpire baseball and softball, so many folks call me Blue.
I volunteer at the Civil Air Patrol, so there I am known as Captain Last Name.
When I worked for Boeing, many of my teammates had variations of my first and/or last names. There were also two who went by my middle name. We all agreed to call me by my shortend first name followed by a shortend version of my last name. We told our supervisor that any new hires could not have an already in use name. He could not hire them into our team.
Like many have said, many folks like to be called by their names. I will call you by whatever name you introduce yourself with. If you are introduced to me as Xyz, I will call you Xyz unless/until you tell me your name is Rst. Then I call you Rst. Please let me know right away, before habits form. It is just common courteousy to call folks by their names. Some folks just do not use common courteousy.
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