# Why are versions of names that end in -y considered unprofessional **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-versions-of-names-that-end-in-y-considered-unprofessional/265616 "2004-09-23T03:44:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-versions-of-names-that-end-in-y-considered-unprofessional/265616/41 "2004-09-24T22:17:12Z")
When it comes to what to call other people, it’s easy: I call them what they prefer/ask to be called. If the clarification hasn’t come up, I call them by the name they introduced themselves to me by. So if someone introduces himself to me as “Thomas,” I would not call him “Tom” unless he indicated it was ok. (And I would only ever call him “Tommy” if I knew him really, really well…and even then, just to tease him.) For example, I have a friend named Philip who really dislikes being called “Phil,” so I never call him that. (But I have _another_ friend named Philip who prefers to be called “Flip.” Go figure. ;)) When it comes to what I prefer to be called, it took me a while to figure it out… > [@twickster](#): > > It’s much more of a thing for men than women, I think – there are plenty of “-y” names that aren’t seen as diminutives, like Kathy, Judy, Betty, Jenny. > [@The 27th Evil](#): > > My friend is actually choosing to change her name for professional reasons. Her full name (no middle name) is Jenny and she plans to legally change it to Genevieve Mara in order to be taken more seriously. My full name is Jennifer, but I have always gone by Jenny: “Jennifer” just always seemed too formal for my personality. However, when I started my current career (6+ years ago), in an attempt to sound more professional I decided that my business cards and voice mail message would say “Jennifer.” I was concerned about my image because I look much younger than I am (at the time I was 27, and looked like a college freshman), and I wanted to be taken seriously in the Big Bad Business World. The first time my father heard my voice mail message he even commented, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you refer to yourself as ‘Jennifer’ before!” Well, “Jennifer” didn’t last long. I still preferred to be called “Jenny,” but people would see my business cards or hear my voice mail message and call me “Jennifer” (duh), so when I came to work at my current company 3 years ago I decided it was time to commit to “Jenny.” It worked out, because there is another “Jennifer” here and she does _not_ like to be called Jenny. She prefers Jen or Jennifer, so it has helped to distinguish us (though some people still confuse us: not only did we start within a month of each other, but our last names are both 4 letters long and they rhyme…three years later she _still_ sometimes gets my phone calls!). I think, too, that by the time I started working here I figured that my personality and quality of work were more important to my professional image than my name or youthful appearance. If someone wants to underestimate me because I go by “Jenny” and look like I just got out of college, it’s their loss. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-versions-of-names-that-end-in-y-considered-unprofessional/265616/42 "2004-09-25T00:44:05Z")
I also think that the spelling of a name is important. My name is Lindsay, which sounds like a nickname anyway, but the spelling is such that it looks professional, even if it’s pronounced the same as Lynzi. ---
**Author:** ![Crescent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Crescent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crescent)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-versions-of-names-that-end-in-y-considered-unprofessional/265616/43 "2004-09-25T01:51:12Z")
As a child I went by Ruthie, I ditched that when I was 10. I have one customer who calls me by that and I’ve just given in… I don’t even grate my teeth anymore. 😛 My family just calls me Ru. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-versions-of-names-that-end-in-y-considered-unprofessional/265616.md?page=2)