"Do you call her something else for short?"
"No."
There is an epidemic of name-shortening that has plagued humanity for a very long time, and to be honest, I don't really get it. Maybe that's because my name is Erin, which doesn't have a shorter nickname attached to it. But since before my daughter's birth that has been the first question.
"Oh that's a pretty name, but what will you call her?"
"Beatrice."
Is it unthinkable that I say the word Beatrice a hundred times a day? It's only three syllables. No more than Emily or Jonathan. Is it laziness? Can we not be bothered to move our mouths into three distinct shapes to call out the name of a person? Or, does the formality that some perceive make them uncomfortable? I don't know. I call her Beatrice. My mother and many others in my family call her Bea. I don't really mind and I know now that the shortening is inevitable. She can, of course, decide what she likes to be called when she develops a preference. But if I wanted to name her Bea, I would have.
Love this! We have a son named Matthew, and the first time I heard someone call him Matt, it just seemed so strange. He answers to both, but to me, he will always be Matthew (and that's only two syllables!)
ReplyDeleteLove the picture! What a cutie!
I love the name Beatrice! I'm sure many people ask if she has a "nickname" because Beatrice is not commonly given these days. I personally ask if there is a shortened name as a habit as a teacher because I want to make sure that I am fully informed as to what name the parents and student prefer to be used. My son is Nicholas and we usually call him Nick, but it isn't unusual to call him by his full name.
ReplyDeleteI love the name Beatrice! I'm sure many people ask if she has a "nickname" because Beatrice is not commonly given these days. I personally ask if there is a shortened name as a habit as a teacher because I want to make sure that I am fully informed as to what name the parents and student prefer to be used. My son is Nicholas and we usually call him Nick, but it isn't unusual to call him by his full name.
ReplyDeleteI love the name Beatrice also. I had always planned that I would name my daughter Beatrice after my favorite grandmother, but my brother and his wife beat us to it!!
ReplyDeleteSo funny that my daughter has to fight to be called her one syllable name as people want to lengthen it. We have had to work on how politely to let people know what she prefers. It will be fun to see what Beatrice prefers when she is a bit older (and if that changes over her life.)
ReplyDeleteI hope it's ok that I comment on your blog rather than your post, even though I love this post. I love the name of your blog! Did you ever hear of the onion theft that occurred in a school in Maine back in early fall? Well that was my school, my class, our onions. It made national news. We got donations from all over the country, including a ton from Washington State!! So that, and your name (my daughter's name is Erin), attracted me to your blog. I think Erin is a beautiful name; peace. Thanks for sharing and helping us understand the importance of calling someone by their name.
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