If I name my little boy Daniel?

Question

And don't want him called Dan or Danny, are people going to honor my wishes or shorten his name anyway? I've always thought it proper to call a person by what they're introduced by/introduce themselves as... Like if a woman would tell me her name was Kimberly, I wouldn't call her Kim. I'd call her Kimberly unless she told me otherwise. How do other people feel about this?

Answer 1

My daughter's name is Mary Anne, and that is what we have called her from the beginning, and if I tell people her name is Mary Anne they call her that from the beginning. The only time people call her Mary is for appointments, and I've filled out the form with Mary under first name and Anne under middle name.
My sister-in-laws nephew is Daniel, he is introduced as Daniel, and if someone shortens it, his mom very nicely says that his name is Daniel, and he does not go by Danny or Dan.
I also have a friend who's boyfriend's name is Charles, and I've always followed her example and called him Charles, I've never heard anyone refer to him as Charlie or Chuck.
If someone shortens Daniel to Danny or Dan, by all means let them know (nicely) that he does not answer to that and they need to call him Daniel.

Answer 2

I know a Dan who became a Daniel as an adult; for the most part, he's always called Daniel.

While your child is small, you can certainly insist on Daniel. You'll probably find a few people who insist on Danny, but I think they're few and far between. Of course, some of them might be grandparents ... if you're not sure if they'll respect your wishes, you could be in for a lot of irritation. (My in-laws call my son a nickname that makes my skin crawl.)

When he goes to school, he may prefer one of the short forms - in which case, well, you're kind of stuck.

Answer 3

This is a tough question for me. My father's name, and fiance's names are both Daniel. My father goes by Dan and my fiance goes by Danny. I think that while he's young, people will probably tend to call him Danny, but if you'd prefer to have him called Daniel just make it clear to them. Once he's older he can decide what he wants to go by. :) If someone told me their name was Daniel I wouldn't automatically call him Dan, I'd think it would just be friends/family that would have a tougher time holding back from the nicknames. Good luck!

Answer 4

I feel you can do that to a point, but once he is in school, makes friends, and becomes his own person, the chances that it will stay Daniel are less and less. He would have to be the one correcting people and most kids just end up going with a nickname. A couple of my aunts tried it...Matthew and Robert. One did not even make it to elementary school before she had a Matt and the other managed to get to middle school before her son was being called Rob (by her older daughter, no less). It all depends, but you can not count on that happening. So if you really hate those nicknames, I would suggest not chosing Daniel

Answer 5

I think that Daniel is a beautiful name in it's entirety, and I personally don't care for Danny or any other pet forms either. So I'd say just Introduce him to others as Daniel and he won't have a problem with it. Sure, other people might try and shorten his name, but you can just tell them you prefer the name in it's entirety and you shouldn't have any problems. Good luck, and Congrats!

Answer 6

My sister is called Angélique (we're French) and usually every Angélique are called Angel, however, mum made it clear that she didn't want her called that and she taught my sister to say her name was Angélique not Angel, if somebody called her Angel. Mum especially disliked it cos Angel was the name of someone special in our family who had passed away in a car accident many years before my sis came along, so they didn't want to be reminded of the accident everyday i supose... So my lil sis is now nearly 16 and she still MOSTLY goes by with her full name. I say mostly cos she's got loads of friends and a few do call her Angel, but really not many, I suppose cos she used to say what mum told her to. Yet I often call her Angie lol... So, basically to answer you question, I'd say that if you do want your son to be called Daniel, you can make it clear and tell your son to tell his mates his name is Daniel, not Dan or Danny... It should mostly work, but there will always be the odd ones out that don't follow any rule, so a few people might call him what you don't want them to... But doesn't matter really cos you can still call it what you want, and I think the kids will mostly go with the name they've been brought up with in the first few years of their lives, cos it kinda becomes part of the personality I think.
Hope that helped :)

Answer 7

Usually people will use his given name without shortening it unless you call him Dan or Danny. When your son is older his friends may call him by Dan or Danny though. But name him what YOU want to name him by. Don't change his name in fear of having somebody else call him by Dan or Danny.

Answer 8

As long as you introduce him to people as Daniel, they will call him Daniel. If someone calls him Danny, be polite and correct them by saying, "Sorry, we don't call him that. We use his full name." I have a co-worker who had a baby back in May and she named him Anthony (the father's name is Daniel too, but he goes by Dan). They don't call him Tony or Ant.

Answer 9

Call him Daniel and your family and friends will most likely follow suit. Be prepared for Dan to come up in school though, as kids are always shortening their friends names.

Answer 10

Daniel is a nice name. If he wishes to have a nickname as Dan or Danny, it is mainly his choice. Its like someone forcing you to do something. Some boys just like their name as it is, some do not and like a nickname better.