Speaking of names….

[drmoo55]

Curious….
Why do parents name their children one thing and then call them something else? :confused:

For example: On birth certificate – James Smith- but he goes by Jake

OR Robert Jones – but goes by Bud

Reason I ask is because in practice it can be very annoying to try and find a patient’s chart when he signs in Bud Jones – but really is Robert Jones.

Or on the phone a message is taken & patient gives name as Jake Smith & pharmacy won’t fill Rx because insurance is under James. So I get a second call to call pharmacy AGAIN.

Ridiculous! :rolleyes: :boggled:

[TexasRose]

I gotta reply ‘cus my husband goes by his middle name! Why? Well, his parents gave him a family name but felt the first name was old-fashioned. They call him by his middle name because that’s what they want to call him. Trying to mix family tradition with current sensibilities.

Of course, my husband has the sense to make sure that all his official paperwork reflects this by using his first initial and middle name on insurance cards etc.

just one of those things…

[amyk]

We both liked Liesl for a girl’s name, but as Heidi’s horrible aunt said, “That’s no sort of name for a Christian!” (and then called her Adelheid, her proper name). Since Liesl’s a diminutive, we gave her a name it’s short for: Annelies. When she’s older, she can decide what she wants to go by. But she won’t be stuck with a “baby name” when she’s grown.

When we do medical stuff, I refer to her as Annelies. And when she gets to school age, we’ll register her as “Annelies (Liesl)”. Not that it helps, hardly anyone here knows how to pronounce or spell either one.

amy

[Med4Mom]

This is a great topic. I was given a name X Y Surname, but was ALWAYS called by my middle name. After years of confusing everyone, especially in the university environment, I finally gave up in some instances and just trained myself to answer to “X”….

I swore I would NEVER do that to my child – such a hassle for everyone. Message to new parents… do NOT call your child by their middle name (they will hate you for it). :rolleyes: This is an issue with the increased security for flying now too. I sometimes forget to get my ticket issued in my first name, but my passport, being the “official” document that it is, shows X Y surname, and it always ends up causing a bit of a delay while they check other ID etc.

[maggie52]

DRMoo55: From a doctor standpoint, I always call them by there full, formal name ( like as it appears on thier insurance or whatever) and even when they say “Oh I go by Bud” I continue to think/speak/call Mr. RObert Smith, etc. They usus don’t mind ( esp as it IS THEIR NAME!)

[Renee]

I wholeheartedly agree w/ Mimicat…call your children by their first names. I understand how it can happen the other way though. Sometimes, while Mom & Dad prefer the middle name, it just doesn’t “flow” as the first name. This was my case.

My folks named me X,Y,surname; but from birth called me by Y. This was confusing with school records, official documents, etc. Many times just the middle initial is requested, so the name I actually went by was never even seen.

When I got married, I took the opportunity to correct. I’m now officially Y, maiden surname, new surname. I changed everything…including my social security card.

I swore when I had kids, that they would go by their first name. All three of them do. While they don’t go by a nickname now; all three names are such that even the logical nickname is closely related to the actual name.

On those nicknames…I was raised in smalltown, southern USA and anyone who’s ever run for local office has a nickname and it’s always in quotes; i.e. Vote for James “Bubba” Smith!!! I think it’s a requirement 😉

[DrWuStar*]

my dad goes by a name that is nowhere to be found in his actual name, and has since the day he was born. it’s a funny story really. my grandfather has a very formal old-fasioned name. lets call him Formal Oldfashioned Wu. i guess back when our old boy was born, it was an ok name, but even by the time my dad was born, everyone knew it was too formal and old-fashioned.

when my grandmother got pregnant, she said she wanted to name the baby Peter. but my granfather said “no way. we’re naming the boy Formal Oldfashioned Wu, Jr. they fought and fought for 9 months and finally they had to decide. well, to hear my grandfather tell it, he won. they named the boy Formal Odfashioned Wu Jr. But to hear my grandmother tell it, she won and sure fooled him, cause she, and eventually everyone, called him Pete. Now, even his business cards say F.O. “Pete” Wu. i think it is very funny.

my dad didn’t really get the lesson in all that though, cause he and my mom had the same fight and my poor sweet brother ended up named Formal Oldfashioned Wu III. he is also called something completely different and chosen by my mom. he claims there will be no 4th, but i guess we’ll see!

[drmoo55]

Interesting to see the personal situations that people have to go through when the name they are called isn’t the one on the birth certificate. It sure can cause a lot of problems.

I know a lot of the naming of kids can be due to “family tradition” – I just wonder why have the name that’s “important” when you aren’t going to use it? :scratchchin:

Maggie52: I agree that I can call a patient by the name on his insurance card for example- no problem. But the problem is usually in trying to FIND a chart that is under the “real name” but the patient calls and says they are “nickname” & the search begins.
I guess that isn’t really a big deal, but sure can be frustrating! :rolleyes:

[residentmom]

My son is named after his grandfather, but goes by his middle name. We just always use his “real” name at the doctor, etc. Our doctor is wonderful, and remembers his name anyway, so when we call about “first name” he returns the call about “middle name”. He is just fabulous that way. 😀

I think there are a lot of reasons people choose names, and it’s not really our job to decide whether it is right or wrong. If Mrs. Smith wants to be called “bippy”, then fine, I’ll note it in her chart. She just better leave her messages about Mrs. Smith! 😉

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Interesting topic. We gave our daughter a ‘normal’, traditional name assuming that we call her that. Her middle name had a lot of personal meaning and is kind of special, but it is irish and even my own mom can’t spell it (fionnuala). We never intended on calling her by her middle name…but the nickname for this middlename is something we called her by when she was really little (finny). It seemed harmless, but she now refers to herself as ‘finny’ and loves the nickname….no one can ever figure out where we got it from….I guess our pediatrician hates to see US coming 😀

kris

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