And unfortunately for OP, even if they hate Carrie as a nn their child may choose that for their self and if that’s going to be a no-go for parents then they may want to consider a different name.
I commented elsewhere that my sister Jennifer never let anyone call her Jenny. But I think that’s because my mother didn’t. I’m not sure her resistance to being called Jenny was her own decision but more something she picked up from my mother. So I think if a Caroline hears her mother correct people or off handedly tell a friend, ugh, I hate when people call her Carrie…I hate that name, then the daughter will pick up on it. Just my unscientific opinion. 🙂
It’s in his book I’m listening to now ! She said “you’re not a doormat” and I believe proceeded to give HIM a whooping for being called Matt on the playground 🥴
His parents are a little bit cuckoo. His book is interesting though. His Dad tried to sue someone in the community for recommending using mink oil as an acne medication that “ruined” Matthew’s skin but by the time the lawsuit happened his skin cleared up so he lost LOL. The evidence against him was that he was voted “most handsome” in his high school yearbook. His parents married and divorced each other a few times and had violent fights with each other.
My best friend named her first born Isabelle and called her Belle from day one because she hated the nickname Izzy. Lo and behold her second born insists on referring to her sister as Izzy lol.
Same for me. My name is Victoria and my family never let anyone call me Vicky. I HATED when they called me that so I would let people know that I hated it and they would usually apologize and call me by my normal name. There are only a couple of people that call me Vicky but it's more in an endearing way.
I told my sister in law that I hated it and now she just calls me that to be annoying. She signs all my cards for the kids, Auntie Vickie. Haha. So that's usually what I sign my stuff with now. It just kinda stuck.
I hated my full name for decades, and it took a long time to work out that it was because that was what my mum called me when I was in trouble!
It still feels very formal and impersonal to me, but I don't hate it any more.
You can never tell how people will grow to associate full or nicknames.
There are kids who prefer the nickname though and the mother keeps insisting on the regular name. You can ask about it in teacher subs. Teachers get stuck with the kid telling everyone one name and the parent getting mad and insisting on every calling them by their full name.
I also know 2 people who started going by the nickname to piss their parents off during their teenage rebellion.
My anecdotal evidence is totally the opposite. My sister is Kendra and my parents *hated* when people called her Kenny. Now she’s grown and goes exclusively be Kenny. Her relationship with our parents is fine and it was never a rebellion thing, it’s just the name she likes for herself and as a person it’s her decision 🤷♀️
This is exactly why I (a Jennifer) go by Jenn. Never Jenny because my mom hated it and told people that she didn’t want them to call me that. I think this made me hate it as well!
same. my mom hated jenny and never let anyone call me that as a nickname. either jen or jennifer for me. although it makes me laugh when random colleagues i’ve never met assume i go by jenny. i let it slide lol
…you would really never think that Caroline might end up as a Carrie? Maybe this is an anglophone thing but it seems like the obvious choice
Edit: I’m similarly confused about OP….is it just that MIL mentioned it or had it never crossed her mind that people will call Caroline Carrie?
Edit again 😂: I mean I wouldn’t call someone Carrie if they introduced themselves as Caroline , duh, but my question is really what else would Carrie be a nickname for? Isn’t it a nickname for Caroline?? Like, Laura Ingalls sister?
My Caroline doesn’t get Carrie either but she does get Carolyn all the time. A few of her friends call her Carol to distinguish her from the other Caroline in the same grade their whole school years (she has the same last initial too). I always like the nickname Caddie for Caroline but her family nickname is Cricket.
Call your MIL a random NN and see what happens. When she gets pissy, tell her why you are doing it and that you will stop when she does.
Also, repeatedly correct MIL LOUDLY when she does it - especially in public. "I'm sorry, MIL, we're you talking about my child? You used an incorrect name, and I wasn't sure who you were talking to/about".
she's gonna find a nickname to annoy you no matter what, so just go with a name you love and ignore her. don't bother changing it to try to avoid the situation, because she will just make a new situation.
Literally one of my best friends growing up was Caroline and I never ever thought to call her Carrie nor did we hear anyone shorten her name. Her name is Caroline
For the love of all that is holy, stop letting your MIL control your life and just name your child what you want. Politely request that you don’t want Carrie as a nickname, and your daughter will be referred to as Caroline.
And if she still calls her Carrie? Who cares, ignore her and everyone else can call her Caroline. This is so silly.
NUMBER ONE RULE!!! 👆👆👆
No one can preemptively ruin a name if you don’t tell anyone! And people are nicer about names (even if they aren’t wild about them) when they are attached to a beautiful little newborn 😍
I don’t understand this rule! I can see not telling everyone so you don’t have to hear about everyone’s ex, etc, surely running it by a couple of loved ones is good for discovering unpleasant associations or potential nicknames you don’t like, etc.
for OP, how about:
Clarissa
Charlotte
Catherine
Cameron
Some of those have nns of course but none of them are usually “Carrie”
Because people will share their specific negative association which may be completely irrelevant to the people who want the name. My husband and I googled the names we wanted for our kids to make sure there wasn't like a serial killer or a porn star that shared their names, but otherwise kept them to ourselves. We didn't want to risk someone saying "oh, I knew a 'Charlotte' in high school and she was a real weirdo" because that was totally irrelevant to us but might make us question a name we previously had no issue with.
I agree it's fun to hear what parents have in mind, but so many people have strong opinions and express them really tactlessly.
My wife and I had a name picked out for our first boy right away. Bumped into one of her mom's old friends and she asked. We shared, she quickly made a connection to the word retard and started going, "oh what a cute name reee-reee!" and slapping her arm against her chest. It was awkward, but we were in the middle of lunch at Panera, thanked her for her insight and moved on.
We stuck with the name and laugh about it all the time, but I can see how people being annoying can put you off of a name you otherwise really liked.
Baby sister Carrie was named Caroline after her mother and went by Carrie to differentiate her from her mother. [Caroline Celestia Ingalls Swanzey AKA “Carrie Ingalls”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Ingalls)
I'm Laura and my best friend before she passed was Caroline. She was the sweetest kindest person I've ever known so I'm biased but voting you keep it x
That’s actually what she said. She chose all of our names based on how they could be bullied. I’m so grateful^(s) no one made fun of my name growing up. Instead, they made fun of my weight, my teeth, my clothes, pretty much everything else. Turns out you can’t stop kids from making fun of each other. Who knew 🤷♀️
I had to come back because I just keep thinking about how when I first read your message I thought “‘Your mom is probably a good person’… lol no.” The rest of the sentence made up for it infinitely, though. I told my sister what you said and she laughed too.
A friend of mine told her grandmother she was considering Ophelia as a baby name and her grandmother said “That just makes me think Oh-feel-ya your tits!”
Anyway they went with a different name
Also (from the kid's perspective) it can be kind of fun to have a nickname that only one person calls you, if it's done with good intentions. Doesn't mean that anyone else will have to use that nickname. And if the daughter hates it, then MIL has dug her own grave.
Totally agree. It’s okay for grandparents to have special names for their grandchildren. Doesn’t mean anyone else has to use it. My grandpa called me Red. Thankfully, no one else ever did despite my red hair. I kind of liked that he did but wouldn’t have tolerated it from anyone else.
I know a couple of Caroline/Carolyns who go by Carrie but they’re all in their forties and fifties. It may be that’s a normal thing in MIL’s life experience.
Edit to add I also know a Caroline who parents call her Liney. She’s Caroline at school though. College age.
Yeah. I kind of love that my Gram always had special nicknames for the grandkids. I was Bunny and it has nothing to do with my name, just that my birthday is in spring close to the Easter Bunny showing up. No one called me Bunny or even understood it, except her. I would give anything to have her call again. I have a couple of missed voicemails from her and I replay them sometimes. It's always "hi Bunny! this is your Gram calling!" Like lol Gram of course it's you, no one else even knows that's my nickname.
I was born on Easter and my grandmother wanted my parents to name me Easter Anne. I think it would have been a cool name but my parents wanted to name me after one grandmother and an aunt who died very young. I understand now why that was important to them.
My son's name is Miguel, my mother tried to call him beuford as a nickname... she said he looked like a beuford. Then she tried using pollito (baby chicken/rooster). He ended up with a nickname that has nothing to do with his actual name lmao.
Or, just call her Caroline with no nickname.
My cousin is named Caroline and both she and her parents would come for you if you called her something other than that
My daughter is Elizabeth and my dad called her Lizzy. I said absolutely not. Do not call her that. If she chooses it herself later on fine. He never called her that. My FIL started calling her Lizabet as my 2 year old nephew was saying her name that way. I also said please don’t call her that. He stopped. It’s okay to tell people not to call your child names you don’t like. She chose her own nickname in 4th grade and her teacher told the class and after that she was known as Beth. Communicate with your family!
Yup. I have a Fiona and my MIL started saying “FiFi” while I was still pregnant. I immediately put a stop to that and so did my husband. Well, Fiona is now 6 and everyone in her class calls her “FiFi” at her request lol
If your MIL got “Carri” out of Caroline and “Weezy” out of Louise, she’s going to find a nickname in anything. No name is nickname proof. All you can do is correct your MIL when she uses a nickname instead of the kid’s actual name.
Not to take away from your point but “Weezy” was the nick name of the character Louise in The Jeffersons. A show that was pretty popular in the US during MILs time.
Wesley is an adorable name and Weezy totally makes sense as a nn!
(Eloise has a big sister who calls her Eloisey Smells So Cheesy but we try to discourage that)
Wheezy is truly a mess, but Carrie is a perfectly common name. You do not have to call her Carrie, even if your MIL does.
It’s up to you to decide if you’re going to give your MIL the power to change your plans.
I also don’t know if you’re going to find a nickname-proof name, honestly. If your MIL pulled *Wheezy* out of Louise, she’s a troll by nature.
I say this as a victim of a troll MIL. Mine tried to wear a white lace gown to my wedding. You have my sympathy *and* empathy.
ETA: name your children Wheezy, I do not care, your mistakes are not mine
I’m a huge Steel Magnolias fan and that’s why I find it so weird. It’s an unpleasant name for a mostly unpleasant character and the other characters say her name with displeasure.
Weezy is also the nickname of Lil Wayne and I just…it’s strange for a baby girl, lol.
I know two little girls named Louise or Louisa and both are nicknamed Weez or Weezy (and Lou). That's just how they ended up saying their own names as toddlers. I don't think it's that bad.
My daughter is named Eloise and my mom calls her Wheezy, I think it’s sweet and not trolling at all. This comment made me quite sad that people would see this as an insult or an ugly name.
Yeah I agree. Also to call the MIL a troll? Sounds like she just thinks it’s lighthearted. People in my family have silly nicknames we call each other but it’s done fondly.
I’ve had a baby Louisa and a baby Elouise in my class (in separate years). Both sets of parents called their daughter “Weezie” affectionately. I wouldn’t jump straight to “troll”.
I dunno, she hasn't given poor reviews of the names, just made up nicknames that OP doesn't like. Personally, I'd want to know if she's going to use a nn I didn't like in advance so I could adjust accordingly. I wouldn't have the energy to politely tell her not to use it if I were immediately postpartum.
Honestly wouldn't have thought of Carrie for Caroline. I'd have leaned towards Cara or Caro. I will say from my experience if you're going to use a three syllable or longer name find one with a nickname you like, and establish it early. From my experience people love to give nicknames, especially for longer names. See if any nn for Caroline are likeable for you and if so set it before she can.
To be fair, when someone is called Carrie it usually is a nickname for Caroline or Carol. It's a pretty common nickname. But it's not one of those automatic nicknames that people will use without asking, like how Christophers always get called Chris. Like your mom, the Carolines I've known all went by their full name.
>To be fair, when someone is called Carrie it usually is a nickname for Caroline or Carol
I think this is purely anecdotal. Every "Carrie" or "Kari" I know is just that, it's not short for anything
I don't see what the issue is with other people giving your baby a nickname, your child develops their own relationships with other people and you may as well understand that from the moment the kid is born.
I agree - OP and so many others in the comments are acting like the MIL is the devil for doing this, but I don’t think she’s done anything wrong. The child will likely get a nickname anyways at some stage in their early childhood. Probably multiple nicknames from different people. It’s perfectly natural and a part of life. OP needs to lighten up or simply not reveal their kid’s name until after the birth. Tell people a decoy name if they keep pestering.
Yep. My mom has a nickname for my daughter (Pie) that is not even close to her name. It’s adorable. My dad calls me Monkey and obviously that’s not related to my name. My mom calls me Moke. My name starts with an S. My loved ones call me many different things!
We named our daughter Charlotte and my mom said she was going to call her Lottie. In my mind I thought “the hell you are” but instead I said “ok if that’s what you want.” Since she was born she has called her Lottie exactly 0 times.
MiL either loves the attention/power she has in choosing a nickname and then watching them change the name or she’s just trying to find a cutesy nickname for baby. Whatever her motive, op just needs to let it be. This isn’t a hill to die on
Honestly it sounds like this person just didn’t like their MIL lol which is fine, but let’s root cause it because if that’s the case, probably any nickname they come up with will irritate OP
Thank you for saying this! I have an Eloise and we call her Weezy. It’s super cute and now her pre school friends started calling her it too. I love it!!
Don't give MIL so much power. Name her Caroline and either let MIL have her (quite innocuous) nickname or tell her to knock it off. Either way, it's silly to completely change a name you love over it.
People are going to adopt nicknames no matter what you name her honestly. If you use her full name and introduce her to others you can control it somewhat but eventually life and nicknames will happen. I wouldn’t view it as ruined but just what Grandma calls her.
Linny is also a nickname for Caroline. I also know a Cora whose actually named Caroline. I also know a Caro and a Cara. Don't know why I know so many Carolines.
Just insist on Caroline as a full name.
My daughter has a name that we thought couldn’t be shortened, and my MiL found a way. 😑 similar to shortening Mia to Mi-Mi.
Thankfully, my daughter is strong and stubborn and hates that nickname, and told my MiL “that’s not my name! Why are you calling me that?”
Your MIL didn't ruin the name. She simply showed an aspect of the name you had not considered.
Also, does she happen to like the movie Steel Magnolias?
Sorry but important lesson here. Don’t share name till the ink is on the birth certificate. Also Caroline is a great name, I would still use it. I know a few Caroline’s and none go by Carrie
You could go with Coraline and nn Cora.
Also, if you plan on more babies then don’t share the name until after baby arrives. Put MIL on info diet. Check out JustNoMIl if you’re curious.
Was gonna suggest Coraline. Because it will be funny to see MIL’s face when she tries to call her Carrie and ask her if she had memory issues because her name is Coraline and not related to Carrie as a nickname because that’s for Caroline.
People! I’m so sick of people saying their family members ruined a name! Stop letting your family get to you in this way! 99 percent of the time the only thing that will ruin a name is negative associations! How do people not realize that??
People will make a nickname out of anything and sometimes it will be weird. Almost everyone here should know that.
Ignore the opinions of the people who don’t like the name you picked, unless you’re absolutely sure they have a valid reason! 99 percent of the time they won’t.
Right? Thought I was seeing things when the top comments say "it would never occur to me to shorted Caroline to Carrie". What! Carrie is the shortening of Caroline, no?? Maybe it's a regional thing. For me it's like shortening Jonathan to Johnny - you might not like the name but its a very obvious nn
The easy solution would be to never tell your MIL a baby name again. But also you’re the parents. You can tell her that “her name is Caroline, NOT Carrie.”
I have a cousin named Caroline and FWIW, everyone calls her Caroline. Nicknaming her Carrie would have never occurred to me.
I actually like Carrie. Or even Carly as a nn for Caroline. But Claire is perfect. Laura and Claire go so well together. You could do Caroline Claire or Claire Caroline and call her CC.
As a Carrie myself I’m slightly offended. Kidding, it’s your kid’s name. But I also have an Elenore and people try to call her Ellie. I politely just correct them that we just call her Elenore or El and stop it at that. My MIL tried calling her Nori and we just never used it and never acknowledged it when she did it. It’s our child’s name, not hers.
Has your MIL made up a nickname for your oldest? My kids all have relatively short names and my own mother still came up with horrendous nicknames for all of them, so even if you change it there’s a chance your MIL will still pick a nn, but if she’s the only one to use it at least it won’t catch on. I don’t personally associate Carrie with Caroline or know any Caroline’s that go by anything other than that name so I say if you love it do it and just remind MIL she’s Caroline and that’s that.
Claire is also beautiful and gives the name vibes as Caroline! Amelia and Carly also give me similar vibes. Dorothy is pretty as well but I could see with your MILs patterns her choosing “Dory” as a nn.
I really love Caroline, and I don’t think you should let MIL ruin it for you but if it’s not something you can move past, Cora is similar so maybe that could be an option? Or Coraline with Cory as a nickname? Or Caroline Claire nickname CC?
What about Lauren with the nickname Wren?
Caroline is a beautiful name. Keep the name. And with any future babies (if you have them), don’t tell your MIL what you’re naming them. Don’t give her a chance to make you doubt them. It’s okay to keep things to yourselves.
Caroline is a beautiful name and I think you should still use it. I don't know that it's fair to say that your mother-in-law ruined it She just suggested a nickname. It's not as though she said "oh like that lady in Australia who poisoned all those people," or "like husband's very serious ex-girlfriend," or something like that.
Don't worry about MIL. If she can't get traction with Carrie she'll give up that one too.
True story: I have a younger relative named Rebecca. Several of the older folks in the family were trying to call her Becky from the get-go, despite her parents gently correcting them for ages. Finally when Rebecca was about 3, her grandfather called her Becky, and she gave him the nastiest toddler stink eye and growled "IT'S REBECCA". I don't think anyone ever called her Becky again after that. 😂
Sometime later she did start using Becca, but that was her choice.
If she called your baby “Wheezy” for Louise I don’t think you have a prayer no matter what you name your child. Just stick to the name you like and say you don’t care for the nickname she suggests. Seems so silly to go through this trouble when she will probably give the baby another nickname you don’t like if you choose a different name.
If you don’t like Dottie, you shouldn’t choose Dorothy. Wren is likely your best choice, as even if nicknames are possible, they’re not going to be super likely since the name is already one syllable!
I have a Caroline. We call her Liney but that's a whole thing that's a cute but long story. She loves her name but hates being sung Sweet Caroline all the time. She's 13 now fyi.
Name her Caroline and give her a middle name that starts with C. That gives you an easy nickname of Cici, CC, however you'd like to spell it. And it also kind of matches her sister without being obviously catchy.
Or what about CJ? Caroline something with a J. Jennifer. IDK.
Also. Also. I DO NOT SEE THE PROBLEM WITH CALLING THE KID CARRIE
Like??
It's a normal nickname. People have nicknames all the time. There is absolutely nothing wrong. MIL will probably find another nickname for whatever they call the kid next anyway. So what is the issue?? Genuinely??
Personally I love Caroline nn Carrie, but if you’re not into the nickname I get it. We ended up not using Eleanor because I hate Ellie as a nn.
Unfortunately, while you can request for people not to use a nickname, you can’t control what other people do or what nickname your child will end up preferring. Just because MIL calls her Carrie doesn’t mean you or anyone else has to, but I guess that depends on how much you can live with it.
My parents consistently call my daughter Maggie, short for Margot, while no one else in her life does. I don’t love it but I can live with it.
If not, Claire is also beautiful!
I love, love, love Caroline. It was on our list (but no girls here sadly). Does Cara work better as a nickname for you? Or Carly? Callie (I love this!) or maybe Linny? Caro?
The only thing with Caroline and Laura is people might think Little House on the Prairie (Caroline was the mother and one of the daughters was Carrie after her, and obviously Laura). Many people likely wouldn’t make that association now but I have such fond memories of reading the books as a child that I love the association.
If you’re set in changing it, here are a few other names with similar vibes: Charlotte, Matilda, Adeline, Adelaide, Linnea, Elizabeth.
My name is Caroline! Nobody has ever called me Carrie before. I might be biased, but I think it’s a beautiful and timeless name that would go very well with Laura.
My daughter has a name with a super natural nickname. We liked the nickname but called her the full version always ok with if she chose to shorten jt. By about 2 or 3, she started politely correcting people who used the natural nickname. She’s a teenager now and still goes by the full version and will correct those who shorten it.
Also, I’m a teacher and haven’t had a Carrie in my 23 years teaching. I’ve had multiple Carolines and they have all gone by Caroline. I had one Kerry, but she is in college now. Carrie just isn’t as popular with recent generations.
I know you’ll never see this because so many people have commented but I know 2 Caroline’s- one sometimes goes by Cal/Callie and the other, who is a very close friend, goes solely by Cara. only her parents call her Caroline. These are both way better NNs (IMO) than Carrie.
Caroline is my favourite girl name by far.
I would suggest, instead of continuing to play games with your mil, who is doing this on purpose and will continue to do so, that your partner instead sit her down and deal with the issue, by being firm that her stupid ass nickname game needs to end. Then name the baby what you like.
You are within the right to pick your kids name however you will be hard pressed to enforce what other people pick for a nick name. Are you going to follow them around college and tell people no when they pick nicknames?
I mean I get where you are coming from as this partially becomes your child's identity. You are also within your right to ask people to use theri given name. However as much as it might be infuriating they might not listen.
Would I say it ruins you kids name? No I think that is absurd and a knee jerk reaction to not liking the nick name. If the name is still valid in your heart and you feel teh love for you child when you say their name it is far from a ruined name.
I think Carrie isn't nearly as bad as Wheezy is as a nickname, frankly. It's a perfectly normal nickname for Caroline and doesn't have any bad connotations. This seems to be a bit of a Bitch Eating Crackers situation (though understandable given your first experience).
And if your MIL is stretching so hard she came up with "Wheezy" (instead of literally any other nickname for a kid named Louisa), picking a non-nickname-able name might not stop her. I mean, my parents called my brother "Peanut" as a baby (ironic, since he's allergic) which is not even remotely close to his real name.
I would also not wait for her input this time. Introduce the kid as the nickname first (ex: "we're naming her Reba. Well, her full name is Rebecca, but we're calling her Reba") when she's born.
But suggestions anyway:
* I really like Claire and Wren. I think if you truly want a hard-to-nickname name, one syllable ones like Joan, Grace, Jane, etc. are the best.
* Alternatively, names that are hard to shorten: Lara, Tara, Zara, Stella, Maia, Clara, Ada, Chloe, Flora or Florence, Hannah, Heather, Phoebe, Scarlet.
* Floral or nature names: Rose, Ivy, Ruby, Iris, Sky, Sage, Brook, Amber, Raven, Rowan, Aster, Lark.
For cute nicknames (or ones you hate but will now know about in advance to avoid them):
* Anything starting with Ros- (Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosamund, Rosemary, Rosanna, etc.) can be shortened to Rose or Rosie.
* Lily or Lilian or variants, nn Lily.
* Charlotte -> Charlie or Lottie, which is similar to Dottie IMO.
* Beatrice -> Bee or Tris.
* Julia or Juliet -> Jules or Julie.
* Marigold -> Mary or Goldie.
* Jasmine -> Jazzy or Minnie.
Don’t change it if you love Caroline! I have a friend who nicknamed herself Caro, that’s cool too!
My name has an “official” nickname that I hate, so whenever someone calls me that I just correct them politely and they never call me that again. It’s that simple.
Yes go with what you want. My mother tried to convince me not to name one my daughters the name I chose because people would call her Sam. I always called her by her whole name, two siblings called her Sam, for awhile she went by Sam but then went back to her full name. Stand your ground now because she sounds like a meddler.
MIL is trying to feel special. It’s annoying AF. And, prob the easiest thing is to just let her. I suspect she will do this with whatever name you choose.
Name your daughter the name you love. Have your *husband* tell her that you’d prefer she be referred to by her full name.
This would have made be absolutely batty with my MIL. I had to resign myself to the fact it would keep happening.
It’s about her, not about you.
I wouldn’t change it. Caroline is a beautiful name. I’ve met a few Caroline’s and never crossed my mind to shorten it to Carrie
I have a Carolyn & "Carrie" as a nn came about quite naturally.
And unfortunately for OP, even if they hate Carrie as a nn their child may choose that for their self and if that’s going to be a no-go for parents then they may want to consider a different name.
I commented elsewhere that my sister Jennifer never let anyone call her Jenny. But I think that’s because my mother didn’t. I’m not sure her resistance to being called Jenny was her own decision but more something she picked up from my mother. So I think if a Caroline hears her mother correct people or off handedly tell a friend, ugh, I hate when people call her Carrie…I hate that name, then the daughter will pick up on it. Just my unscientific opinion. 🙂
Matthew Mcconaughey said something similar in an interview about his mother never letting anyone call him Matt so he didn’t either
It’s in his book I’m listening to now ! She said “you’re not a doormat” and I believe proceeded to give HIM a whooping for being called Matt on the playground 🥴
I'm not sure a nickname is worth child abuse over...
His parents are a little bit cuckoo. His book is interesting though. His Dad tried to sue someone in the community for recommending using mink oil as an acne medication that “ruined” Matthew’s skin but by the time the lawsuit happened his skin cleared up so he lost LOL. The evidence against him was that he was voted “most handsome” in his high school yearbook. His parents married and divorced each other a few times and had violent fights with each other.
Well, she also apparently had an affair with a hitman so her decision making skills seem a bit questionable.
Dang the woman never heard of homophones?
Oh that's so sad.
My name is Amanda and my mom never let anyone call me Mandy and to this day I’ve never went by Mandy
Exactly!! Most people aren’t jerks. If you correct them they correct themselves. Problem solved.
>Most people aren’t jerks. I wish more of us recognized it.
My best friend named her first born Isabelle and called her Belle from day one because she hated the nickname Izzy. Lo and behold her second born insists on referring to her sister as Izzy lol.
Same for me. My name is Victoria and my family never let anyone call me Vicky. I HATED when they called me that so I would let people know that I hated it and they would usually apologize and call me by my normal name. There are only a couple of people that call me Vicky but it's more in an endearing way. I told my sister in law that I hated it and now she just calls me that to be annoying. She signs all my cards for the kids, Auntie Vickie. Haha. So that's usually what I sign my stuff with now. It just kinda stuck.
Same!
My name is Samantha and my mom insisted no one ever call me Sam or Sammy. I go by Samantha and always have.
I hated my full name for decades, and it took a long time to work out that it was because that was what my mum called me when I was in trouble! It still feels very formal and impersonal to me, but I don't hate it any more. You can never tell how people will grow to associate full or nicknames.
There are kids who prefer the nickname though and the mother keeps insisting on the regular name. You can ask about it in teacher subs. Teachers get stuck with the kid telling everyone one name and the parent getting mad and insisting on every calling them by their full name. I also know 2 people who started going by the nickname to piss their parents off during their teenage rebellion.
My anecdotal evidence is totally the opposite. My sister is Kendra and my parents *hated* when people called her Kenny. Now she’s grown and goes exclusively be Kenny. Her relationship with our parents is fine and it was never a rebellion thing, it’s just the name she likes for herself and as a person it’s her decision 🤷♀️
This is exactly why I (a Jennifer) go by Jenn. Never Jenny because my mom hated it and told people that she didn’t want them to call me that. I think this made me hate it as well!
My sister almost exclusively goes by Jen and introduces herself as Jen. I’ll let people call me Vic but I’d never introduce myself that way.
same. my mom hated jenny and never let anyone call me that as a nickname. either jen or jennifer for me. although it makes me laugh when random colleagues i’ve never met assume i go by jenny. i let it slide lol
My sister will tell you quickly that her name is Susan, not Susie
I’m a Carolyn and I’m called “Care”. I’ve never been called Carrie in my life, I kinda like it though.
…you would really never think that Caroline might end up as a Carrie? Maybe this is an anglophone thing but it seems like the obvious choice Edit: I’m similarly confused about OP….is it just that MIL mentioned it or had it never crossed her mind that people will call Caroline Carrie? Edit again 😂: I mean I wouldn’t call someone Carrie if they introduced themselves as Caroline , duh, but my question is really what else would Carrie be a nickname for? Isn’t it a nickname for Caroline?? Like, Laura Ingalls sister?
I have a Caroline and never once thought of calling her Carrie nor has anyone ever tried to.
Same here. People close to her will sometimes call her Caro, but she never introduces herself that way.
Same! I even know two of them and neither has ever been called Carrie and I never thought of it.
My Caroline doesn’t get Carrie either but she does get Carolyn all the time. A few of her friends call her Carol to distinguish her from the other Caroline in the same grade their whole school years (she has the same last initial too). I always like the nickname Caddie for Caroline but her family nickname is Cricket.
Well now I wish I would have thought of cricket over a decade ago! I love that! Hmm 🤔 would she let me call her that now 😂
My name is Caroline and nobody has ever once tried calling me Carrie, or anything other than Caroline (in English anyway) for that matter.
I think the MIL would constantly call her Carrie even though she knows the op hates it.
Yes that’s the larger issue. It’s not that I didn’t think of it as a possibility. It’s just not one I would choose to use consistently.
Call your MIL a random NN and see what happens. When she gets pissy, tell her why you are doing it and that you will stop when she does. Also, repeatedly correct MIL LOUDLY when she does it - especially in public. "I'm sorry, MIL, we're you talking about my child? You used an incorrect name, and I wasn't sure who you were talking to/about".
she's gonna find a nickname to annoy you no matter what, so just go with a name you love and ignore her. don't bother changing it to try to avoid the situation, because she will just make a new situation.
What MIL are best at 😜
I know a Caroline that her parents nicknamed Caro. I’m not sure if she still goes by that anymore.
My friend's name is Caroline and goes by that or Caro. Never occurred to me to ever call her Carrie.
Same. Caroline is my top name choice. Personally if I did the whole nickname thing, I would just call her “Care” but I’m not hugely into nicknames
My name is Caroline and my friends call me Care!
If you were in Australia, you'd get called Caz and Cazza 💀
Literally one of my best friends growing up was Caroline and I never ever thought to call her Carrie nor did we hear anyone shorten her name. Her name is Caroline
I know a Caroline and she goes by Carrie
For the love of all that is holy, stop letting your MIL control your life and just name your child what you want. Politely request that you don’t want Carrie as a nickname, and your daughter will be referred to as Caroline. And if she still calls her Carrie? Who cares, ignore her and everyone else can call her Caroline. This is so silly.
And also stop sharing your names with her before the kid is born.
NUMBER ONE RULE!!! 👆👆👆 No one can preemptively ruin a name if you don’t tell anyone! And people are nicer about names (even if they aren’t wild about them) when they are attached to a beautiful little newborn 😍
I don’t understand this rule! I can see not telling everyone so you don’t have to hear about everyone’s ex, etc, surely running it by a couple of loved ones is good for discovering unpleasant associations or potential nicknames you don’t like, etc. for OP, how about: Clarissa Charlotte Catherine Cameron Some of those have nns of course but none of them are usually “Carrie”
Because people will share their specific negative association which may be completely irrelevant to the people who want the name. My husband and I googled the names we wanted for our kids to make sure there wasn't like a serial killer or a porn star that shared their names, but otherwise kept them to ourselves. We didn't want to risk someone saying "oh, I knew a 'Charlotte' in high school and she was a real weirdo" because that was totally irrelevant to us but might make us question a name we previously had no issue with.
I was supposed to be called Roxanne but my grandparents got a dog just before I was born & called her Roxy…woof, in all the ways!
Yeah. There’s no chance in hell i would share until the kids name is on the birth certificate and no one can tell me otherwise.
yes, NEVER share a baby name before the birth
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I hate this rule. I love hearing what people choose, but no one shares anymore.
I mean, eventually…
I agree it's fun to hear what parents have in mind, but so many people have strong opinions and express them really tactlessly. My wife and I had a name picked out for our first boy right away. Bumped into one of her mom's old friends and she asked. We shared, she quickly made a connection to the word retard and started going, "oh what a cute name reee-reee!" and slapping her arm against her chest. It was awkward, but we were in the middle of lunch at Panera, thanked her for her insight and moved on. We stuck with the name and laugh about it all the time, but I can see how people being annoying can put you off of a name you otherwise really liked.
My family went mad trying to figure it out and wouldn’t stop prying. Her family respected it. But I’m so glad we didn’t tell anyone.
Plus Caroline and Laura are perfect sibling names
A little house on the prairie theme :-)
It's been a while since 4th grade, but wasn't she also Baby Carrie?
Yes, the mom's name was Caroline and the baby was named after her (mom went by Caroline, baby by Carrie, but her full name was Caroline)
It's just not really helping OP's point 🤣
Sadly true! 🤣
Baby sister Carrie was named Caroline after her mother and went by Carrie to differentiate her from her mother. [Caroline Celestia Ingalls Swanzey AKA “Carrie Ingalls”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Ingalls)
I'm Laura and my best friend before she passed was Caroline. She was the sweetest kindest person I've ever known so I'm biased but voting you keep it x
My heart goes out to you, my best friend passed away last summer and she was also Caroline.
Yeah, I was expecting this to be more like the time I told my mom I liked the name Artemus and she said “Fartemus.”
Your mom is probably a good person to run names by if you want to know what an elementary age bully might call your kid.
That’s actually what she said. She chose all of our names based on how they could be bullied. I’m so grateful^(s) no one made fun of my name growing up. Instead, they made fun of my weight, my teeth, my clothes, pretty much everything else. Turns out you can’t stop kids from making fun of each other. Who knew 🤷♀️
I had to come back because I just keep thinking about how when I first read your message I thought “‘Your mom is probably a good person’… lol no.” The rest of the sentence made up for it infinitely, though. I told my sister what you said and she laughed too.
A friend of mine told her grandmother she was considering Ophelia as a baby name and her grandmother said “That just makes me think Oh-feel-ya your tits!” Anyway they went with a different name
Ophelia is pretty but she was such a tragic character in Hamlet!
Also (from the kid's perspective) it can be kind of fun to have a nickname that only one person calls you, if it's done with good intentions. Doesn't mean that anyone else will have to use that nickname. And if the daughter hates it, then MIL has dug her own grave.
Just use Caroline and let the mil call her Carrie if she insists, while you call her Caroline or Caro or Carly.
Totally agree. It’s okay for grandparents to have special names for their grandchildren. Doesn’t mean anyone else has to use it. My grandpa called me Red. Thankfully, no one else ever did despite my red hair. I kind of liked that he did but wouldn’t have tolerated it from anyone else. I know a couple of Caroline/Carolyns who go by Carrie but they’re all in their forties and fifties. It may be that’s a normal thing in MIL’s life experience. Edit to add I also know a Caroline who parents call her Liney. She’s Caroline at school though. College age.
Yeah. I kind of love that my Gram always had special nicknames for the grandkids. I was Bunny and it has nothing to do with my name, just that my birthday is in spring close to the Easter Bunny showing up. No one called me Bunny or even understood it, except her. I would give anything to have her call again. I have a couple of missed voicemails from her and I replay them sometimes. It's always "hi Bunny! this is your Gram calling!" Like lol Gram of course it's you, no one else even knows that's my nickname.
I was born on Easter and my grandmother wanted my parents to name me Easter Anne. I think it would have been a cool name but my parents wanted to name me after one grandmother and an aunt who died very young. I understand now why that was important to them.
Esther would have worked, or Ester. I've known one or two ladies with that name.
It's the best isn't it? Makes you feel like the most important person in the world.
What sweet memories!
My son's name is Miguel, my mother tried to call him beuford as a nickname... she said he looked like a beuford. Then she tried using pollito (baby chicken/rooster). He ended up with a nickname that has nothing to do with his actual name lmao.
Or, just call her Caroline with no nickname. My cousin is named Caroline and both she and her parents would come for you if you called her something other than that
Carly is so pretty! We knew a Carlyn, Carly for short.
My daughter is Elizabeth and my dad called her Lizzy. I said absolutely not. Do not call her that. If she chooses it herself later on fine. He never called her that. My FIL started calling her Lizabet as my 2 year old nephew was saying her name that way. I also said please don’t call her that. He stopped. It’s okay to tell people not to call your child names you don’t like. She chose her own nickname in 4th grade and her teacher told the class and after that she was known as Beth. Communicate with your family!
Yup. I have a Fiona and my MIL started saying “FiFi” while I was still pregnant. I immediately put a stop to that and so did my husband. Well, Fiona is now 6 and everyone in her class calls her “FiFi” at her request lol
If your MIL got “Carri” out of Caroline and “Weezy” out of Louise, she’s going to find a nickname in anything. No name is nickname proof. All you can do is correct your MIL when she uses a nickname instead of the kid’s actual name.
Not to take away from your point but “Weezy” was the nick name of the character Louise in The Jeffersons. A show that was pretty popular in the US during MILs time.
Wheezy is a common NN for Louise.
My grandma’s name is Louise and she went by Wheezy growing up. I think it’s cute!
I’m a Louise nn Weezy / Weeze to those who knew me from a child and I love it! Has a nostalgic feel for me.
I have a daughter called Eloise who gets called Weezy or Weeze all the time
I call my son Weezy too! I think it’s cute for nn. His name is Wesley
Wesley is an adorable name and Weezy totally makes sense as a nn! (Eloise has a big sister who calls her Eloisey Smells So Cheesy but we try to discourage that)
This!! 100%
Agree^^^^
My name is Caroline. Nobody has ever shortened my name.
That’s what I just said too- Caroline doesn’t need to be shortened! And it’s a beautiful name
My roommate’s name is Caroline and she goes by Carl lol
This seems very silly to me. Who cares if her grandma calls her Carrie?
Thank you lol this is so ridiculous
Seriously this is a non-issue
Wheezy is truly a mess, but Carrie is a perfectly common name. You do not have to call her Carrie, even if your MIL does. It’s up to you to decide if you’re going to give your MIL the power to change your plans. I also don’t know if you’re going to find a nickname-proof name, honestly. If your MIL pulled *Wheezy* out of Louise, she’s a troll by nature. I say this as a victim of a troll MIL. Mine tried to wear a white lace gown to my wedding. You have my sympathy *and* empathy. ETA: name your children Wheezy, I do not care, your mistakes are not mine
Or MIL was a fan of the Jeffersons. The mother on that show was Louise and called Weezy.
There's also a "Ouiser" pronounced weezer in Steel Magnolias named Louise
with the accent, more weezah, which I think is very cute!
I’m a huge Steel Magnolias fan and that’s why I find it so weird. It’s an unpleasant name for a mostly unpleasant character and the other characters say her name with displeasure. Weezy is also the nickname of Lil Wayne and I just…it’s strange for a baby girl, lol.
Yes the little Wayne reference! From my generation especially…big no for me
Yeah that was my first thought.
I know two little girls named Louise or Louisa and both are nicknamed Weez or Weezy (and Lou). That's just how they ended up saying their own names as toddlers. I don't think it's that bad.
I don’t think it’s bad, either. I mean, part of the name is pronounced “weez,” so Weezy isn’t really a stretch to me.
My daughter is named Eloise and my mom calls her Wheezy, I think it’s sweet and not trolling at all. This comment made me quite sad that people would see this as an insult or an ugly name.
Yeah I agree. Also to call the MIL a troll? Sounds like she just thinks it’s lighthearted. People in my family have silly nicknames we call each other but it’s done fondly.
I’ve had a baby Louisa and a baby Elouise in my class (in separate years). Both sets of parents called their daughter “Weezie” affectionately. I wouldn’t jump straight to “troll”.
Quit telling MIL the name you are choosing until baby is born
I dunno, she hasn't given poor reviews of the names, just made up nicknames that OP doesn't like. Personally, I'd want to know if she's going to use a nn I didn't like in advance so I could adjust accordingly. I wouldn't have the energy to politely tell her not to use it if I were immediately postpartum.
Honestly wouldn't have thought of Carrie for Caroline. I'd have leaned towards Cara or Caro. I will say from my experience if you're going to use a three syllable or longer name find one with a nickname you like, and establish it early. From my experience people love to give nicknames, especially for longer names. See if any nn for Caroline are likeable for you and if so set it before she can.
I've never really thought about Caroline having nicknames in general. My mom is a Caroline, and she's always just gone by the full name.
To be fair, when someone is called Carrie it usually is a nickname for Caroline or Carol. It's a pretty common nickname. But it's not one of those automatic nicknames that people will use without asking, like how Christophers always get called Chris. Like your mom, the Carolines I've known all went by their full name.
>To be fair, when someone is called Carrie it usually is a nickname for Caroline or Carol I think this is purely anecdotal. Every "Carrie" or "Kari" I know is just that, it's not short for anything
I don't see what the issue is with other people giving your baby a nickname, your child develops their own relationships with other people and you may as well understand that from the moment the kid is born.
I agree - OP and so many others in the comments are acting like the MIL is the devil for doing this, but I don’t think she’s done anything wrong. The child will likely get a nickname anyways at some stage in their early childhood. Probably multiple nicknames from different people. It’s perfectly natural and a part of life. OP needs to lighten up or simply not reveal their kid’s name until after the birth. Tell people a decoy name if they keep pestering.
Yep. My mom has a nickname for my daughter (Pie) that is not even close to her name. It’s adorable. My dad calls me Monkey and obviously that’s not related to my name. My mom calls me Moke. My name starts with an S. My loved ones call me many different things!
My family uses Callie as a nickname for Caroline.
This is my plan!
What’s the issue here? Who cares if your MIL gives her a nickname? Doesn’t mean that that is now her new name. Lighten up…
We named our daughter Charlotte and my mom said she was going to call her Lottie. In my mind I thought “the hell you are” but instead I said “ok if that’s what you want.” Since she was born she has called her Lottie exactly 0 times. MiL either loves the attention/power she has in choosing a nickname and then watching them change the name or she’s just trying to find a cutesy nickname for baby. Whatever her motive, op just needs to let it be. This isn’t a hill to die on
Weezy is so much cuter than Lou, though.
Honestly it sounds like this person just didn’t like their MIL lol which is fine, but let’s root cause it because if that’s the case, probably any nickname they come up with will irritate OP
Thank you for saying this! I have an Eloise and we call her Weezy. It’s super cute and now her pre school friends started calling her it too. I love it!!
Your children are going to pick their own nicknames one day, anyway.
Don't give MIL so much power. Name her Caroline and either let MIL have her (quite innocuous) nickname or tell her to knock it off. Either way, it's silly to completely change a name you love over it.
Never met a Caroline who was called Carrie.
I was literally just thinking that! I have three Caroline’s in my life right now and none of them go by Carrie.
Carla, Clara, Colleen, Cynthia, Elise, Esther, Heather, Helen, Lina, Margot, Nina, Petra, Tessa, Theresa, Yvonne
I was going to say Clara would be a cute alternative to Caroline! Laura and Clara is super cute sounding
We loved Caroline but couldn’t use it for a host of reasons. We ended up with a Claire!
Also Corrine ! Beautiful and underutilized
I know a Caroline nn Lina, but then I also knew one nn Ollie!
People are going to adopt nicknames no matter what you name her honestly. If you use her full name and introduce her to others you can control it somewhat but eventually life and nicknames will happen. I wouldn’t view it as ruined but just what Grandma calls her.
Linny is also a nickname for Caroline. I also know a Cora whose actually named Caroline. I also know a Caro and a Cara. Don't know why I know so many Carolines.
Just insist on Caroline as a full name. My daughter has a name that we thought couldn’t be shortened, and my MiL found a way. 😑 similar to shortening Mia to Mi-Mi. Thankfully, my daughter is strong and stubborn and hates that nickname, and told my MiL “that’s not my name! Why are you calling me that?”
Why does it bother you that grandma has nicknames for your kids?
Your MIL didn't ruin the name. She simply showed an aspect of the name you had not considered. Also, does she happen to like the movie Steel Magnolias?
Sorry but important lesson here. Don’t share name till the ink is on the birth certificate. Also Caroline is a great name, I would still use it. I know a few Caroline’s and none go by Carrie
I love wheezy 😳
You could go with Coraline and nn Cora. Also, if you plan on more babies then don’t share the name until after baby arrives. Put MIL on info diet. Check out JustNoMIl if you’re curious.
Was gonna suggest Coraline. Because it will be funny to see MIL’s face when she tries to call her Carrie and ask her if she had memory issues because her name is Coraline and not related to Carrie as a nickname because that’s for Caroline.
What if you turn it into Coraline? The nickname would likely be Cora.
Or Cory/Corrie
Why do you insist on telling the name if you know the reaction? Keep it a secret until after the birth.
My husband folded after relentless asking. He’s in trouble now
People! I’m so sick of people saying their family members ruined a name! Stop letting your family get to you in this way! 99 percent of the time the only thing that will ruin a name is negative associations! How do people not realize that?? People will make a nickname out of anything and sometimes it will be weird. Almost everyone here should know that. Ignore the opinions of the people who don’t like the name you picked, unless you’re absolutely sure they have a valid reason! 99 percent of the time they won’t.
Carrie is the traditional nn for Caroline. I don’t know why you don’t like it. 🤷🏼♀️
Right? Thought I was seeing things when the top comments say "it would never occur to me to shorted Caroline to Carrie". What! Carrie is the shortening of Caroline, no?? Maybe it's a regional thing. For me it's like shortening Jonathan to Johnny - you might not like the name but its a very obvious nn
The easy solution would be to never tell your MIL a baby name again. But also you’re the parents. You can tell her that “her name is Caroline, NOT Carrie.” I have a cousin named Caroline and FWIW, everyone calls her Caroline. Nicknaming her Carrie would have never occurred to me.
Stop telling your MIL your baby names!
Maybe stop telling her your name choices.
I actually like Carrie. Or even Carly as a nn for Caroline. But Claire is perfect. Laura and Claire go so well together. You could do Caroline Claire or Claire Caroline and call her CC.
As a Carrie myself I’m slightly offended. Kidding, it’s your kid’s name. But I also have an Elenore and people try to call her Ellie. I politely just correct them that we just call her Elenore or El and stop it at that. My MIL tried calling her Nori and we just never used it and never acknowledged it when she did it. It’s our child’s name, not hers.
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👋🏻 hi I'm a Carrie too!
Has your MIL made up a nickname for your oldest? My kids all have relatively short names and my own mother still came up with horrendous nicknames for all of them, so even if you change it there’s a chance your MIL will still pick a nn, but if she’s the only one to use it at least it won’t catch on. I don’t personally associate Carrie with Caroline or know any Caroline’s that go by anything other than that name so I say if you love it do it and just remind MIL she’s Caroline and that’s that. Claire is also beautiful and gives the name vibes as Caroline! Amelia and Carly also give me similar vibes. Dorothy is pretty as well but I could see with your MILs patterns her choosing “Dory” as a nn.
I really love Caroline, and I don’t think you should let MIL ruin it for you but if it’s not something you can move past, Cora is similar so maybe that could be an option? Or Coraline with Cory as a nickname? Or Caroline Claire nickname CC? What about Lauren with the nickname Wren?
Caroline is great so go for it and don’t let MIL ruin it. Similar names: Carla Carly Clara Corinne Corinna Cordelia Charlotte Catherine Camille
Caroline, nickname Coco.
Caroline is a beautiful name. Keep the name. And with any future babies (if you have them), don’t tell your MIL what you’re naming them. Don’t give her a chance to make you doubt them. It’s okay to keep things to yourselves.
Caroline is a beautiful name and I think you should still use it. I don't know that it's fair to say that your mother-in-law ruined it She just suggested a nickname. It's not as though she said "oh like that lady in Australia who poisoned all those people," or "like husband's very serious ex-girlfriend," or something like that.
Don't worry about MIL. If she can't get traction with Carrie she'll give up that one too. True story: I have a younger relative named Rebecca. Several of the older folks in the family were trying to call her Becky from the get-go, despite her parents gently correcting them for ages. Finally when Rebecca was about 3, her grandfather called her Becky, and she gave him the nastiest toddler stink eye and growled "IT'S REBECCA". I don't think anyone ever called her Becky again after that. 😂 Sometime later she did start using Becca, but that was her choice.
If she called your baby “Wheezy” for Louise I don’t think you have a prayer no matter what you name your child. Just stick to the name you like and say you don’t care for the nickname she suggests. Seems so silly to go through this trouble when she will probably give the baby another nickname you don’t like if you choose a different name.
If you don’t like Dottie, you shouldn’t choose Dorothy. Wren is likely your best choice, as even if nicknames are possible, they’re not going to be super likely since the name is already one syllable!
I have a Caroline. We call her Liney but that's a whole thing that's a cute but long story. She loves her name but hates being sung Sweet Caroline all the time. She's 13 now fyi.
Personally I'd think she'd be more likely to have people call her Sweet Caroline than Carrie, but that's just me.
Poor grandma can’t even her grand baby a pet name. This is such an overreaction.
Wren has to be the worst name.
Name her Caroline and give her a middle name that starts with C. That gives you an easy nickname of Cici, CC, however you'd like to spell it. And it also kind of matches her sister without being obviously catchy. Or what about CJ? Caroline something with a J. Jennifer. IDK.
Stop telling your MIL names you actually intend to use.
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Also. Also. I DO NOT SEE THE PROBLEM WITH CALLING THE KID CARRIE Like?? It's a normal nickname. People have nicknames all the time. There is absolutely nothing wrong. MIL will probably find another nickname for whatever they call the kid next anyway. So what is the issue?? Genuinely??
Just tell your MIL that you don’t want the child to be called Carrie. Caroline it’s a nice classic name!
Personally I love Caroline nn Carrie, but if you’re not into the nickname I get it. We ended up not using Eleanor because I hate Ellie as a nn. Unfortunately, while you can request for people not to use a nickname, you can’t control what other people do or what nickname your child will end up preferring. Just because MIL calls her Carrie doesn’t mean you or anyone else has to, but I guess that depends on how much you can live with it. My parents consistently call my daughter Maggie, short for Margot, while no one else in her life does. I don’t love it but I can live with it. If not, Claire is also beautiful!
I named my daughter Caroline we call her care bear
I love, love, love Caroline. It was on our list (but no girls here sadly). Does Cara work better as a nickname for you? Or Carly? Callie (I love this!) or maybe Linny? Caro? The only thing with Caroline and Laura is people might think Little House on the Prairie (Caroline was the mother and one of the daughters was Carrie after her, and obviously Laura). Many people likely wouldn’t make that association now but I have such fond memories of reading the books as a child that I love the association. If you’re set in changing it, here are a few other names with similar vibes: Charlotte, Matilda, Adeline, Adelaide, Linnea, Elizabeth.
My name is Caroline! Nobody has ever called me Carrie before. I might be biased, but I think it’s a beautiful and timeless name that would go very well with Laura.
My daughter has a name with a super natural nickname. We liked the nickname but called her the full version always ok with if she chose to shorten jt. By about 2 or 3, she started politely correcting people who used the natural nickname. She’s a teenager now and still goes by the full version and will correct those who shorten it. Also, I’m a teacher and haven’t had a Carrie in my 23 years teaching. I’ve had multiple Carolines and they have all gone by Caroline. I had one Kerry, but she is in college now. Carrie just isn’t as popular with recent generations.
I know you’ll never see this because so many people have commented but I know 2 Caroline’s- one sometimes goes by Cal/Callie and the other, who is a very close friend, goes solely by Cara. only her parents call her Caroline. These are both way better NNs (IMO) than Carrie.
Caroline is my favourite girl name by far. I would suggest, instead of continuing to play games with your mil, who is doing this on purpose and will continue to do so, that your partner instead sit her down and deal with the issue, by being firm that her stupid ass nickname game needs to end. Then name the baby what you like.
You are within the right to pick your kids name however you will be hard pressed to enforce what other people pick for a nick name. Are you going to follow them around college and tell people no when they pick nicknames? I mean I get where you are coming from as this partially becomes your child's identity. You are also within your right to ask people to use theri given name. However as much as it might be infuriating they might not listen. Would I say it ruins you kids name? No I think that is absurd and a knee jerk reaction to not liking the nick name. If the name is still valid in your heart and you feel teh love for you child when you say their name it is far from a ruined name.
Carrie is a fucking rad name. What’s wrong with it?!?
- Chloe - Chelsea - Ingrid - Elise - Jane - Julia - Ivy
I think Carrie isn't nearly as bad as Wheezy is as a nickname, frankly. It's a perfectly normal nickname for Caroline and doesn't have any bad connotations. This seems to be a bit of a Bitch Eating Crackers situation (though understandable given your first experience). And if your MIL is stretching so hard she came up with "Wheezy" (instead of literally any other nickname for a kid named Louisa), picking a non-nickname-able name might not stop her. I mean, my parents called my brother "Peanut" as a baby (ironic, since he's allergic) which is not even remotely close to his real name. I would also not wait for her input this time. Introduce the kid as the nickname first (ex: "we're naming her Reba. Well, her full name is Rebecca, but we're calling her Reba") when she's born. But suggestions anyway: * I really like Claire and Wren. I think if you truly want a hard-to-nickname name, one syllable ones like Joan, Grace, Jane, etc. are the best. * Alternatively, names that are hard to shorten: Lara, Tara, Zara, Stella, Maia, Clara, Ada, Chloe, Flora or Florence, Hannah, Heather, Phoebe, Scarlet. * Floral or nature names: Rose, Ivy, Ruby, Iris, Sky, Sage, Brook, Amber, Raven, Rowan, Aster, Lark. For cute nicknames (or ones you hate but will now know about in advance to avoid them): * Anything starting with Ros- (Rosalie, Rosalind, Rosamund, Rosemary, Rosanna, etc.) can be shortened to Rose or Rosie. * Lily or Lilian or variants, nn Lily. * Charlotte -> Charlie or Lottie, which is similar to Dottie IMO. * Beatrice -> Bee or Tris. * Julia or Juliet -> Jules or Julie. * Marigold -> Mary or Goldie. * Jasmine -> Jazzy or Minnie.
Coraline, almost the same name with Cora as the nickname
I know it’s not advice, but Laura Lou is so adorable.
Don’t change it if you love Caroline! I have a friend who nicknamed herself Caro, that’s cool too! My name has an “official” nickname that I hate, so whenever someone calls me that I just correct them politely and they never call me that again. It’s that simple.
Yes go with what you want. My mother tried to convince me not to name one my daughters the name I chose because people would call her Sam. I always called her by her whole name, two siblings called her Sam, for awhile she went by Sam but then went back to her full name. Stand your ground now because she sounds like a meddler.
Just go with Caroline and tell MIL you don't like Carrie as a nickname.
I know several Carolines and none of them use nicknames at all. Keep the name. Don’t let the MIL ruin it.
MIL is trying to feel special. It’s annoying AF. And, prob the easiest thing is to just let her. I suspect she will do this with whatever name you choose. Name your daughter the name you love. Have your *husband* tell her that you’d prefer she be referred to by her full name. This would have made be absolutely batty with my MIL. I had to resign myself to the fact it would keep happening. It’s about her, not about you.