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Jake Meeus-Jones & Jacob Rawley

Baby name expert advises against nickname titles as we're 'naming adults, not kids'

Short names are commonplace nowadays, with Scotland's latest figures having Leo as the third most popular name for boys and Millie as the fourth most popular for girls.

And while these names can be used as shortened versions of Lionel and Amelia, an expert has warned against informal names which could impact a child when they grow up.

Baby name expert Jessica Paquette, 22, points out that you have to think about your child as an adult, in situations like weddings and job applications.

The social media manager from Nashville, Tennessee, US, said: "First impressions are very real, whether we like it or not, and giving them an option to sound as formal as they like, is desirable in my opinion.

"I would hate to give my baby a name that could hinder any path they want to go down. We have to think about their whole lifespan and how a name impacts them.

"Maybe the nickname you love doesn't feel right to them and they might have more options with a full name. I think it has a better scope on naming children."

The expert urges people to keep in mind how their name might sound down the line in important events like a wedding (Getty Images)

Jessica - who is expecting her first child - has always had an interest in names and decided to create a page dedicated to naming.

She said "I would watch people talk about it and the southern baby name content creators were different to other parts of the US. So, I created my own, it started as an outlet as people my age didn't want to talk about baby names, why would they?

"But my first three videos got like two million views. So, I carried on and I made a video saying we are naming adults, not babies after being asked why I use pictures of adults not babies."

From her own experience, Jessica believes if her shortened nickname 'Jessie' was used at work it would have made her feel "smaller".

Jessica said: "I worked in the Silicon Valley tech region initially and just to even be a female in that space, it's a lot. I received so much backhanded stuff already just for being a young female in the industry and if I'd used a nickname, I think it could've intensified that."

Jessica also points out that nicknames have become names in themselves, pointing to the name of her baby's father.

She said: "You'd think that people wouldn't ask so much in 2023 but I'm naming my child right now and people say his middle name should be Jacob like his dad but that's not even his father's name - it's Jake.

"I've had over 20 people tell me his middle name should be Jacob, assuming that's the long form of his name.

Jessica is planning to give her baby a name that doesn't have a nickname at all. She said: "I don't think every name needs to have a nickname."

The social media creator added: "However, my friend Abbie, I have only ever called her Abbie her entire life and suddenly she's getting married as Abigail.

"And I'm like 'this sounds silly' but it was the most formal and it felt so beautiful to me and that reinforced everything.

"Think about your child in every possible major life scenario, if there's ever a time it doesn't sound right, maybe think about that."

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