A baby name expert says parents should remember "we're naming adults, not children" before choosing a shortened 'nickname' as a first name. Jessica Paquette, 22, thinks it's "important" to think about giving your child a formal name - and not just a nickname so they have "more options" later in life.
When discussing names, she uses photos of adults - not babies - next to the names because then "if it sounds silly then it probably is silly". Jessica says she would use the more formal name in situations such as weddings and job applications, allowing the nickname to be used in more social situations.
She shares her thoughts on her TikTok page, where people ask her for help with naming their children. Jessica, a social media manager, said: "I don't necessarily think every parent should do it, but I think it's important to at least think about it.
"This is a little stranger that you don't know yet and you're making decisions about how society perceives them. 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."
Jessica has always had an interest in names and decided to create a page dedicated to naming. She said: "When I was in high school we would talk about baby name lists - I was obsessed.
"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. I think if you put a name next to a picture of an adult and it sounds silly then it probably is silly.
"I think we need to be putting as much thought in as possible, it's important." 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.
"I think it would have made me feel smaller, I really appreciated having a longer name that my boss could refer to me to as."
Although many nicknames have in themselves now become names, Jessica says people still seem to ask what a name might be short for. 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 his middle name should be Jacob, assuming that's the long form of his name. I get so many requests for full names for nicknames like Tilly, Connie or Millie.
"People are using very masculine names for girls now and want feminine nicknames to go with it. I think people are moving towards as seeing their kids who have their own personality and being able to have an option of both names gives them more autonomy as a person.
"I think the Jacob shift happened in the 90s and people began using Jake. He gets called Jacob the most from other people who have Jacob's in their lives.
"I think genuinely people think he's put his nickname on his resume. He says to me 'part of me wants to write Jacob on my resume' - so people don't ask what his full name is. Most of the people that question it are from those who are 10 years and up older than us."
Jessica - who is pregnant with her first child - is planning to name her baby with a name that doesn't have a nickname. She said: "I don't think every name needs to have a nickname.
"My child's name won't have a nickname possibility. However, my friend Abbie, I have only ever called her Abbie her entire life and suddenly she's getting married as an 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.
"My main goal if anything, is for people to take an extra second to think about it."
