The Chinese have a saying, "The much-loved child has many names". I was reminded of this, recently, when discussing the names we've used in our family and I wonder if you do the same. This is what I mean:-
My first name is Catherine but I've always been Cath or Cathie - except my eldest brother often called me Kate, my dad would sometimes call me Katya, Katrina or - Whacker!, my 2nd brother called me (honestly) Blurp and my mother had a habit of referring to me, when I was small, as Bunty (God knows why - Bunties are amply proportioned - I was as thin as a rake.
) My brothers also had about 5 names each.
My own children are
Joanne [Jo-Jo; Joey; Jonah; Jay; Jago and Dan]
Alan [Al; Ali; Lou (?); Lash and Tink.]
Nicola [Nik; Nikki; Nixie; Nickertipoos and Neenee]
and my grandchildren are
Peter [Pete; Peter Potter; Pierre (by my late husband); Pedro and Spud]
Laura [Laur; Lausie; Laur-laur; Elsie (her initials are L C) and Wawah (what she said for Laura when she was 2)]
I find it natural to give pet-names (even our late dog had about 6 and so has the cat) but I know some people hate it. What about you?