A five-year-old girl has convinced her parents to legally change her real name to the nickname she prefers. But giving someone an unexpected epithet can come fraught with problems
etermined things come in small packages. A five-year-old from Michigan who steadfastly rejected her name all her life has finally won her battle, convincing her parents to legally change it as a birthday present. In a now viral social media post, Amanda Biddle announced that she and husband, Dan, were giving in, and letting their daughter officially become what they have always called her instead – her nickname.
“She’s hated her name since she could talk,” Amanda said. “If we ever called her ‘Margaret’ she would instantly say, ‘I’m not Margaret. I’m Maisie.’ She has always rejected the name Margaret despite my attempts at warming her up to it by turning it into a song that I always sang, and saying it at times when I would want her attention or if she’s being a stinker.”
Clearly this is a victory for stinkers everywhere, but it also reiterates the power of the nickname.
They are a separate category from the pet name, which is shared only between couples, and sometimes unrecoverable from if it becomes public knowledge. (I’ve never felt quite the same about a friend after accidentally seeing a note on her fridge addressed to Little Minxy Moo.) A nickname, conversely, is often widely adopted, and when it works well, can sometimes make you briefly forget what the recipient is really called. Would the Spice Girls have conquered the world without the iconic gift of Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Posh and Baby?
