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Re: "Ada" as a Nickname
in reply to a message by Tiggs
I guess if, in your experience, people named Adelaide often get called Ada, then it would seem natural to you. I can only speak for myself. I'm not offering my opinion just to put down the idea. I'm offering it because presumably at least some people share it, and one might wish to know about that if one were naming a child. Maybe I'm in a tiny minority.The trouble I have is that the origin of Ada from Adelaide has been sort of lost, and I think of Ada as an independent name not an affectionate nick, and the -a ending isn't the usual form of more-familiar variants or diminutives in English. I think Adelaide was originally AH-delaide and Ada was Ah-da, and both names seem to me like they would have come separately from another language. It doesn't seem likely to me that the AY in Ada derived from the AID part of Adelaide. The nickname doesn't come associated with the name, like Bess from Elizabeth does. I feel Sally for Sarah is very artificial today, as well. Peggy has been tied to Margaret for so long that the naturalness of it has been lost, but if you know that Peggy "is" a nick for Margaret (as I do) it comes off more natural to you. I'd understand if someone said they thought Peggy for Margaret was artificial. I have never seen Ada as a "nickname" for Adelaide, so it's not natural to me. :-)
- mirfak
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I can't say I've ever known an Adelaide personally, much less heard of one called "Ada". I think your point is valid and I certainly didn't take your comment as an effort just to put down an idea. But "Ada" does actually sound natural to my ear, despite having no real-life example to offer and despite it being a well-known stand-alone name. Presumably, some other folks in the world might hear it/feel it as I do, too. Perhaps I ought to have addressed my comment directly to the OP. My apologies if you felt attacked; wasn't my intention. :)

This message was edited 4/15/2015, 2:19 PM

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Thanks, and sorry, I don't think it was you. I'm really irritable lately.I think it's likely most people would agree with you that it works. I guess it only counts when there's actually a person named that way, though.
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