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I'm even okay with not loving all of the nicknames but as long as I don't absolutely hate any of them. I think you need to be far more aware of this though if you plan to never use a nickname yourself, as my Aunt and Uncle did with Patrick. Pat and Paddy are both common nicknames. We already had a Paddy in our family given that my family had recently immigrated from Ireland, and even then Paddy was the less likely of the two options in Australia in the 80s and 90s. You're more likely to avoid an unwanted nickname if you get ahead if it by picking one yourself and I will likely do that with hypothetical kids because I'm a nickname kind of person. If you hate Allie or Alex for a girl and you choose Alexandra and then nickname her Lexi, I think you have a better chance of avoiding Allie and Alex than if you insist on her being always called Alexandra.

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I love Margaret and it's a family name and my favorite nickname is Greta. My great-grandma was Margaret "Madge" and I think Madge is revolting. But I'd be fine with Maggie or Meg, which are probably the most likely nicknames currently for Margaret. I don't love them but I'd get used to them. I also love the names Alexandra and Charlotte. For Alexandra, I'm lukewarm on Alex for a girl (I prefer it for a boy) and I hate Lexi, Lex, Allie etc. I just like Alexandra. I wouldn't take that gamble. I like just Charlotte. I am not a fan of Charlie or Lottie and Charlie is especially in vogue right now for Charlotte and I would not take that chance. I could deal with Lottie but I don't love Charlotte enough to even take the chance of Lottie when there are other names.