William -
Bill -- Completely agree.
William is nice enough without a nn, but I prefer
Will.
Edward -
Ed --
Ed just seems so dated, so I agree with that one.
Richard -
Dick -- One reason I would worry about naming a child
Richard (well, that and I don't particularly care for the name, anyways.)
James -
Jim -- I don't care for
Jim, but I don't see it as "awful".
Charles -
Chuck -- ditto for
Jim.
Frederick -
Fred -- reminds me of Scooby-Doo. Not one of my favorites.
Katherine -
Kathy --
Kathy seems very dated, IMO.
Isabelle -
Bella -- Actually,
Bella's one of my favorite names (by itself). So I quite like it.
Olivia -
Livvy -- I don't think
Olivia needs a nn, but I do prefer
Liv to
Livvy.
Penelope -
Penny -- I actually rather like
Penny, but can't stand
Penelope. Something about it rubs me the wrong way.
Rebecca -
Becky -- Much prefer the nn
Becca.
Susannah -
Sukie -- Just don't care for it.