Hi Jenni,

I was wonder what you think of the name Skyley for a girl? It’s going to pronounce like skylee it just the spelling is different.

Stephanie V.

Dear Stephanie,

First, my name is Jennifer. And I’m not just correcting you, I’m making a point about diminutive names.  I, personally, don’t believe you should give diminutive names as formal names for a child. I define diminutive names as those that end in “ie” or “ee” for girls or “y” for boys, or names that started out traditionally as nick names.

I believe the child should have a choice in what nickname they choose.  So give them a choice of a formal name, i.e. Skylar, and then call her Skylee if you so choose during her childhood.

I used the nickname “Jenny” up and until I was about ten.  I  love the formal name Jennifer and it was more appropriate as I grew up and became a business owner.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.