...BUT YOU CAN CALL ME "COOL"

Was thinking about names this morning. Ran into a person at work who had a name and shortened it in a certain way. The following name is changed to protect the innocent...

Say for example though that you had the name Anabelle. Instead of shortening your name to be Ana/Anna/Anne/Ann, you decide to shorten it to Belle. Doesn't this seem at the very least a bit big-headed or arrogant? It's like if my name was Bryancool, but please, just call me Cool. I guess I have no problem with people who have a lot of self-confidence, but having a name that is a positive adjective just seems over-the-top, especially when there are reasonable alternatives.

I think one can't avoid this phenomenon when it comes to most languages other than English though. Everyone's name means something, that's unavoidable. Granted, my name has some kind of meaning too, but I always thought it as bullshit so that companies could make birthday cards with something unique printed.

Now I have to sit here and think about all of my friends' names and determine whether I have offended anyone. Sorry about that my good friends Jonisarcasmo and Ronfacetious.