and while an adult *can* legally choose to change their name
many don't want to offend their parents by doing so. or (in my
case anyway) the parents think the given name is perfectly
good & refuse to use the changed name. i just dropped my first
name, which i loathe, & use my middle name, which is nice,
short & androgynous since neither of my parents use *their*
first names, i claim to be standing on family tradition
lee

I find even when I want to use my Full first name most people want to
shorten it anyway and in a way I don't shorten it. My name is Victoria
which my mom shortened to Tori. If I introduce myself as Victoria
people ask me if I go by Vicki.. Not that I ever got the logic of that.
It is like when I was pregnant with Xavier and people asked me if I
would call him Bill or Will because his middle name is William.

Tori