In article , toypup says...

On Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:42:23 -0700, wrote:

Lee wrote:
did you mean to use Nicolas, Steven (Stephen) or Robert? i
certainly hope so, because actually naming the poor child with
a diminuative is unkind. it's hard enough to get along in the
adult world without being saddled with a 'baby nickname' as
your given name.

Mary laughs: WAAAAAAY true. In high school, my boyfriend sent a way to
get a copy of his birth certificate - and was flat out horrified his
parents had actually registered his name as "Ricky" instead of
Richard.
Probably seemed cute when he was a rolly polly bundle of joy, but not
so cute when he was grown up.

But if he wanted to go by Richard, why not? He could use it as his
nickname.

He could legally change his name, too! He could take some street name. Sure,
there's always some recourse.

But usually, it just doesn't work the way you suggest. Names can stick early,
and nicknames are used with some awareness that it's a nickname. Even if he
could manage what you suggest, your "Richard" will need to step up to receive
his high school diploma by the name "Ricky" nonetheless.

Banty