Kip becomes a more interesting Kaivon. I tried to imagine myself years down the line and being called Dan, and it didn't quite jell. So I thought I should use Daniel. I think Daniel is a more mature name. Over the recent winter holidays, though, Daniel, like many of his fellow name changers, found his new appellation deflated to Dan by his high school friends - proving that nicknames, like glue, stick.
Names declare our identity to all the world.
What We Call Ourselves and Why It Matters. Nicknames, too, bare souls. Birth names, on the other hand, mainly say something about the people who attach them. No wonder these young men and women, on the cusp of adulthood, give such thought to these matters. But when they graduate from high school, they should choose a first name and stick with it.