Nick-Names

During my effort to organize and label our family photos for future generations, some have insisted I label the photos using only the person's nickname.  I will attempt to explain my reasoning here.  You may still disagree with my reasoning, and that's not a problem; but I do hope that you'll respect that I've thought out my approach to some of the unexpected difficulties in what seemed to be a simple labeling project.

1. Consistency across changing events.  See Reason #2 from my Maiden Names Post  It's helpful if all the photos for a person be labeled the same.  My baby boy is about to turn one year old.  He has a nickname now.  However, I could see that as an adult, he might not choose to go by that nickname.. he might find it a little babyish.  My adult son had a nickname as a child and he indeed outgrew it, but has a new nickname.  Bottomline, these nicknames change over time.
2. Future genealogists will likely not think of their ancestors by their nickname.  They will know them by the name on their records stored by the government, church, city, and schools.  To label the files with one name, but have the records display a different name, is a genealogists filing nightmare. 
3. Legal Name.  Bottom line, it wasn't and isn't their legal name!  If they legally changed their name, well, now, that's another matter.  That would fall into another post not yet written.  
4. Nick Name plus Legal Names - Space.  Some folks label photos with Nick Name plus Legal Name.  See Reason #5 from my Maiden Names Post. 
5.  Nick Name plus Legal Names - Speed.  See Reason #4 from my Maiden Names Post. 

I have carefully considered several options in how I label my photos and files with regards to Nick-Names.  Although there will be some who do not agree with me, I still feel this pattern works for my purposes.  I hope that this has helped you understand where I'm coming from, and what I'm trying to accomplish.  Thank you.