Genealogy /
Is Rafal a Polish Name? [56]
Yeah, there are many methods... e.g.:
[full name - short form]
Aleksandra - Ola
Olga - Ola :)
Alicja - Ala
Alina - Ala
Aldona - probably also Ala, but I haven't met any girl called Aldona... only in Machulski's comedy "Kilerów 2-óch" Aldona presented herself as... "Dona" (?). :)
Jerzy - Jurek
Stanisław - Staszek, Stach, Staś
Gustaw - Gucio (as in my case :))
Jan - Jaś, Janek, Jasiek
Włodzimierz - Włodek
Władysław - Władek
Bogumił - Boguś
Ryszard - Rysio, Rysiek
Anna - Ania
Joanna - Asia
Magdalena - Magda, Madzia
etc., etc....
Some names are almost never shortened (unless we want to make them really tender, for example, when calling a baby, or our beloved...), such as Marek, Leszek (Leszek is also a short form of Lech, but that's a different name), Mariusz, Janusz, Paweł, Robert, Marta, (we don't have any Bob :)) and many other names.
Ah, I think diminutives are versions of names which not only make them shorter, but also show that we know the person well, he/she is our friend, family member etc... But doesn't the shortened form have the same features? :(
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutive DEFINITION FROM WIKIPEDIA