It works that way for me, too, Peter. Any phone caller who asks for "Liz" will get an immediate hangup. I was Betty for my kids when they were little, too. Nobody could ever come up to them and say "Mommy says to come with me." Twice, though, friends (both women) took to calling me Bettina in private conversation. It was a sorta pet name, and felt comfortable and warm.

Naming a child is a hard thing, and it was especially hard with my twins. For one thing, I expected girls. ;-) Virgil came by his name easiy, being smaller and looking like he'd been to hell and back. Harlan's name took a month to find (thanks to the nurses whispering "remember, you've got a month to officially name them''). The names work well for fraternal twins - same length, repeated vowel in the same place, but different. HOWEVER, Harlan was named for Harlan Ellison, not the motorcycle. He'll talk to people who call him Har, but he is not Harley. Virgil will answer to Virg without the baggage.