Help me pretend to look professional

I am at a point where I need to get business cards at work.  I am the person in our department that normally attends interagency meetings for events and emergencies and at these meetings there are usually a few people that ask for contact info.  The problem I'm having is that i have been called Wally my entire life by everyone I know. Family, co-workers, etc, and it's how I introduce myself.  My legal name is Wallace, It appears on my license, pay stub and almost nowhere else.  I put Wally on my card order and was told I should think about changing it. I have no formal business education so I may be missing something but is there a good reason why they should not have the name I use on them?  Going through cards I've collected from others it seems to be fairly evenly divided over full names and nicknames.   

I’ve gone by Duke my entire professional life. My given name is George but that is only on my legal documents and credit cards. My business cards, work email, and everything else says Duke. 

I’d go with Wally on the cards and not worry about it. 

I've been out of the business card game for a while, but back in the day the GM Fleet guys I dealt with used to have their names rendered as "W. J. (Wally) Smith," or whatever.  Would that work? 

Stealthtercel said:

I've been out of the business card game for a while, but back in the day the GM Fleet guys I dealt with used to have their names rendered as "W. J. (Wally) Smith," or whatever.  Would that work? 

I like this one.

Generally business cards should be who you want to be perceived as, rather than who you “are” to your colleagues.  I’d go Wallace and introduce yourself as you please.  Full disclosure, I am a corporate weenie in professional terms.

I dont see a problem with Wally if thats the name you use. Not doing it would be like Gene Simmons having cards made out with Chaim Witz on them instead of what name he uses.

Plus if you put Wallace on your card, everyone that sees that is gonna call you Wallace and youll have the "i go by Wally" conversation over and over, depends on how annoyed you would be by that

I’d put wallace

then as your title put gromit caretaker

Our CFO has his name as Name “Wally” Name

the “Wally” is an even sillier name than Wally, a mispronunciation of his last name. This is a Fortune 500 Company. 

Antihero said:

Plus if you put Wallace on your card, everyone that sees that is gonna call you Wallace and youll have the "i go by Wally" conversation over and over, depends on how annoyed you would be by that

Maybe, maybe not.  My name is James.  I always go by James.  I introduce myself as James.  My email and email signature are James.  I am constantly running into men who INSIST on calling me Jim.  I have never referred to myself as Jim.   I correct to James and they still call me Jim.  Women never do it.  It seems to be especially bad with guys who wear pleated khakis, polos and have mustaches .  

Wally said:

I put Wally on my card order and was told I should think about changing it. 

By whom? Any good reason to listen to them?

FWIW, if you do want Wallace in there, the thing mentioned above where a nickname/commonly-used-name is given in quotes between first and last is pretty well established.

Actually, it causes me minor consternation because my middle name (Ransom) is also my most common nickname, and primary name with a lot of folks. So it belongs listed between first and last, but it would be weird to give it the quotes that would indicate it as a nickname...

Stealthtercel said:

I've been out of the business card game for a while, but back in the day the GM Fleet guys I dealt with used to have their names rendered as "W. J. (Wally) Smith," or whatever.  Would that work? 

I like this approach. Unless you want people to suddenly start calling you Wallace I would put Wally on the cards and not worry about it.

Suspicious quotes are suspicious. Don’t use quotes. Use parentheses if you go that route. 

It’s good to know there’s no set rule that I’d be breaking. The people giving advice don’t have any more education on this than I do so I didn’t put a whole lot of stock in their opinions. I like the initial idea. I wonder if I could get

W.B. (Wally) Miller

Caretaker of Grommet 

on a card.  

So far no one has said anything about my profile:

In reply to logdog :

My dad was James and he was always Jim, Jimmy, or Jimbo but really never James.  

My sister named her son James and he stayed James forever and never Jim.  Now that he is 30 years old he’s always James.  Bring an annoying uncle I used to ask when he’s going to start going by Jim. 

Duke said:

Suspicious quotes are suspicious. Don’t use quotes. Use parentheses if you go that route. 

Quotes are badly abused in modern communication, but my impression is that they are the convention for nicknames inserted into full names.

I confess I'm having trouble finding a concise source I really want to link. There's this, but I obviously wouldn't call it definitive. I found a reference to the Associated Press stylebook, but all I've got is a reference to a reference (see the first segment under the answer's Discussion section).

Go with your name. If someone is trying to tell you your name isn't professional enough, they need their own "professionalism" evaluated.

Wally said:

It’s good to know there’s no set rule that I’d be breaking. The people giving advice don’t have any more education on this than I do so I didn’t put a whole lot of stock in their opinions. I like the initial idea. I wonder if I could get

 

W.B. (Wally) Miller

Caretaker of Grommet 

on a card.  

 

So far no one has said anything about my profile:

Senior Vice-President in Charge of Toilet Paper and Tampons?

I like to have William on my cards and such even though I go by Bill.  That way, any time I get a caller that calls me William, I immediately know that they don't know me.  Or that it's my mom and I'm in serious trouble.

I call my self Joe.  My friends and family call me Joe.   My business cards read Joe, instead of Joseph.   Go by your name, if someone has a problem with that, it is their problem, not yours.

Or you could put Steve on the cards---- just for a change! 

Now may be the opportunity to give yourself the nickname you always wanted.  Can you put something cool like "Hambone" on the card? 

Take this for what it's worth because I work in the Arts, but I put my nickname on my cards because it is how I want to be called.  I think the days of formality are slowly fading.  It makes sense to me to use the name you wish to be called.  I have a board member who always goes by "Rocky."  That's what is on his card.  He's a township supervisor.  His real name is Gerald.  So if I get a card from him that says "Gerald" on it, how do I remember what to call him?  Gerald?  Jerry?  Gary?  G-money?

Wallace (freedom) Miller?

Committee for a Free Scotland and French Ambasador

William (Bill) Prescott Esq. Miller Jr?

CEO, Wild Stallions Inc.

No?

I think your old forum tag would be fitting, Wall-E

Get a manicure.

If you're inclined to wear open-toed shoes, get a pedicure also.  Nobody wants to look at a bunch of gnarly toenails.  Very unprofessional.

My business cards and my work email are both T.J. (well actually my email address is TJ without the dots).

My grandfather (was) and my dad (is) are both Toms. I've been a T.J. my entire life because my Mom didn't want me to be called little Tommy. Just think, I could've gone into the autoparts business. If someone calls me Tom, it is strange and sometimes I don't recognize that they are talking to me at first.