Nicknames

[TheBigDog]

Everyone has had at least one they love, and at least one they hate. Here on the internet you get to make up your own. This thread is dedicated to the discussion of the linguistic phenomena known as Nicknames.

 

When I was a kid my parents called me "Willie Lump-Lump". Cute when you are four, but something you want to hide for a few years in the middle of your life. I am comfortable enough to fess up to it now.

 

When I was in the 4th grade I got a crew cut, which was very much out of style in 1978, and I was know as "The Bald Eagle". It was not a name used out of respect for our national symbol.

 

Later in life I lived in a virtual sea of nicknames while I worked at the amusement park. Almost everyone I knew, I knew by their nickname, not their given name. To this day I always refer to my best friend as "Shag" (short for Shaggy - a nickname for a nickname). At one all the guys at the part were given meat nicknames. I was JB (Just Bone) because I was so skinny, and because of how thoroughly I eat chicken wings. Myh friends names included Scrapple, Pork Chop, Lamb Chop, T-bone, Chief Chicken Wing (chief for short), Roast Beef, Ham-bone, Sausage, Italian Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Polish Sausage... it seemed important at the time to have a "bone" or a "sausage" in your name ;).

 

During this same period I had one of my least favorite nicknames. "Ichabod" or "Ichy" for short. That always got under my skin.

 

One girl that worked at the park had the misfortune of throwing up at a party. She was know as "Mrs. Keebler" as in the Keebler elves for tossing her cookies for the next five years. There was "Doc" who had that nickname because he looked sleepy (seven dwarfs thing :D ) "Spock" was the guy who could do huge math problems in his head, always knew how much was in the pot no matter how ludicious the betting was during a poker game. "Snoopy" was the guy with a bigger nose than me - thank god there was one! "FF" for "Fat ****" is an FBI agent today. "Monkey Face" was less apt after she got her nose job, but I will never let her forget! "Screamin" could have been the model for Mimi on the Drew Carrie Show, without the makeup. I don't remember how "Precious" got his name, or "Slurp" for that matter. And of course there was always "Captain Queef" - my god he hated that name when he found out what it meant.

 

So, tell me your nickname stories, or history surrounding common nicknames. How does William become Bill? How does Richard become Dick? How does John become Jack?

 

Bill

[Boerseun]

My name is Henk, which is short for Hendrik. It's actually the Dutch version of the English Hank for Henry - but don't ask my how or why; I actually think the English is an emulation of the Dutch, seeing as the English don't have the 'k' at the end.

 

Thing is, I'm the youngest in my family, and when my sisters were going to school, I was still nappy-bound at home. So people referred to my sisters by name, and to me as 'the baby'. Which ended up with my mom and sisters starting to call me at first 'Henkie' (like Hanky), and then eventually adding the 'baby' bit, in a one-word 'Henkiebaby'.

 

I'm now a thirty-year old self-employed lump of a man, with grey sidies, not growing a goatee because my chin beard is now completely grey already, a couple of kilos overweight, a professional man who drive up and down keeping clients happy, impressing the bank manager, etc., and I'm still called 'Henkiebaby' by my family.

 

I've largely made my peace with it, but it has morphed into a couple of other forms, like 'Henkiebabes', 'Henkiebabe', 'Babes' or simply 'Babe'.

 

Whenever taking clients out for lunch or drinks, I make damn sure that none of my family are there. It kinda blows your professionalism out the water when someone shouts from the back 'Hey! Henkiebaby! Babes! Whatcha doin' here?' etc.

 

Don't let it get to you, though.

[Boerseun]

...but then my younger sister decided to start calling me 'Poepoldoos', which is about the nastiest thing you can be called. She even gave me an embroidered towel with the name on it last Christmas.

 

'Poepoldoos' is a concatenation of the Afrikaans 'poepol' and 'doos', 'poepol' being *******, and 'doos' being Afrikaans for the very offensive 'c' word.

 

My sister is very opinionated. But I much prefer Henkiebabes to Poepoldoos.

[Michaelangelica]

I just found this thread after yet another frustrated 'search'.

One good thing about the hypography poker-machine I mean search-engine

 

Almost everyone in Australia has a nickname.

It is almost always afectionate (except 'Bonsai'=little Bush, for PM Howard).

 

There is no way you can be called by your original name even if it is only one syllable.

So no mater what your name and you are an electrician you are called 'sparkey'

 

"ey" is added to almost anything.

First names second names etc.

The habit of putting a vowel on the end of a syllable extends to Australian nicknames, particularly those of men. A man whose given name is Thomas or whose family name is Thompson is likely to be called Thommo; David is often

Davo; John is Johnno. Men whose family name begins with Mac (as in Mcdonald) are often called Macca.

All things AUSTRALIAN

“Australians love nicknames. I think there’s a great deal of informality, a kind of friendly affection and that’s such an important part of Australian linguistics generally.”

Aussie nicknames :: ABC South Australia

The use of "nicknames" is very common in Australia. A nickname is not a person's real name but a name given by friends (usually) because of some physical characteristic or behaviour pattern, or it may be a contraction of a real name. Someone named Andrew, for instance, might be given the nickname, "Andy". Being called a nickname is not uncomplimentary; in fact, it is often a sign of acceptance and affection.

Australian customsUQ International - The University of Queensland Australia

 

A rude one?

http://www.beaututes.com/australian/6844-nicknames-common-items.html

I have a friend who called her second son Scott. When her toddler started lisping the new baby’s name as ‘Sock’ it immediately caught on among the grownups, except for his mother who through sheer force of personality demanded and got an end to the practice. In her presence, that is. Somehow I think ‘Sock’ will stick, but at the very least it’ll be ‘Scottie’, whatever his mother has to say about it.

 

And if Sock — er — Scott knows what’s good for him, he’ll wear whatever moniker he’s lumbered with without complaint, because to stand on one’s dignity in the matter of nicknames is to mark oneself out as a bit of a dag.

Ozzyisms

Any Ozzies out there that can help with some examples?

[sanctus]

I also had plenty of nicknames the funniest ones are:

1) "scopa" which in italian means both broom and something a bit more vulgar than ****. The reason was that I was about 12-13 and was letting grow my hair and someone said once that if you turn me around I look like a broom...But thanks to the double sense it was quite a cool nickname because I got the habit to answer "Not now, don't feel like it" (even if I didn't really know yet what I was talking about). The funny thing is also some girls called me that way.

 

2) For the same reason I got the nickname pecora abbreviated to pec which means sheep...still have a friend who calls me pec

 

3) In a scout camp we had a boiler which didn't work well and so I took a shower without noting that the boiler wasn't even turned on which gave me the nickname squimboiler abbreviated to squimby

 

4) Zucca which is the italian word for pumpkin but was a modification from zucchino which means courgette (the green longish vegetable, don't know if it is the right word in english) and is the way the people from the italian part of switzerland call the ones from the german and since I came from the german part...but it was never mean...

 

Still now number 1 is my favorite because it needed also some courage from the people calling you like that.

[Jay-qu]

I just found this thread after yet another frustrated 'search'.

One good thing about the hypography poker-machine I mean search-engine

 

Almost everyone in Australia has a nickname.

It is almost always afectionate (except 'Bonsai'=little Bush, for PM Howard).

 

There is no way you can be called by your original name even if it is only one syllable.

So no mater what your name and you are an electrician you are called 'sparkey'

 

"ey" is added to almost anything.

First names second names etc.

 

All things AUSTRALIAN

 

Aussie nicknames :: ABC South Australia

 

Australian customsUQ International - The University of Queensland Australia

 

A rude one?

http://www.beaututes.com/australian/6844-nicknames-common-items.html

 

Ozzyisms

Any Ozzies out there that can help with some examples?

I can give a few examples that 'aint above :)

 

Karren, Garreth - Kazza, Gazza

 

Carpenter - Chip/chippey

 

Even times of the day: afternoon - arvo

 

Service (Gas for you americans) station - servo

[sanctus]

Don't take it personal, but there is a thing I don't like about those Aussie nicknames: they are not really personal, i.e. everyone called A has the nickname which goes with A. I mean they are not personal, not linked to a personal story...I wonder do such other nicknames exist too?

[Jay-qu]

Don't take it personal, but there is a thing I don't like about those Aussie nicknames: they are not really personal, i.e. everyone called A has the nickname which goes with A. I mean they are not personal, not linked to a personal story...I wonder do such other nicknames exist too?

Haha yes, yes they do :Exclamati I know quite a few like that, but to explain them here may be both lengthy and inappropriate :Exclamati

[sanctus]

Well, Jay...you'are in holidays now= plenty of time no?

[Jay-qu]

plenty of time yes but some of the stories that go with the nicknames .. well I dont think the owners would want them splashed over the internet

[sanctus]

we don't know them...

Anyway today I heard another one: Emu for Emanuel and he gave it to himself (even knowing that an Emu is described in some dictionnary as "... rather stupid animal..."