Now I haven't taken a survey but I would guess that the percentage of people who have or have had nick names is pretty high. There are family , school , friends and sport nick names to name a few. My last post was on given names and then I got thinking about nick names.
Now all of my family had family nick names. I was the first born and I was always called Grandpa or Grandfather by my Dad. I don't remember anybody else in the family calling me grandfather. My next brother was called Merce because some little guy, namely me, couldn't say Myrven. Other people in the community used this name. My sister was called Deen or Deeny because two little boys couldn't say Doreen. The fourth sibling was called Ditter because two little guys and one sister couldn't say Victor . My youngest brother was so much younger that he didn't suffer receiving a nick name caused by siblings who had problems pronouncing a name. Our mother did call him Dadid as his name was David. The Dadid probably comes from him not being able to say his own name when he was little.
I have a neighbor who is in his mid fifties. His nick name is Dirt. He's a twin and guess what? His twin brother couldn't quite say Stewart. The closest he came to it was Dirt.
High schools are great places for nick names. My high school nick name was Pop, Pa or Paa. See any connections to another nick name I had? I don't know where this nick name came from and I was always too afraid to ask. The skinniest guy in the class was Tub. The guy with an early peach fuzz mustache was called Shnir ( don't think this is spelled right) and it means mustache in German. Other nick names were from name alterations. Bergy came from Bergen. Remp came from Rempel.
As an adult I have had several names. The Eskimos called me Ehunga which means crooked mouth. It refers to my physical facial feature. When they got mad at me I was Ehungnaq. They would never tell me what this meant.
As a teacher , I know that most classes have a nick name for you and it's usually not discovered by the teacher. One I did discover was Slime. Did I say anything? No. I did not let on that I knew their secret? No.
As teachers we quite often played against school teams. I am not any kind of athlete, but I got the name killer in volley ball and it stuck for quite a few years. The sports world is full of nick names.
Nick names probably come on a very incidental basis from very small happenings. But love or hate your nick name you're stuck with it. Somebody who tries to fight a nick name they don't like is asking for trouble.
Fortunately most people have interesting and descriptive nick names that end up being a lot of fun.
a very cool post. laughed at your little kids not being able to say each others' names. :)
ReplyDeleteFun post, Red. I can't say that I can recall having had a nickname of my own. That has to be wrong but nothing lasting comes to mind. I got quite the kick out of you and your sibs renaming one another in the early years, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we wee a speech impediment family ?
ReplyDeleteI always wanted a nickname when I was a kid, but no one ever gave me one, unless you count people calling me "Nat" instead of "Natalie."
ReplyDeleteI've noticed lots of people around here (rural area) have nicknames. One of the funniest belongs to a man they call Pooper. Somebody called him that when he was a toddler, and it stuck. Now he's in his 40s!
Just when you thought you'd heard it all on nick names somebody comes up with a killer...Pooper?
DeleteYep, Pooper. I count my blessings that no one ever decided to call me Pooper...
DeleteOMG Red, you are a 'bugger' for opening "Pandora's Boxes" !!
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia, "nicknames" are the norm, especially between friends. In my early school days, I was "Huggo", which I hated. Then in teenage years, "Bong" as I due to my suntan (extreme) was very dark. Just had that "speedo" white skin around the unexposable parts!! ha ha! The smaller the white strip, the smarter you looked! This was a "rite of passage" of the surfing and swimming fraternity, and that went for the females as well as the males. This is a derogatory term these days of the extreme. Definitely not advised to be used these days, you would end up in court!
Then in Tertiary Education years, I got "Cuddles" from the belle femmes. This stuck as a joke for my male mates for some time. I was not overly amused!
Then I got christened again with "Yellow Mellow" as I have a liking for wearing yellow clothing! I also have "HB" - this stands for "huggie bear" - the e-mail address that I initially used!
Ah the joys of nicknames!
Amusing post Red, I was wondering what next you would come up with. I look forward to reading other comments on their "nicknames".
Cheers
Colin (HB) etc etc.
Brisbane.Australia.
I think many people go through a series of nick names . I also think that we earn our nick names by what we do.
DeleteOur son picked up the nickname "Mogie." I think it's great but he doesn't like it so much.
ReplyDeleteI think some people are not comfortable with the handles they get. there's not much they can do except move to a completely new area.
DeleteI always wanted a different name as a kid....I get Loubob quite a bit now.....from my old blog Loping Loubob.
ReplyDeleteI like Loubob. Now I'll have to look at the old blog.
DeleteMy dad gave everyone a nickname. I had uncles who did not know my real name. Nicknames are such a mix bag.
ReplyDeleteYou've hit on a point I missed . some people are nick name givers and some are not.
DeleteI like how your names evolved in your family, we had a few in mine
ReplyDeleteI thought all families had family nick names. I'm surprised at the number who didn't have nick names.
DeleteMy family never did nicknames, then I married into Terry's family and found out there were nicknames for everyone. Great post!
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
I guess the nick name stuff runs in families.
DeleteI am the only person in my family who was called by my name, Jan. My brother (named Norman) became Buz, my sister Sofia became Fia, and my sister Mary Catherine became Markee. These are the only names I know for my siblings. Of course, my sister Norma Jean was known by both her names. I like nicknames and was called Sunshine for years. :-)
ReplyDeleteI would think Sunshine would fit you well.
DeleteYou are a lot of fun, Red! I love your stories
ReplyDeletecheers
Corny stories...that's my specialty
DeleteYah, nicknames are great. I have had some over the years. Flipper, because I was so flexible guarding the net of any sport I played, Fish, because of fishing with my Dad and loving fish anyway. Tiger Lily and my Mum always called me Lily Pad and my Sister called me Boo, before Boo became what it is today. Boo came from hide n seek for my brothers would say "Boo", we found you. This was a lovely, delightful post Red.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the way you named each other as children and how the names came about - so Grandpa or Grandfather, have a great night :)
Thanks Lily Pad! I really like that one!
DeleteComing from a whole family of redheads, I know it will come as a surprise that I got called Red all the time , my sisters didn't for some reason and my brother was Rufus. My grandmother and my aunt always called me Carrie. My grandkids have invented Grammaline because Grandma Caroline is way too much.
ReplyDeleteI really like Grammaline!
ReplyDeleteRed thanks for the midnight smile, I love how you all got your nicknames from a young age, that's adorable!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember having a nickname as I was growing up, my Mom would call me Darleneeeee sometimes, but that all changed when I started to work in lounges... Darlene turned into darlin and that's what I got used to. It's a tough one to live up to! ;-)
Have a fantastic week!
Cheers.
I always wondered where Darlin came from.
Deleteyou have a great nickname!! when my 4th son was born we named him Luke ...and people said to me..No! don't name him that..his nickname will be puke. luckily that has not been his nickname yet.
ReplyDeleteI think there's some sanity when it comes to gross names. I also like Luke for a name.Eskimo form of Luke is Lukasi. It simply means the Luke.
DeleteLoved the way your siblings got their nicknames! I had a nickname in High school.. Tilly named by a ex beau and a few friends..:)
ReplyDeleteWell, I like Tilly. many of my Mennonite friends were called Matilda and were called Tillie.
DeleteVery funny post Red. I enjoyed reading it. I have three names :(( - every one in my family calls me by a different name but one nick name in my regional language.
ReplyDelete