What’s in a (Nick)Name?
Jan 26th 2010
Nicole JordanGoddess Grins & Nicole Jordan
My family may kill me after this since I plan to share some of their deepest, darkest, personal, most intimate secrets: their nicknames.
Let me start by saying I like most nicknames. Often they’re a sign of affection and/or shared history. My dad was a champion nicknamer. He used to come up with these long convoluted phrases that had little meaning except to us.
My childhood nickname was AggalitiesBumuntly (don’t ask me how I got that cause I haven’t a clue!), which got shortened to Aggie and is still used by my family to this day. My sis’s long name is unpronounceable but her short one is Miggie. And my 6′2″ 220 # ex-Army-Ranger-Vet bro was known as Binky when he was a kid. We still get a kick out of that. Even more amusing is that his wife’s childhood nickname is Linky. Binky-Linky. Wonder if fate was at work there?
My dh I call F.P. but I can’t share what the initials mean in public or he really would kill me. It’s not bad, just silly and affectionate. I’ve always called my mother Moggs, which also expresses love, even though a stranger would never think so. I call my new little computer laptop Netbook “Junior” to differentiate him from my office laptop, which by default must be Senior.
My gorgeous 17-hand Irish Thourougbred jumper I named Irish Outlaw after the Western romance I was writing at the time. But he became Bestest Favorite Pony. I use Pony when he’s in my good graces and Big Twit when he’s not.
My young Warmblood hunter mare was registered as Rivella at birth because of her long championship breeding (names in her sire’s line all start with RIV.) But since dh thought that sounded too much like the wicked stepsister in Cinderella, we shortened her barn name to Riva and use Cloud Nine as her show name, after one of dh’s favorite ski runs. She’s Pretty Filly when she’s good, and something unprintable when she’s
bad.
My equine trainer is wonderful at coming up with names for horses in her barn…. such as Pop Tart (he loves to eat them), Hey Bartender (a play on his owner, who doesn’t drink,) and Area 51 (the owner’s scientist dad worked at Roswell.) And her pet goat is named Alverson, Alvie for short.
Then there’s my father-in-law’s nickname for my nephew, which isn’t pretty. How would you like to be known as Stinkbutt to your friends? Or maybe you have something that can top that?
Also, I should mention that I’m offering a nifty prize for my January website contest to celebrate the release of To Tame a Dangerous Lord, and there are only a few more days left to enter. I would love for one of our Goddesses to win!
Do you go by any nicknames — and do they have any significance? Do you have nicknames for other people or pets? What’s the best and worst nicknames you’ve ever heard (please remember to keep it clean or Zeus will zap me!)
79 Comments »
79 Responses to “What’s in a (Nick)Name?”
Pesky on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:05 pm #
I’ve been called many nick names, Princess and Pumpkin when I was little, due to my stubborness in potty training my cousins, sister and brother for a time called me Suzie the Pooh, sang a song about it as well, Red is another I still hear a lot but mostly it’s Pesky, Pesk, Pest, Gnat…
My sister is settled in on Bombshell because while she started out a brunette, she’s our golden goddess now. Brother was called Jr for a while oddly enough since he wasn’t a Jr. The youngest nephew is The Squid due to a habit when he was little of flipping over on his stomach and scooting along by frog kicking his little legs, it’s kinda hard to imagine now that he’s 6′6″ but well… And the older nephew is and always has been “The Brain”.
Strangest nick name…we suggested to my friend Mike who was looking for a cute name for his girlfriend that he combine all the things good to the college man he was at the time, potato tots and mud wrestling, forever on when we asked Mike about his girlfriend we would ask… So, how’s your little mudtot?
And of course we must remember Claudia’s new nickname: The Bombshell Formerly Known as Claudia Dane.
B on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:44 am #
So, F.P. is short for something like Fluffy Panda, right? As in “Oh, come here my little Fluffy Panda boo boo boo”…
I go mostly by a nickname. Pretty much everyone calls me Barbie, which I really like and it suits me. I absolutely HATE my childhood nicknames and my family is strictly forbidden to call me that — they’re usually pretty good about it — childhood family friends are worse because you can’t always tell them “I told you not to call me that $#!* a million time, dammit.” I tried some nicknames when I was a teenager but none really caught. Then, when I was 16, for some reason, everyone just started calling me Barbie and it stuck. It fits especially better when my name sounds dreadful in English. While Barbara is cute and young in Portuguese, in English it’s old lady’s name, so, it doesn’t really fit. I HATE when people who speak English call me Barbara (it just sounds awful), so, I usually just tell them upon first meet to “just call me Barbie ’cause everyone does.”
I am often annoyed my all these cute whiny melodramatic nicknames (like my stepmom calling my dad — ugh). Anything you’d need to pinch your nose to pronounce in the right tone is annoying to me!
B on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:46 am #
ps: oh, of course, here on TGB I go by B, which I first chose because of the relative anonymity, but, then, I added people from here to Facebook and thought about changing, but I’m already B here, so, it stays. Sabrina only calls me B. She called me Barbie once in a message and I was like: “Uh oh. What did I do?” :p
EllenElyse on 27 Jan 2010 at 2:58 am #
Great stuff.
I can relate to the cute and funny baby nicknames… besides Elle, and Ellie, I used to be called “Sputterbutt”. 
My grandpa even had a t-shirt made up for me. 
This came from baby-hood, and one incident in particular when I devastated a couple of very nice older ladies in a restaurant, who had previously thought I was cute and asked to hold me. 
Other than that, a couple of family nicknames are, DP… Daddy Pat, that I call my step-dad… and Dandy, what we called my brother in-law Dan, and his (now ex) girlfriend Brandy.
We have another family member that shall remain nameless that we call “Golem” after the Lord of the Rings character. 
This is not due to looks, but rather his hoarding, (of other people’s thing’s) tendencies. 
Lastly, we have two kitties… Cleo, (short for Cleopatra) because she looks Egyptian, Bandit, because she has a racoon mask and steals all of Cleo’s treats, and a hermit crab named Pinchy.
Gwynlyn MacKenzie on 27 Jan 2010 at 3:10 am #
In the 80s, when my children were small, there was a show on PBS called Zoom. They had a language, rather like pig-Latin, they called “Ubble talk.” Goofing with the kids, I called my dh husband in Ubble talk, Hubbleusubblebubbleanubbledubble. The kids giggled, dh looked confused, and a nickname was born—long since shortened to simply Hubble, I might add.
Judy F on 27 Jan 2010 at 4:53 am #
I love nicknames. My nephew used to call me Juwy couldn’t say his d’s. LOL An old bf of my sisters growing up called me little george, she was george never knew the reasons behind that one.
My sister Joanne gets called Jo-Jo by the kids she used to babysit.
Niece Megan we call Meggars, Michelle gets called Shellybelly a lot. LOL
Michelle’s daughter Amya calls her self Mymy.
Nothing too funny here.
Amy on 27 Jan 2010 at 5:50 am #
I really only use nicknames with my kids. My oldest I call turkey bones, I have no clue why, it just came out one day and it stuck. I am sure when she gets older she will want an explanation. My youngest daughter I call tootsie roll, once again I have no clue why.
Everyone else calls my oldest daughter Carleydo. This is because when she was younger, she didn’t want help with anything, it was always ‘no, Carleydo’, my dad started it, and no it’s a family wide thing. The family is starting to call my youngest keirabella, which is a combo of her names, but she is only 6 months, so this might change.
As for me, I have gotten all kinds of nicknames over the years, from bucky,monkey to some that I really don’t want to put in this blog
. Now I go by sweetie, that’s what hubby calls me.
Archer on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:34 am #
I love nicknames. I have a lot. I usually use archer online because I’m a sagitarrius and people don’t know I’m a women right away… stopped use my name or girly nicknames online after I started getting messages like Hi I’m pilot
My bf calls me bunny and I call him kuzu (lamb)
Most of my friends call me kofte (meatball)… its cute in Turkish, but I wouldn’t like to be called meatball in English. Sometimes they call me alcak kofte which is kinda like diabolical meatball
Archer on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:34 am #
*sagittarius
cail on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:48 am #
well, i have a scottish gaelic name, which never really lent itself to nicknaming since it’s only two syllables. unfortunately growing up, people sometimes shortened it to the first half of the name, which i hated. At sleepaway camp, I was lamenting my lack of nickname and my friend was like, DUH! the 2nd half! so my friends at camp began calling me Cail. That continued into college, as some of them hung out with my college friends. It also helps with being less traceable here since my full name is extremely googleable.
My DH and I have silly nicknames for each other. When we started dating we discovered that friends of ours had given each other nicknames like Muffin and Baby. We sat down and talked about how pathetic the choice in nick names was, and decided that if we were to have nick names they’d be very random. we then decided to brainstorm, and came up with some good ones. i’m not sharing.
A dear friend of mine is called Muffin or Pumpkin by his group of friends. I’m amused by the tradition, and he takes it in good stride.
LoriHandeland on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:53 am #
When I was a kid my dad always gave rhyming nicknames. He started calling me Lorible the horible. And I was a good kid! Thanks Dad!
This morphed into Lorabelle, which he called me until the day he died.
I did this with my sons too–Andrew Gabandrew morphed into Andy Boo, which I still call him sometimes even though he’s 6 feet tall and over 21. He doesn’t mind.
Alexander Salamander became just Al. I sing the Paul Simon song to him a lot.
I also started calling the dog Zippy because he barks so much and I would always say “Zip it!” His real name is Elwood.
The worst nickname was for my niece when she was a baby. My BIL called her Pooky-butt. They still call her Pooky sometimes. I like to call her Jessie-poo.
Freshechelle on 27 Jan 2010 at 7:44 am #
My nephew was dubbed Wooby, the kid’s blanket in Mr. Mom, when he was an infant because three generations of menfolk had the same name. Now he’s 18 and over 6′, we don’t call him that too his face or on FB.
My nearly 106 yr old grampa who has always been kind of an idiot savant is known to his family at “Walter Wonder”
My ‘rents have a cat named Ruby who I am compelled to call Fishsticks. Ruby led me to SoCal’s Rubio’s – Home of the Fish Taco, which devolved into Fishsticks. She’s got great kitty gams so it suits her.
There’s a friend we call Cista (pronounced “Chista”) the Italian word for “cyst” because she had a cyst. Her sister Antoinette is Panda, devolved “Andy Panda”.
Fun topic, Aggie.
Freshechelle on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:08 am #
forget to explain Fresh E. Chelle – 20 yrs ago NY club kids were giving themselves ridiculous pretentious names. My friend dubbed me “Fresh E. Chelle” (I’m Michelle) and it stuck. I still get cards from my friends “Dear Fresh E.”
p.s. I was never a club kid.
Chloe Harris (Noelle) on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:11 am #
Hi Nicole.
Nicknames and how they came about is fascinating to me.
My FIL has been called Foody for as long as anyone can remember. Its even the name on his work uniform. Something about him being a toddler, stealing biscuits and hiding under the table to eat them. Because he got a nickname so early in life he gives them out like crazy. His circle of friends consist of, Bennie (his loves Bennie Winnies), Burrhead, Ten Speed and Poop (his first race car was brown), Hoc and someone with a very politically incorrect nickname because he is a very good businessman.
My youngest’s initials are MC so he calls her Hammer. Somehow he started calling me S’no. Noelle got shorten to No and he also used to say “what’s up No?” and “What’s up No” went to S’no.
Aly on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:14 am #
I love nicknames and always think the stories behind them are so fascinating! Then I realize that I have no story for how I got my nickname!
For the entire 15 years that we have been together my husband has called me “Sam” and I have called him “Bud” I have no idea how it started but I just know it has always been that way. And we never call each other by our real names, to the point that when the kids were toddlers, they thought mommy and daddy’s names were Sam & Bud rather than our real names!
Other than that, my dad used to call me Snicklefritz. I have no idea why but he just did!
And my son gave my daughter the nickname “Lai Lai” because he couldn’t say Delainey when she was born!
The worst by far in our family is the fact that my husband calls our daughter “Pooper” or “Poop Machine” He started it when she was a baby and hasn’t stopped yet even though she is 5
SuzyQ on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:21 am #
My nickname is the name I use here, just SuzyQ. Sometimes it just gets shortened to Q. The family nicknames for everyone is shmoopey or shmoop. It all started with that Seinfeld episode and just kinda of stuck.
ladydawgfan on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:23 am #
My younger brother and I have nicknames for each other that only he and I can use. To him, I am “Short,” and my name for him is “Ugly Brother,” or sometimes just “Ugly,” or ‘Uggs.” I don’t even remember when we started this, it has been so long, but when his new wife heard me call him “Ugly,” she almost had a fit until we explained what it was about. To both of us, it is a simple form of endearment, NOT an insult, as might be thought.
The funniest part was when he sent my Christmas gift this year – he addressed it to me as “Short.” Everyone knew immediately who it was supposed to go to!!
kj coker on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:30 am #
Nicknames huh? Well, My oldest nephew called me Lala (my name is Karla) and it pretty much stuck with his mom and a few of my friends. Plus I was still a teenager when he was born and wasn’t at all interested in being “Aunt” anything, so it has kept me feeling young over the years (he’s now 22)
Otherwise it has always been kj if anything.
My kids all have nicknames of a sort my 7 1/2 yr old was my Mancub from birth (Jungle book fan here). My 6 yr old is our little Crosinator ( his name is Crosby and he’s always been our little Evel Knievel, distroyer, and a bit of a klutz-hence the play on Terminator). And our newest addition, the Little Princess, my 9 month old is MoJo ( her name is Morgan Joanne, which my 22 yr old nephew and his 14 yr old brother immediately (like before we left the hospital) dubbed it MoJo. And really it does work for her…which is good, because I’m afraid she’ll probably be stuck with it for life since most of our friends and relatives latched onto it as well.
My mom, again with my 22 year old nephew, wanted to be Grandmama…weeeeelllll, he rather liked Bubba…and *that* was all she wrote on that. I don’t even think most people remember her real name.
Michelle B on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:39 am #
I was named Michelle with my nickname of “Mickey” picked out before I arrived. As I got older it got shortened to Mick. Only my family and closest friends call me Mick today.
DD#1 is Molly, we call her Mo and MoMo which she hates. DD#2 is Breanne Jae, she has the most nicknames, DH calls her Bre J, her friends call her Bre, and I call her Bre-annie.
Our little dog is nicknamed “Houdini” because he’s never met a yard he hasn’t escaped from yet.
Sabrina Jeffries on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:03 am #
My family was a nickname family, and no, I’m not telling y’all mine. *G*
We’re a nickname family, too, and my poor son has had an evolving and very long list of nicknames–Bee-button, which got shortened to Bee-butt (until I realized how awful that sounded) so then to B. Hey, B, I call my son B. How weird is that?
His others include Punkin, Punkadoodle, Peanut (the child is huge, so this one always gets looks), Sweety-pea, Cutie-patootie (gee, thanks, Rosie O’Donnell), Silly Billy, the Nick Man, and the Nickster. One day, when we meet in heaven and I finally get to actually hear my son TALK, he’s probably going to tell me how much he hated all those nicknames. *G*
The worst one I ever heard for someone else, however, was Puddenhead. I played with a boy nicknamed Puddenhead. I met him again years later when we were both grown and they were STILL calling him Puddenhead!
Claudia Dain on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:18 am #
A distant relative, by marriage, was called Noose. Everyone called her that. It was a nickname her dad started for her when she was a toddler, calling her Nuisance, which shortened to Noose.
Freshechelle on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:23 am #
Anyone read “Random Family”? A mom named her daughter Nautica. The father said no way are you naming my kid that (he was in prison so he couldn’t stop it). He called her “Naughty”. Good name for a stripper, sleezy name for a child. It’s a non-fiction book.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:32 am #
These are such fun! And so creative. I love these family stories.
And good grief, Fresh, Nautica isn’t so bad but I would hate to be called Naughty all my life!
Julia London on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:34 am #
We all have nicknames, too. My sister is Nagno. My brother is Sanman. My late sister we called Klo all her adult life because that was her initials. We even had a KloClub (the three of us. She was supreme leader by virtue of birth order).
Strangest unexplained nickname is Jack London. His family calls him Charlie. His name is not even close to Charlie, it’s Louis. Why do they call him Charlie? No one remembers. They’ve been calling him that since he was a baby.
Madeline Hunter on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:39 am #
My family was not big on nicknames, so I have never gotten into it either. I even call my sons by their full names, not the shortened versions.
When I was in H.S., one guy in my group tried to tag me with Maddy. I encouraged him to forget about that.
Joy on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:15 am #
My Dad creates nicknames for everybody and everyone. My brother’s was Funky Winkerbean (after the comic strip). That was later shortened to Windy (the evolution of the change escapes me); then, later decided to call him Benzetti. Mine started as JoPo; but, later became Podensk. My niece started out as Squidget and became Pidge over time (21 years later, Dad still calls her Pidge). A nephew is Awggie (based upon his initials). The logic of the nicknames has escaped me; but, I like them. The names mean something to my dad….and that’s what counts.
We’ve nicknamed all of our vehicles. Usually based upon some characteristic of the car. Our current cars have the nicknames Petey (came from the abbreviation car color Platinum Desert–>PD–>Petey). Harvey (came from the vehicle type, an SRV–>say those initials fast and it sounds like It’s Harvey), and Sapphire, which is the car’s color.
Tina on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:20 am #
My family does not use nicknames a whole lot.
The only person to give me a nickname is my ex-aunt. She calls me Louiggi, which I assume comes from my middle name of Louise.
My brother, Todd, got called Tooder when he was 4 or 5. Only my parents called him that when he was young. Every once in a while dad will use that now.
Mother (Margo) never had a nickname that I know of. Her older brother only goes by Lorence, but Michael gets called Mike. Uncle Mike’s wife, Rosella, goes by Della.
Dad (Dennis) has a nickname given by his brother, but a few people will call him Denny. They usually receive a glare. Dad’s siblings Raphael, Donald (Don), Bernadine, Kenneth (Kenny) and Christine do not usually use a short version of their name. Dad & Uncle Donald used to work construction together; I won’t tell you why dad was called Bird and unsure why Donald was called Duck.
My SIL, Melinda, goes by Mindy. But the children go by their full names: Daniel & Kimberly.
ladydawgfan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:28 am #
Joy,
My van also has a name – Lucy. In fact, EVERYONE in the famly knows her name. It is even known by the dealership where she gets serviced. I call them for an appointment and tell them I am bringing in Lucy and they know that I am talking about my van. BTW, Lucy is a ‘93 Toyota Previa with almost 281K miles and is still going strong. Even the dealership is amazed!! I just love driving her!!
nancyg on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:36 am #
Mr. G gives out nicknames. At one time, his company went through a LOT of admins for one reason or another. The new lady was Kathleen, but he kept calling her Catherine, who was 2 admins ago. She kept correcting him, until one day he said, “No, you’re George.” Her husband got transferred out of state, and she Facebook-ed me and said she misses it.
DD #2’s best friend is Hallie. Mr. G calls her Susan.
He answers to “bee-yotch” We were making fun of all the “honey, sweetie, pooh-bear” nicknames, and that just slipped out one night. It stuck.
He’s the only one allowed to call me “Nan”, most of my friends call me “Nance”. My old softball nickname was “squirt”…I wore a size 6X until 5th grade, lol.
DD #1 is Cait – we just dropped the last syllable. DD #2 was “Catherine Jeane the Dancing Machine” – now she’s “divalicious”, to her friends she’s “cat”. DD #3 is either “Smiley Reilly” or “Rile-steroo”.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:37 am #
Pesky, what I want to know is if Pesky is real or a nickname! And I wish I had the figure to warrent being called Bombshell, lol. At least we have Goddess Claudia here.
B, you’re on the right track for F.P. *G* but I promised dh I would never tell. But the name originated from a dog belonging to my parents that I kept for a year bc they weren’t allowed to have pets where they were living.
Also, in the States, Barbie reminds many of us of our dolls — fond memories mostly.
Cathy Phillips on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:38 am #
I have had several nicknames in my life. My real name is Catherine, but I go by Cathy. My dad and paternal grandmother called me their Jewel or Sis, but never late to eat. My younger brother called me his Sissy when we were growing up. When I was in the 5th grade, the boys I knew started calling me Easteregg. I never did understand that one, but it followed me through high school. My husband calls me by many loving names. My best friend calls me her Sis.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:39 am #
Joy and LDF, that’s funny about naming your cars/vans. But it makes great sense so you differentiate.
Come to think of it, I call my Ford Explorer my Ponymobile since it’s rigged to pull a 2-horse aluminum trailer.
nancyg on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:40 am #
I do give out nicknames to our golf buddies… there’s “trannie”, “otter”, “coke-aholic”, “stiffy”, “big Swede”…
There’s 4 Kevins in our circle of golf friends…now they’re known as Mr. G, MOK – my other Kevin, K-3, and “Spannalot”.
What is it about sports teams that induces people to give out nicknames??
In Chinese, there are different nouns for grandparents – one set for your mom’s parents, one set for your dad’s. Your mom’s mom is (phonetically) “paw-paw”. The girls call her “pao-diddy”.
oh, my girls also refer to me as “The MOM-ster”, rotfl…
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:43 am #
EllenE, I love that your dad even made up a t-shirt for you! And your pet’s name are darling. Love Pinchy, lol.
Gwen, I love the origin of Hubble. What great memories.
Judy, I think MyMy and ShellyBelly and Juwy are great fun.
Oh, and Pesky, I think Mudtot is really cute, too.
Candis on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:46 am #
I call my (now 4 yr old) granddaughter Binks because when she was a baby she’d suck on the pacifier so hard it would squeak. My bro-in-law took to calling my daughter Picklehead when she was little. Why? We have no idea but he still calls her that even though she’s now 24. My 8 mo. old insane over energetic german shepherd’s name is Maddie but we call her Mads. It fits. Our other german shepherds name is actually the initials CJ, yet we combine them to call her Ceeg. My daughter’s horse was named Pongo Marrs something or other. We called him Blue (he was a grey horse). And my granddaughter calls my 82 yr old mother Egup. We have no idea where that came from but that’s what she’s always called her.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:49 am #
Amy, those are darling nicknames for your kids. I like CarlyDo, but Bucky,Monkey? I would love to hear the origin of that! But I totally understand if you’re not willing to share in public *G*
>>>>Most of my friends call me kofte (meatball)… its cute in Turkish, but I wouldn’t like to be called meatball in English. Sometimes they call me alcak kofte which is kinda like diabolical meatball
ROFL! Archer, that’s great. And I always wondered how Archer came about. Now we know. You could be our Goddess mascot.
Pesky on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:50 am #
Nicole:
Was I really Pesky? Well, let’s put it this way:
I had a Broadway Level song and dance routine regularly performed for my brother and sister. It was titled “You’re not the Boss! You’re not the Boss!” The costuming usually consisted of mismatched clothing (regardless of my wardrobe mistresses best efforts, thanks Mom), two little red pigtails sticking out of the top of my head, and sneakers (useful for the running that ensued after said dance commenced).
I used to sing to cover up my various peccadillos and chaos ensued wherever I landed.
My mom and dad used to put me to bed and I’d be back down the stairs faster then they were. When I did sleep, I tended to push my sister out of the bed, then I’d get between my parents and end up pushing them out of the bed, then my brother would have a blanket and a pillow at the end of his bed and I could sleep across his feet.
I annoyed my sister so much on occasions that she used to lock me out of our room and wouldn’t let me in unless I guess the “secret password”, some nights there wasn’t one.
I wasn’t kidding about The Pesky Christmas Coal Company.
So, yeah, I guess I’ve earned the name Pesky.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:52 am #
Cail, that is so true about Googling real names! And how you came up with Cail is cool.
>>>We sat down and talked about how pathetic the choice in nick names was, and decided that if we were to have nick names they’d be very random. we then decided to brainstorm, and came up with some good ones. i’m not sharing.
Please, please, pretty please? How about in private? I’m a romance writer after all, so I’m always looking for good endearments. (G*)
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:59 am #
Lori, I love Lorabelle! And AndyBoo and Al are fun. But Zippy for Zip-it is just great.
Fresh, I love Fishsticks for a cat. And I always wondered how you came up with Freshechelle. Makes perfect sense now!
Chloe-Noelle, love your Fil’s friends names. And S’no is fun. So is Hammer.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 11:05 am #
Aly, Snicklefritz and Lai Lai are great, but your daughter may rebel against her nkn when she gets old enough *G*
SuzyQ, I always wondered if that was real or a nkn!
LDF, I understand completely about Uggs. My alternative med vet was appalled that I called my Tbred Pony and that I had named him Outlaw, until she understood the derivation and that those are loving names.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 11:10 am #
KJ, I love Crosinator and MoJo. Very clever!
Mick, I love d#2’s real name, Breanne Jae. That would make a great heroine’s name. And Houdini is perfect for a little escape artist.
Sabrina, your son’s nn’s are great. And I agree, going thru life as Puddenhead would be kinda sad.
Kirsten on 27 Jan 2010 at 11:12 am #
My parents used to call me feather. When my mother found out she was expecting me she was surprised. She said something like: I had no idea, didn’t feel a thing. My father than said something like: Well, the baby is still light as a feather… And so I’m told the “nick”name was born. I was feather for many years but when I became an adult I asked for it to stop & now I’m not sad to say that nobody calls me that any more.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 11:13 am #
Claudia, Noose is great, and so is the KloClub, Julia!
Madeline, I can see why you wouldn’t want your lovely name shortened.
Joy, Pidge is great.
And Tina, those are all fun.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 11:20 am #
Nance, I think Squirt is fun, except maybe if you have hangups about being small! And that George story made me laugh.
And Momster is totally great!
Cathy, that is so lovely, have a dear friend who thinks of you as her Sis.
Candis, those are great pet names.
Thanks for explaining, Pesky!!
Kirsten, I can see why you wouldn’t want Feather as an adult, but is sounds fun for a kid.
Amy on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:02 pm #
Nicole, I don’t mind explaining those ones, it’s others that are better left unsaid and unexplained! My dad used to call me monkey because I was always climbing on him. Bucky was a nickname my sister so cruelly gave me because my front teeth were rather large. It was actually Bucky Beaver, but most of the time she shortened it. However, once I got braces and my teeth were nicely back where they should have been all along, she stopped calling me that.
TrishD on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:10 pm #
Nickname? There have been a few but the one that has stuck is “Dish”. I was given the nickname Trish the Dish by friends during the height of One Day at a Time. They will still call me T the D but it’s usually just Dish. Does it fit? Nope… but that’s alright, I’ll pretend that it does!
Other nicknames used in my life….
Yo-yo, for our cat Oreo. He can be crazy!
Ta-Ta, what my dd calls her grandpa.
Old Goat, dh thinks it funny that I’m 33 days older than him and won’t let me forget it.
Monkey-butt, dh nickname for dd.
Sweetie-pie/pumpkin-pie, my nickname for dd.
Dr. Hottie, for the hot doctor who comes into the bank a few times every week.
Mr. Hottie Cop, my nickname for one certain cop here in town… everyone who I work with knows who I’m talking about.
Freshechelle on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:22 pm #
Trish, I had friends who called a guy at their gym “Mr. Body Beautiful”. He’d make a nice set with your Dr. Hottie & Mr. Hottie Cop
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:24 pm #
Thanks, Amy! Monkey sounds fun, but I’m glad your teeth are no longer deserving of Bucky!
I love, Dish, Trish! Very fun.
And those others sound fun to.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:27 pm #
nancyG, your “Paw-Paw” reminded me of my grandmothers’ names. I called one Nana (from Oklahoma), the other Mamaw (from Louisiana.) And my Georgia friend is called Meemaw by her grandkids.
I think those must be a regional thing….
evlqn on 27 Jan 2010 at 12:52 pm #
We are a nickname family also. Aunt Edith is Babe, it was years before i knew what her real name was. Mine was Minnie Mouse (no clue). Aunt Iris’ real name is Ruby (??). We called my oldest Sunshine-boy and the youngest Punkin-precious and then Punkin and Shortie (6′). I am the only one on the planet who can still call him Shortie and walk away unscathed.
Darius – Buddha;Buddha-bear; Boo; DJ; D
Elijah – Hamma( middle name Mohammed); Shysha( couldn’t pronounce Elijah);Lij
Darius & Elijah- Delijah
Our Mom – Old Woman; Blue-haired Dragon (my sons);Lonnie; Vonnie; Muddher
Uncle Walter -Bud
Uncle Dewayne -Jack
I was Mom to all my dh’s friends
evlqn on 27 Jan 2010 at 1:14 pm #
Congrats on the new release Nicole,didn’t mean to let that get past me.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 1:36 pm #
Thanks so much, Evlqun! Like Madeline, I”m keeping fingers crossed. Sending your baby out into the world can be pretty freaky, even if you’ve done it a bunch of times already.
Love all those nn’s, especially Minnie Mouse!
Archer on 27 Jan 2010 at 2:03 pm #
Lorible the horible… lol that is too cute.
Being a mascot could be fun
Kayte Vayne on 27 Jan 2010 at 2:09 pm #
Oh my gosh Sabrina, my mom calls my brother B too!! His name is Brennan and I guess the whole thing is too hard to yell or sumthin. ;D My dad has always called me Spunky, I have no idea why and I can only hope that it has nothing to do with the dog on Rocko’s Modern Life. My mother calls my Pumpkineeter, another weird name but that one’s from the Peter-Peter-Pumpkineeter rhyme (I’m pretty sure, but with my mom you never know). My friends are BIG nickname people too! My friend Apryl is Apes, Allison is Alli and Manwhore (long story), Valerie is Willy-Wally, and I’m Kay-tay, Katye, or Quitay (because people have misspelled my name that way before).
Gwynlyn MacKenzie on 27 Jan 2010 at 3:33 pm #
Someone above mentioned Sweet Pea, and I cracked up. Why? I’ve been calling my youngest Sweet Pea ever since some idiot told her why her daddy called her Boo Boo.
One spring while she was still in High School, however, we found a seed display. I grabbed the Sweet Pea seeds and handed them to her, planning to start them for the garden. She said, “Sweet Peas are a flower?” I said, “Yeah. Why?” She looked away and said, “Well, Mom, I never could figure out why you called me a vegetable.” Flabberghasted, I said, “But, hon, I don’t even like sweet peas.” She gave me a wry little grin and said, “Yeah, I know.” Needless to say, we still laugh about it.
Janae on 27 Jan 2010 at 4:50 pm #
My dad and my youngest uncle used to call me Big Red since I am the oldest of the redheads. My middle sister never had a red nickname – just Terrible, which is a play on her name and because she was difficult. My youngest redhead sister was Little Red for a long time, and by the time she was a teenager her nn was Fred. No idea why & I’ve never used it. My hs friends call me Nae.
My kids – my son started life out as ‘little dude,’ which is now just ‘the dude.’ My dd is Miss M—-(her full name) or Mer, which is an abbreviation of her name.
My mom used to call my little brother Sweet Baboo, which is what Sally calls Linus. It got shortened to Boo, and I think we call him that until he was about 10. Oh, and my baby sister was Minnie Pooh or Minnie Mouse, but by the time she as 6, she totally nixed that.
I know a family where one of their dds was nn Muffy. For years I didn’t know Muffy’s real name or the story behind the nn. I kept telling my dh that there was no way that was her real name. When she went off to college, she ditched Muffy and has used her real name since then, which is a beautiful Finnish name, that was hard for a 5 yo to learn how to spell.
Fiona on 27 Jan 2010 at 5:54 pm #
My kids’ nicknames are MONKEY BOY (MONKEY for short) and TIGER. This suits their personalities. MONKEY is very energetic and often silly. TIGER likes to think he’s tough. DH’s nickname is HANDSOME.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:11 pm #
I like Spunky, Kayte! Apes, on the other hand, is not funny, lol.
Gwyn, that’s a funny story about Sweet Peas
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:14 pm #
Janae, I like Terrible and Big Red and love little dude. Muffy, however, I could do without.
Fiona, those all sound like good names to me! I’ll bet your dh likes being called Handsome.
Karen Hawkins on 27 Jan 2010 at 6:47 pm #
Interesting blog, Nicole! There are some excellent nicknames listed here, too. I wish I had a nickname, but alas, haven’t had one since high school and even that one was short lived.
I call my son “The Boy” and my husband “Hot Cop”, and my daughter “She Who Loses Her Car Keys.” Oh, and I call my brother “Tech Support,” but that’s about it.
Louisa Cornell on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:35 pm #
Isn’t it interesting how nicknames sometimes can hurt us and sometimes recall sweet memories?
My Dad called me Stinky. All my life. When he got ready to walk me down the aisle he said “You look gorgeous, Stinky.” Which told me no matter what I would always be his little girl. Dad’s been gone 11 years and I am STILL his little girl AKA Stinky. He came up with the name the first time he changed a diaper, if that is any clue as to WHY he called me Stinky.
My students called me Atilla. You figure that out.
At work I am called TBW or BW. It stands for The Bakery Witch. Sometimes that W is a B. Well, heck, sometimes people just don’t give you any choice!
My late husband’s Cajun buddy (who is now a psychiatrist in Louisiana) has always called me “cher” Never my name, just “cher” All I have to do is pick up the phone and hear him say “Hello, cher.” and I am back in St. John’s Landing eating crawfish on his back porch looking over the bayou with all of our friends.
And when I testified in a dog fighting trial about the mental state of some dogs I helped to rehab and about the trauma they went through the judge kept calling me “the Doglady” people here in town still know me by that.
evlqn on 27 Jan 2010 at 8:50 pm #
We had a little guy in our daycare that I nick-named “Goober”, when he was teething he would drool on everything and then want to give baby kisses. I would have my face goobered daily, several times a day, so he became Goober even to his parents.
My five year old g-daughter told everyone that she was “Daddy’s Pincess, and mommy’s pincess, and Mokie’s (her nanny) pincess.” She was also Isabella BabyGrrr.
Tina on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:00 pm #
I know of someone with the problem of not enough nicknames.
My best friend’s husband is Michael Shawn. His family calls him Shawn always. Everybody else calls him Mike.
One of his friends is also Michael. As long as no family is around, it is Mike and Michael.
My BF’s niece’s boyfriend is Shawn.
I’m just glad that the friend, Michael and Mike’s sister were not able to attend the New Year Party.
That would have been confusing to have Mike, Shawn, Michael and Shawn. The poor guys would have had no idea who was talking to them.
The only other nickname Mike has is Honey and we all refuse to call him that; it is his wife’s duty to call him that.
Karen Rose on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:43 pm #
Nicole, my dog’s name is Loki, but Oldest Daughter and I call him Bear because he is fuzzy. Sometimes I call him Mr. Bear and when I have an international flair, I call him “Herr Bear.”
He comes, regardless of what I call him.
DH is quick to remind us that Loki is a dog.
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:56 pm #
You guys are so funny!
KarenH, I can figure out how you came to call your daughter her reference. And I totally love HOT COP. Boy, does that have hero connotations all over it.
Louisa, I think there oughta be a law against calling kids Stinky. After all, they can’t help it. Your other names I just love. You definitely are a strong woman, and it sounds as if some folks just can’t handle that.
And the “cher” endearment makes my heart melt!
Nicole Jordan on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:59 pm #
Tina, that would be really confusing, lol.
KarenR, I love Herr Bear! That is so descriptive. I firmly believe that some pets are regular folk just like us. And they are definitely family, dog or no dog DNA.
Alice Faye on 28 Jan 2010 at 12:52 am #
My mom called me brat…my dad always called me by my full name Alice Faye. We had this little boy next door that i used to babysit couldn’t say Alice Faye so he called me Al Fee…than when my friends heard it started calling me Alife and several added the Pooh to the end. I used to weigh 360 pounds and when I lost my weight my Uncle called me A…instead of AF since I lost the Fat…he dropped the F. One set of grandparents were Granny and Pop and the other was MeeMaw and PeePaw became Meeps and Peeps as the grandkids got older.
Looking forward to getting your new book this week.
Nicole Jordan on 28 Jan 2010 at 9:02 am #
Alice, that’s amazing about the weight, and very cool that your uncle ackowleded it that way. And I love Meeps and Peeps.
That’s lovely of you to pick up DL. I hope it lives up to your high expectations!
SexxySelly69 on 30 Jan 2010 at 11:45 am #
Nicole,
I hate my real name, so I do have a nick name. It’s Selly. It’s easier to pronounce and to remember it too!!! I would rather be called by my nick name than my real name. My full name is Griselle Santos. Trust me when I say that everybody butchers up my first name all the time.
Kristen Eby on 08 Feb 2010 at 7:32 pm #
My nickname is Doobee….or Doob for short. This is due to my obsession with Romper Room as a child and my love for the Big Bee on there!
My dad still at age 34, calls me that all the time!
Lorraine Larose on 08 Feb 2010 at 11:18 pm #
I always called my grandson Lovey but now he’s eighteen and does not like it too much.
Tanya Campbell on 09 Feb 2010 at 9:26 am #
As a child my father nicknamed me “the Fonz” for a reason only he knows and probably doesn’t remember. Maybe because I was such a tomboy and one with attitude at that. My husband now calls me t-girl or just T. My kids get lumped in to the names bear, honey, hun, and any animal name that comes to mind to get then laughing like girrafes, caribou, or turtles. The boys get Blue to themselves. And our dog, who passed away this passed summer, was very affectionaly refered to as Old Man.
E.R. on 10 Feb 2010 at 2:55 am #
Do you go by any nicknames — and do they have any significance? Do you have nicknames for other people or pets? What’s the best and worst nicknames you’ve ever heard (please remember to keep it clean or Zeus will zap me
My family has nns. There is nns my sibs and I call each other if we are bad, in our native language and which nn I don’t like at all. I am usually called by my real name, which is short and to the point. My parents do have nns that they are known, but “Olet” and “Nene” can be very confusing sometimes when I hear them mention their friends who have the same nns like them. My aunt is sometimes called Ampy, a short version of her name. One of my bro is called “Phil” because his first name can’t be pronounced by others; he also answers to his middle name. My sil is called Dimple. I call my cuz C-Maine; her bro is called C-Lo by us cuzs.
Beygirl on 10 Feb 2010 at 11:01 am #
I call my son Napoleon, because he has to be the first. Very competitive, some times I call him Yankee Doodle it’s funny.. My daughter is Suzik, her name is Susanna but my favorite nick name for her is Winnie Pooh she loves honey. My husband likes calling me Magushki, my name is Margarita my family calls me Maggie but my husband and his mom, sister, and dad like to call me their little Magushki.
Diane McMahon on 10 Feb 2010 at 1:38 pm #
My nick name was “Run DMC’ due to my name and how I am always running here and there. It kind of stuck with me for the past several years.
sue hieber on 10 Feb 2010 at 3:55 pm #
i was a fat kid and my grandfather called me BUSTER, because he said i kept busying my seams. wasnt that mean?
E.R. on 11 Feb 2010 at 12:27 am #
Also, my bro tease C-Maine by calling her “Chow mein” because it nearly sounds like her name.
Just wanted to add that.
Cathi O on 13 Feb 2010 at 9:58 am #
My uncle used to call me Cookie.
I had a HS teacher who referred to all of us by nicknames, and it made class fun.
I call my cat “my angel” sometimes because she found me by falling through my ceiling. Kismet!
I think one of the worst – that I can repeat here, anyway! – is Bubba.
TIFFY on 14 Feb 2010 at 8:24 am #
I GO BY MANY NICKNAMES. MY MOM HAS FOUR FOR ME: TIFFY, PUMPKA, MOMMA, AND CAT. MY BEST PAL CALLS
ME TIFF, AND MY COUSIN CALLS ME POOF. I USE TO GET EMBARASS BY HIS NICKNAME FOR ME, BUT NOW, SINCE
I’M OLDER AND WISER, IT MAKES ME SMILES. THIS GUY I USE TO LIKE, I NICKNAMED HIM DC, BECAUSE THAT’S
INITIALS TO HIS FIRST AND LAST NAME, AND TO THIS DAY, HE STILL ANSWERS BY THAT NICKNAME. I CALL MY
STEPDAD ICEMAN, CAUSE HE’S ALWAYS COMPLAINS HOW THE HOUSE STAYS SO HOT IN THE WINTERTIME. I
CALL MY OLDER BROTHER BLOCKHEAD, CAUSE HE IS A BLOCKHEAD (SMILE).