Nicknames…Everybody Has Them

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Caryn

Many people name their children a longer name, planning to shorten it to a nickname. Names like Christopher and Joshua are shortened to Chris and Josh. Some times, names are changed to initials. Names like Joel David, Machelle, or Brenda are changed to JD, MAC, or BR. Names even had things added to them, like Susan becoming Susie Q, or Shai Renee becoming Shai Reenie the Pooh. And sometimes directions came into play when Weston and Easton became West and East. And some names didn’t need to be changed, just used in their entirety to be a nickname of sorts, like Caalab Rolles Royce. Such is the case in our family, but I guess I had to be different. I never intended to use nicknames for my girls, Corrie and Amy, and for the most part didn’t, but the nicknames they did get, didn’t shorten their names…rather, they lengthened them. Odd…I know, but that is what happened.

Corrie became Cornelia…after my grandfather according to my mom. Amy became Amelia, mostly I think to match Corrie’s nickname, but it was all so perfect. Their names were similar and fit perfectly to lengthen their names from the original to the new nickname. We had a lot of fun with those new longer nicknames, but it never escaped my notice that they were of an unusual type.

Everyone had their little additions. Some added middle names so Cornelia became Cornelia Sue. Other made rhymes, so Amelia became Amelia Bedelia. The play on words was fun and interesting. We even had a few little songs that incorporated their nicknames. Just another way of adding to the fun of it. And through the years, more and more nick names have been added…some short and some long. Corrie has been Cor, CorSue, Corrie Lou, and even Apple Core, and Amy has been Ames, Amos, Amy Lou and Strawberry Shortcake, because she was so little. The names changed through the years, but never really went away.

The other night at bowling, Amy came up to me and said that Pete, another bowler, had called her Amelia, and was surprised when she turned around and responded to the use of the nickname. He said, “I didn’t figure you would answer to that name.” She said, “It has been my nickname all my life.” So I guess nicknames, don’t always mean a shortening of the name, and it isn’t so uncommon for nicknames to be a lengthening of the name. But, what is really funny to me is that when we picked names for the girls, I said I didn’t want names that would be shortened…and well, I guess I got my wish…at least part of the time.

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6 Responses to Nicknames…Everybody Has Them

  1. Lori Ferguson says:
    October 19, 2011 at 10:50 am

    My mom named me Lori – precisely because she felt NO ONE would be able to shorten it! She still cringes when someone calls me “lor”.

    Our daughter is Sarah – and I don’t think we ever shortened or lengthened her name… she was perfectly “Sarah”.

    Alexander is our son. He’s had “Alex” most of his life, but sometimes we called him “Ali” (or when Disney’s Alladin was popular we called him “ali-bab-wa” and the other name was called him was “Joe”. (why, I don’t remember) Today he runs his own business and clients constantly call him… Eric. (no clue there)

    Neat stuff to think about! Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  2. Caryn says:
    October 19, 2011 at 11:06 am

    I know,what you mean. Sometimes it has to do with their personality…or the way someone else perceives their personality, I guess.

    Reply
  3. Marian says:
    October 19, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    When I was a child my mother used to call me, “Merry Annie” because she said that I was a happy girl. As I grew older my family and friends started to refer to me as “Mare.”

    I had a child in a classroom that I taught whose name was “Maren” and she was called, “Mare Bear.” I mentioned this to friends and have since also been called, “Mare Bear!” LOL!

    Nick names are fun!

    Reply
    • Caryn says:
      October 19, 2011 at 4:58 pm

      Aren’t they Mare! I love it. The funny thing is that until I had grandkids, I didn’t have a nickname. Now I have G, Gma, Gramma, and even G-pickle (because I have an extremely goofy grandson). Hahahahaha!!!

      Reply
  4. Jenni says:
    October 19, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    Great Blog. I got my nickname after a silly conversation with friends where a guy was calling me Jellybean and it somehow morphed into Jennibean and then eventually some of my friends just started saying Beans…which always confuses people but to those us of us that know, we dont even think twice about it 🙂 But one person who with never call me a nickname- MY FATHER. I was born Jennifer and I will only be called Jennifer hahaha

    Reply
    • Caryn says:
      October 19, 2011 at 7:35 pm

      That’s a great story. I love it!! And dads are like that…but, you gotta love it. It’s a special name in it own way, because he gave it and loves it. 🙂

      Reply

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