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A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or thing's real name (for example, Nick is short for Nicholas). As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, although there may be overlap in these concepts. A nickname is sometimes considered cool to have, symbolising a form of acceptance, but often times there is no need for a nickname
Etymology: In Middle English the word was ekename (from the verb to eke, "enlarge"; compare Swedish öknamn). Later, an ekename developed into a nickname.
In Viking societies, many people had nicknames heiti, viðrnefni or uppnefi which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts.
Nicknames for people
Types of personal nickname:
Relating to given names
1. A nickname may be a hypocoristic form of a person's first name. This is often a simple abbreviation of the name. For most English names the shortened form is taken from the first syllable e.g. Walt for Walter. However in many other languages it is much more common to use the last syllable of the whole name e.g. Italian Nino for Giovanni (via Giovannino, which is a diminutive form of Giovanni). Some abbreviations can use the middle of a word e.g. Liz for Elizabeth. There are a few names for which an archaic pronunciation of the full name is preserved in the short name e.g. Rick for Richard indicates that the -ch- was originally pronounced as -ck-. Some other nicknames wre created by rhyming the shortened form of the full name, such as Ted or Ned for Edward (Ed), Bill for William (Will), and Bob or Nob for Robert (Rob). For those abbreviations that do not begin with the same letter as the full name, see list of short name forms. Examples:
- Ally, Allie for Alexandra, Allison, Alison or Alice
- Al, Alex, Lex, Xander, Sasha for Alexander or Alexandra
- Andie for Andrea
- Andy, Drew for Andrew
- Ant, Tony, Toni, Tone for Anthony
- Barb, Barbie, Babs for Barbara
- Ben, Benny, Benji for Benjamin
- Bert, Bertie for Albert, Herbert, Bertram
- Chuck, Chaz, Charlie for Charles
- Chris, Chrissy, Chrissie for Christine
- Chris for Christopher
- Donna for Donnatella
- Dan, Danny for Daniel
- Den, Denny, Dino, Dean for Dennis
- Dot, Dotty for Dorothy or Dorothea
- Ella, Ellie, Elle for Eleanor
- Beth, Bess, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Bette, Eliza, Lisa, Liza, Liz for Elizabeth
- Ed, Eddie, Ned, Ted for Edward
- Em, Ems, Emmy for Emily and Emma
- Frank for Francis
- Gerry for Gerald or Gerard
- Harry, Hal for Henry and Harold
- Jack, Johnny for John
- Jay for Jason
- Jeff for Jefferson or Jeffrey (originally for Jefferson but now more often Jeffrey, a new form of Geoffrey)
- Jerry for Jerome
- Jim, Jimmy, Jamie, Jock for James
- Joe, Joey for Joseph
- Jon for Jonathan
- Josh for Joshua
- Kat, Kate, Katie, Kathy for Katrina, Kathleen or Katherine or Kaitlyn
- Larry, Lar, Laurie for Lawrence or Laurence (male only)
- Laur, Lauri, Laurie for Laurence, Laura or Lauren (female)
- Leo, Len, Lenny for Leonard or Leopold
- Mandy, Mandi, Manda for Amanda
- Maddie, Maddy for Madeline
- Marge, Marg, Maggie, Mags, Meg, Peggy for Margaret
- Matt, Mattie for Matthew
- Meg, Mog, Gog for Megan
- Mo for Mohammed, Maurice, Morris, or Maureen
- Moll, Molly Dolly, Good Golly Miss Molly for Molly
- Nate, Nat for Nathan, Nathaniel, Natalie
- Ned for Edward
- Pat, Patsy, Patty, Trish, Tricia for Patricia
- Pat, Paddy for Patrick
- Pete for Peter
- Rick, Rich, Dick for Richard
- Bob, Rob, Robbie, Bobby, Rab for Robert
- Ron, Ronnie for Ronald
- Rosie, Rose for Rosemary
- Ry for Ryan
- Sam for Samuel or Samantha
- Sandra, Sandy, Al, Alex for Alexandra
- Steph, Stephie for Stephanie
- Steve for Stephen (or Steven)
- Sue, Susie, Suzie for Susan/Suzanne (most often Sue or Susie for Susan and Suzie for Suzanne)
- Ted, Teddy, Theo for Theodore (or Edward)
- Teddie, Thea, Theo for Theodora
- Tom, Thom, Tommy for Thomas
- Vicky, Vicki, Vickie, Tori for Victoria
- Vince, Vin, Vinnie for Vincent
- Vivi for Vivian
- Wen, Wendel for Wendy
- Bill, Billy, Will, Willy, Liam for William
- Zach, Zack for Zachary
- Rikki,Rikkie,Ricky for Erica
Many of these names are also registered as formal birth names.
2. A nickname may relate directly to a person's surname. Examples:
- Fletch for someone with the surname Fletcher
- Mitch for someone with the surname Mitchell
- Murph for someone with the surname Murphy
- Sully for someone with the surname Sullivan
- Smitty for someone with the surname Smith
- Churchy for Winston Churchill
3. It may also relate indirectly to a surname. Examples:
- Chalky for someone with the surname White
- Sandy for someone with the surname Brown
- Dicky for someone with the surname Bird
- Dinger for someone with the surname Bell
- Chook for someone with the surname Fowler (only in Australia, where 'chook' is slang for chicken)
4. A nickname may reflect a national or cultural style. In the United States, for instance, rhyming contractions or plays on a person's name are common, as in:
Calling a person by their initials is also common.
5. Nicknames, whatever their original basis, may become cultural norms. 'Sis', (slang for 'sister') for example, is often picked up and used by all the members of a family, their friends and society at large. Similarly, 'Chip' (off the old block) and 'Junior' can be used for any youngster and the nickname may follow the person into adulthood.
Relating to culture/nationality
6. It may relate (offensively or otherwise) to a person's nationality or place of origin. Examples:
Relating to personal characteristics
7. A nickname may relate to the person's occupation. Examples:
8. It may reference a person's physical characteristics. Examples:
- Baldy or Curly (ironic) for a bald person
- Tubby or Chubby for a fat person
- Lofty or Stretch for a tall person
- Four-eyes for a person with glasses
- Red, Rusty or Firecrotch for a person with red hair
- Blondie for a person with blond hair
It may be a sarcastic, or simply ironic, reference, e.g., Curly for someone with straight hair (or no hair at all) - this form is very typical in Australian English, e.g:
- Blue for a person with red hair
- Tiny for a very large person
- Dulz for a cross eyed person
- Shorty for a very tall person
- Slick for a clumsy, awkward or shy person
- Slim for a fat person
9. It may relate to a person's character, imagined or real. Examples:
10. It may relate to a specific incident or action. Example: Capability Brown was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility". Other examples include: Chemical Ali and Comical Ali. Many fictional characters have nicknames relating to events: Examples include the Red Comet, White Tiger, Desert Tiger and Hawk of Endymion.
11. It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character. Examples:
Others
12. A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:
13. A person's nickname may have no traceable origin. For example, a person named "Harold" may be nicknamed "Fred" for no apparent reason, or a man who was named after a relative may ask his friends to call him "Chip" to avoid confusion.
Nicknames of geographical places
Cities
See also: list of city nicknames for a more comprehensive list.
- The Big Sweet Grass Basket, The Palmetto City, The Holy City, The Big C-H-S, The Marina City & Chucktown - Charleston, South Carolina
- Charm City - Baltimore, Maryland
- The Big Apple - New York, New York
- "The Windy City", "Second City", "City of Big Shoulders", and "Hog-Butcher To The World" - Chicago, Illinois. (These last two are from the poem by Carl Sandburg; see also Nicknames for Chicago.)
- The Big Easy - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Space City, Bayou City, Oil Capital of the World - Houston, Texas
- Hotlanta - Atlanta, Georgia
- The Circle City - Indianapolis, Indiana
- Bluff City, City of Churches - Memphis, Tennessee
- Mill City, City of Lakes - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Motor City - Detroit, Michigan
- Music City - Nashville, Tennessee
- The Big Smoke - London, United Kingdom, also Toronto, Canada
- "Hogtown", "T-Dot"; and Centre of the Universe - Toronto, Canada, often used negatively by Canadians who live outside of Toronto due to the fact that the city is one of the financial and cultural hubs of Canada and that there is a perceived bias towards Toronto by the Canadian media and its Prime Minister
- Beantown - Boston, Massachusetts
- City of Angels - Los Angeles, California
- Pearl of the Orient - Hong Kong
- City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- The Emerald City - Seattle, Washington
- C-Town - Cleveland, Ohio
- Harbour City Sydney, Australia
- Winterpeg - Winnipeg, Canada Due to the city's extremely cold weather
Countries
- The Great White North - Canada
- The Land Down Under - Australia
- The Fine Country - Singapore - Often in a sarcastic or satirical manner, as to playfully describe the law enforcement of Singapore as corrupt-free and highly efficient; however, the island nation is also widely accepted has been imposing high fines to minor offences such as littering with such high effienciency that granted such nick name to the nation.
Regions
- The Wet Coast - British Columbia, Canada; a play on "The West Coast" because that area of the country rains a lot
- The Left Coast - Washington, Oregon, and California, United States; due to their location in the country and generally liberal ideology.
- Brigde of the World, Heart of the Universe (Spanish: Puente del Mundo, Corazón del Universo) - Republic of Panama; due to the convergence of the principal trade routes through its Panama Canal
Nicknames for political terms
- Pinko - a communist
- Red - a communist, but can also mean a rebel who is against the government
- Hawk - a person who supports and pursues aggressive foreign policies, such as going to war in order to achieve his/her goals
- Dove - a person who supports and pursues peaceful means to conduct foreign policy, as opposed to war
- Skinhead - a neo-Nazi or a white supremacist
- Tory - a person belonging to the Conservative Party in Great Britain and Canada
- Grit - a person belonging to the Liberal Party in Canada
- The Little Red Book - the book that contains quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, often called that because the book itself has a red cover and small enough to fit into a pocket
Nicknames for some common items
Nicknames for professions
Nicknames for companies
- The Little Thief - Little Chef, UK roadside restaurant.
- Wally World - Wal-Mart, global chain of retail stores.
- Tar-Get ("Get" pronounced "zhay")- Target retail store chain.
Military nicknames
- G.I. - American soldier (short for Government Issue or General Infantry)
- Dogface, gopher, grunt - infantry soldier
- D-boys, Delta boys, Deltas - Delta Force
- Zipperhead - armoured soldier
- Matelots, squids, swabies, deck ape, deck monkey - sailors
- Frogs - Navy Seals
- Leathernecks, jarheads - U.S. marines
- Puddle jumpers, shallow water sailors - United States Coast Guard
- Chairforce, airfarce - United States Air Force
- Blue job, wallet head - Canadian Air Force
- Blanket Stacker - members of Logistics or Engineering units
- Bin rat - Supply technician, Canadian Forces
- Redcap - British Military Police officer
See also: List of nicknames of British Army regiments; Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces
Sports clubs and their nicknames
Sporting clubs are often given nicknames. These may or may not be incorporated into official names or be used by the club. The names of animals or colours are popular. Examples:
Football (soccer)
Rugby Union
Baseball
Basketball
Cricket
American Football
Canadian Football
Hockey
See also
External links
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