Did you grow up in a place where everyone seemed to have aliases?

  • Thread starter Thread starter turbo
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around the cultural significance and personal experiences related to nicknames, particularly among men. Participants share anecdotes about unique and often humorous nicknames from their childhood and adolescence, highlighting how these names often reflect personality traits or physical characteristics. Many contributors note that nicknames were typically given by peers rather than family, and they often serve to differentiate individuals with common names. The conversation touches on the evolution of nicknames over time, with some being forgotten or replaced as people grow older. There is a recognition that while nicknames are prevalent in male social circles, they are less common among women, who tend to have shortened versions of their given names. The thread emphasizes the informal and spontaneous nature of nickname creation, illustrating how they can foster camaraderie and identity within communities.
turbo
Insights Author
Gold Member
Messages
3,157
Reaction score
57
A couple of years ago, I was talking to an older fellow about where I grew up. He was a client, and he wondered if I grew up near where I lived currently. When I told him that I grew up in Moscow/Bingham, he immediately said "Every guy there had a nickname!" He thought it was quite remarkable, and after thinking about it, I had to agree that it was a bit quaint. Thinking of males in between my father and myself in age, I immediately thought of Weasel, Popcorn, Witchy, Zyke (his real name is Kermit!), Dinghy, T-Joe, Rat's Beezer, Shorty, Snuffy, and many others. Such nicknames were generally not conferred on people who were outsiders - just natives.

I know that I grew up in a woodsy back-water, but has anybody else experienced this kind of thing? We see this kind of thing lampooned in gangster movies, where there are people named Joey Bag-o-Donuts, etc, but this is real-life. I'm one of the last of the nick-named generation(s), I think, that was not nick-named by older siblings unable to pronounce one's given name, but by peers. I have friends my age nick-named Ny-Ny, Meo, and Sissy due to that kind of parental silliness.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
No nicknames where I grew up except the normal, Johnny or Jon for Jonathan, Pete for Peter, that sort of thing.
 
The reasons for the names are probably lost. Wiggy was really short, but I guess Shorty was already taken. Both guys are dead now, but I never knew their real names.
 
Thinking back to my high school days; there's Moose, Cyclopes (but we usually called him Cy so he wouldn't kill us), Stork, Sexy Rexy, Olive Oyl.
 
When I was introduced to the local pub near my first job, I was asked my name. I'm Jonathan but I was usually called "Jo" then (probably after the A.A.Milne poem "Jonathan Jo"), so I said "Jo - short for Jonathan". Someone immediately said "That's too long - we'll call you 'Shortfer', short for "Jo short for Jonathan", and they did for many years afterwards, much to my irritation.

It was certainly very usual around there to give people with common names such as "John" or "David" a nickname instead, to avoid confusion at least among those who knew it (but generally maximize it among others).
 
When I was a born, my mother (in a drug induced delirium, I imagine) forgot to give my name as "Peter James" as she had intended on the birth certificate and named me after my father. That turned out to be quite inconvenient, so I was named nick-named Skip by my father, Skipper by my great uncle, Davidson by some neighborhood kids, and MaLou by a particularly devious consortium of older kids (as in "Skip to my Lou, my darling"). Luckily, I shed all but one of them.
 
No such fancy nicknames where I grew up. In High School (Northern Virginia at the time), people had nicknames based on their last name, mostly. I noticed the tendency for long names to be shortened to one syllable: "Phillips" >> "Lips," "Przedpelski" >> "Shep," etc.

Meanwhile one-syllable names were extended to multiple syllables: "Poole" >> "Poolie";
"Stein" >> "MacSteinovich"
 
Chi Meson said:
No such fancy nicknames where I grew up. In High School (Northern Virginia at the time), people had nicknames based on their last name, mostly. I noticed the tendency for long names to be shortened to one syllable: "Phillips" >> "Lips," "Przedpelski" >> "Shep," etc.

Meanwhile one-syllable names were extended to multiple syllables: "Poole" >> "Poolie";
"Stein" >> "MacSteinovich"
Yep, that was a manly high school thing, guys called by last names. Girls still used first names. Except I had a very popular older brother, so guys would call me "brother's last name's sister". For example "hey, that's Smith's sister!".
 
Some friends do have nicknames, but I cannot mention them here :smile:
 
  • #10
There are a few nicknames in my family. My grandfather is nicknamed "Beans" because his real name, Lyman, sounds like Lima. I have an uncle Bud, because he's addicted to Budweiser. His real name (yes, HIS) is Terry Lynn. No wonder he grew up to be an alchy.

My nickname is "little Jack" and my father is "big Jack." We're approximately the same size.
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Fighter pilots have 'official' nicknames, which are even registered for use during tatical operations, so the ground station could advice: Butch and Rambo, hard starboard, bandits at 4oclock low, hot.

The nicknames were given by the squadron mates, so no way to chose a nice one.
I was Aye Bee (initials and also afterburner). This was not supposed to cause mix ups because the code word for afterburner was "gate". Nevertheless, people went to full max power when somebody would call me. so eventually it was changed in 'bee'.

Let's see. We had Toots, Mary Ann, Quicky, etc etc. Quicky became commander in chief of the Combined Dutch Armed Forces with four stars later.
 
  • #12
My given name comes with its own nickname.
 
  • #13
For a time in high school I was called Pharaoh, but most of my life I went by my given name.
 
  • #14
Loren Booda said:
My given name comes with its own nickname.
I guess you get used to it after a while, people yelling out "hey, it's the Loren!"
 
  • #15
Monique said:
Some friends do have nicknames, but I cannot mention them here :smile:

LOL! My step-father seems to have a lot of friends with nicknames like that. It's what the guys really do all call each other, but they really aren't repeatable here.

When I was in college, the men sharing the other half of our dorm all had nicknames. I don't even know some of their real names. D-train, CamCam, Nick (whose real name was NOT Nicholas)...the thing is, nicknames just happened, they weren't intentional and not anything the bearer of the name chose. It seems to be a guy thing. I've never known women to have any nicknames other than a shortening of their given name.
 
  • #16
Moonbear said:
LOL! My step-father seems to have a lot of friends with nicknames like that. It's what the guys really do all call each other, but they really aren't repeatable here.

When I was in college, the men sharing the other half of our dorm all had nicknames. I don't even know some of their real names. D-train, CamCam, Nick (whose real name was NOT Nicholas)...the thing is, nicknames just happened, they weren't intentional and not anything the bearer of the name chose. It seems to be a guy thing. I've never known women to have any nicknames other than a shortening of their given name.

I work with all men; they've given me many nicknames. http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Beaker" and Sunshine are two commonly used. But some are only transient, lasting maybe an afternoon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #17
My wife has nicknames for me, but the profanity filter wouldn't allow me to post them. :biggrin:

As a kid, I was known as Pork Chops. I don't remember how or why this got started.

I do still encounter nicknames among workers in factories. Probably the most common is the name for electricians - Sparky. The use of the name has evolved to the point where Sparky is a generic term for "electrician".
 
  • #18
I think it was in junior high, there was a brief period where our mother's first names were used for male nicknames. I was Mable, I wonder now how they found out the name.

OF
 
  • #19
Chi Meson said:
I guess you get used to it after a while, people yelling out "hey, it's the Loren!"

I am the Loren, I speak for the trees!
 
  • #20
Loren Booda said:
I am the Loren, I speak for the trees!

Small tree
 
  • #21
Oh i think this is normal

Happy feet
Chewbaca
Light bulb
Fat Joe
Rambo
Enano
Chicharron
Baobacs
Wizzie
Tudubem
Mojo-jo-jo
ChinoThat sort of things but we all knew our real names in school, out side school no nick names.
 
  • #22
AlexES16 said:
Oh i think this is normal

Happy feet
Chewbaca
Light bulb
Fat Joe
Rambo
Enano
Chicharron
Baobacs
Wizzie
Tudubem
Mojo-jo-jo
Chino


That sort of things but we all knew our real names in school, out side school no nick names.

Sure you've got them spelled right?
 
  • #23
Loren Booda said:
Sure you've got them spelled right?
I'm not sure I spelled mine right, either. It's an oral tradition.
 
  • #24
Loren Booda said:
Sure you've got them spelled right?

Not at all
 
  • #25
turbo-1 said:
I'm not sure I spelled mine right, either. It's an oral tradition.

Exactly
 
  • #26
turbo-1 said:
I'm not sure I spelled mine right, either. It's an oral tradition.

It's a joke, son. Unless your nickname is Oral.
 
  • #27
My sibs all had nicknames that evolved over our younger lives. Some have meaning, some the meaning has been lost in time. Most have been mercifully put to rest in adulthood.

The family (and extended family) has determined that they pretty much all originated in the mind of my oldest brother. No one knows why he had this particular bent.

Let's see:
Marianne: mill, pooze
Lynn: lard, layads
Mike: pic-yer-nose (pic) (the rest of us didn't have as much imagination as he)
Rich: pitch, pitch-the-ball-game, bert, bereet, beREET!, <unspellable squirrel-like raspberry>, sure-burt, sherbert
Dave: beaver, puss-n-boots, puss, biz
 
  • #28
Okay, am I the only one who sees the irony in Turbo1, Evo, Moonbear, DaveC426913, Loren Booda, Ivan Seeking, AlexES16, et al, discussing the use of nicknames and whether they are still used?
 
  • #29
I figured that only my user name, of these, is actually my real name.
 
  • #30
Loren Booda said:
I figured that only my user name, of these, is actually my real name.

Nope, mine is too.
 

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top