Nickname
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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.
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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-. 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
- Andie for Andrea
- Andy, Drew for Andrew
- Ant, Tony, Toni, Tone for Anthony
- Barb, Barbie, Babs for Barbara
- Ben, Benny, Benji for Benjamin
- Chuck, Chaz, Charlie for Charles
- Chris, Chrissy, Chrissie for Christopher or Christine
- Donna for Donnatella
- Dan, Danny for Daniel
- Ella, Ellie, Elle for Eleanor
- Ed, Eddie for Edward
- Em, Ems, Emmy for Emily and Emma
- Harry, Hal for Henry and Harold
- Jack for John
- Jon for Jonathan
- Jeff for Jefferson or Jeffrey (originally for Jefferson but now more often Jeffrey, a new form of Geoffrey)
- Jerry for Jerome
- Joe, Joey for Joseph
- Josh for Joshua
- Kate, Katie, Kathy for Katherine or Kaitlyn
- Laur, Lauri, Laurie for Laurence, Laura or Lauren
- Leo, Len, Lenny for Leonard or Leopold
- Mandy, Mandi, Manda for Amanda
- Maddie, Maddy for Madeline
- Marg, Maggie for Margaret
- Matt, Mattie for Matthew
- Mil, Milf for Milford
- Mo for Mohammed
- Moll, Molly Dolly, Good Golly Miss Molly for Molly
- Nate, Nat for Nathan, Nathaniel, Natalie
- Pat, Trish, Tricia for Patricia
- Rick, Rich, Dick for Richard
- Bob, Rob, Robbie, Bobby, Rab for Robert
- Ron, Ronnie for Ronald
- Rosie for Rosemary
- Sam for Samuel or Samantha
- Steph or 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 for Theodore (or Edward)
- Teddie, Thea for Theodora
- Tom, Thom, Tommy for Thomas
- Wen, Wendel for Wendy
- Bill, Billy, Will, Willy for William
- Zach for Zachary
Many of these names are also registered as formal birth names.
2. A nickname may relate directly to a person's surname. Examples:
- Mitch for someone with the surname Mitchell
- 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:
- Flo-Jo Florence Griffith Joyner
- Ho-Jo, any person named Howard Johnson or the chain of hotels with the same name
- J-Lo Jennifer Lopez ('J' from Jennifer and 'Lo' from Lopez)
- A-Rod Alex Rodriguez
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:
- Aussie for an Australian
- Canuck for a person from Canada
- Kiwi for a New Zealander
- Limey for an English person (U.S. usage); Pom or Pommy (Australian usage)
- Mac or Jock for a Scottish person
- Pinoy (or Noypi) for Filipino person
- Newfie for a person from Newfoundland or Labrador
- Scouse for a person from Liverpool
- Taff for a Welsh person
- Tex for a person from Texas
- Wack for a person from Liverpool (obsolete)
- Yank for a person from the USA
Relating to personal characteristics
7. A nickname may relate to the person's calling. Examples:
- Chips for a carpenter
- Sparky or Sparks for an electrician or radio operator
- Chief for a boss
8. It may reference a person's physical characteristics. Examples:
- Baldy for a bald person
- Tubby for a fat person
- Lofty for a tall person
- Four-eyes for a person with glasses
- Red 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
- 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:
- Grumpy
- Swotty
- Romeo
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, 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:
- Tippecanoe for William Henry Harrison
- Dubya for George W. Bush. Dubya is from the Texan pronunciation of 'w', Bush's middle initial.
- Jack The Dripper for painter Jackson Pollock who created many of his works by dripping paint over horizontal canvas
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.
- 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
- 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
- Centre of the Universe - Toronto, Canada, often used negatively by Canadians who live outside of Toronto due to the fact that the city is the financial and cultural hub of Canada and that there is a perceived bias towards Toronto by the Canadian media
- 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
Countries
Regions
- The Wet Coast - British Columbia, Canada; a play on "The West Coast" because that area of the country rains a lot
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 aggresive 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 supremicist
- GOP - the Republican Party, stands for "Grand Old Party"
- 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
- boob tube, idiot box, telly, TV - television
- bug - Volkswagen Beetle
- head - toilet on a ship
- loo - toilet
- Old Glory - the Flag of the United States
Nicknames for professions
- Chippie, Wood Butcher - carpenter
- Cop, Pig/Bacon (usually a plural), Flatfoot - police officer
- Doc - doctor
- Geo - geologist or geophysicist
- Roughneck - oil rigger
- Shark - lawyer
- Shovelbums - archaeological field technicians
- Shrink - psychiatrist
Military nicknames
- G.I. - soldier (short for Government Issue)
- Dogface, gopher, grunt - infantry soldier
- Zipperhead - armoured soldier
- Matelots, squids, swabies - sailors
- Frogs - Navy Seals
- Leathernecks, Jarheads - U.S. marines
See also: List of nicknames of British Army regiments
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:
Soccer
- The Gunners - Arsenal F.C.
- Red Devils - Manchester United F.C.
- The Reds - Liverpool F.C
- Magpies - Newcastle United FC
- Canaries - Norwich City
- Rams Derby County FC
- Sky Blues - Coventry City F.C.
- Hoops, Bhoys - Celtic F.C.
- 'Gers, - Rangers F.C.
- The Toffees - Everton F.C.
- Gnaget AIK
- Bajen Hammarby_IF
- Vraken Djurgårdens_IF
- Blåvitt IFK_Göteborg
- Makrillarna GAIS
- I Bionconeri, La Vecchia Signora Juventus
Rugby Union
- Leicester Tigers - Leicester Rugby Football Club
Baseball
- Boston Red Sox- BoSox
- Washington Nationals- Nats
- Chicago White Sox - ChiSox
- Oakland Athletics - A's
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Halos
- New York Mets - nicknamed "The Loveable Losers" when they first started playing
- Cincinnati Reds - nicknamed "The Big Red Machine" during the team's run in the 1970's, when they won the division 6 times and appeared in the World Series 4 times
Hockey
- Montreal Canadiens- Habs
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim- Ducks
- Toronto Maple Leafs - the Buds (reference to Canada's tolerance of marijuana)
- New York Rangers - the Blueshirts
- Philadelphia Flyers - nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies" during the team's Stanley Cup runs during the 1970's
- Tampa Bay Lightning - the Bolts
See also
- List of monarchs by nickname
- List of nicknames used by George W. Bush
- List of U.S. Presidential nicknamesda:øgenavn
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