Names/Nicknames

[Marisol]

Kitty and Kat are actually becoming the more popular nicknames for many Katherines in the grade schools.  At least in my area. 

[oz diva]

My mother had an Aunt Jennie who, for reasons unknown, was called Jane. (It was from her that I got my middle name, which I gave to my daughter as a first name.)

As far as I know, Jennie was her full given name - not short for anything. Jane was the nickname.

My grandmother whom I never met, was named Aileen, but she was called Janie. No idea why.

[Specky]

For Charles, I have heard Chip, Charlie, and Chuck.

And Chaz.

Not to mention Chick.

Chek.

[MizB]

the -azza nick names, how is the a sound pronounced?

[Ceallach]

the -azza nick names, how is the a sound pronounced?

Hmmm, how to describe it... the "az" sound is how you'd pronounce the word "as" and the "a" as the wod "a".   So the emphasis is on the AZ sound, and then "a" is tacked on at the end.   Bazz-a, Shazz-a.   

Thinking about it, it sort of rhymes with the phrase "has a" as in "Sally has a car" or "Jim has a motorbike".  Except change the consonant at the start of "has" to whatever name you're using, be it B, G, Sh or any other variation.      Of course that's not a rule, and sometimes somebody will lengthen it - maybe in the context of a greeting.  e.g. Sharon walks into a party and knocks back a shot of vodka and her friend goes "Yeah!!! Shazz-aaaaaaa!!!"      The beauty of nicknames over here is that they're often further varied. We give nicknames for nicknames.....  Judith can turn into Judy which can turn into Juju which can turn into JJ.....  Gareth turns into Gazza which is then shortened to just Gazz.....

[StarDrifter]

I know a Mitchell who is known as Wormz because he used to eat so much as a kid, his mother would always demand to know "MITCHELL! DO YOU HAVE WORMS?" He claims that she would give him de-worming treatments once a month because he was so skinny, but ate *everything*.

I also know a Mitchell who is known as Tan. It was a denigration - Mitchell - Hell - Satan - Tan. We were at a Catholic school so calling someone Hell or Satan was frowned upon, somewhat, so we called him Tan. It still sticks, a lot, and the fact that Mitchell is his last name, and his first name is Aaron, just makes people even more confused.

[MizB]

Thank you, Ceallach I had definitely been reading the end a bit differently lol.

[567Kate]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

[Ceallach]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

This always interests me too!   Another one I've noticed in this neck of the woods:  the Anthony's are now called "Ant" instead of "Tony".  The ones older than 40+ are Tony's, but not the ones younger!

[BabylonSister]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

This always interests me too!   Another one I've noticed in this neck of the woods:  the Anthony's are now called "Ant" instead of "Tony".  The ones older than 40+ are Tony's, but not the ones younger!

Anything to keep from sounding old! ;-) Cathy, Bob and the likes will probably become popular again when all the Kates and Robs are middle-aged.

[Brentwood]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

This always interests me too!   Another one I've noticed in this neck of the woods:  the Anthony's are now called "Ant" instead of "Tony".  The ones older than 40+ are Tony's, but not the ones younger!

The younger Anthonys I know go by their full names; I've never heard of one called Ant!

[Elfmama]

I know a Mitchell who is known as Wormz because he used to eat so much as a kid, his mother would always demand to know "MITCHELL! DO YOU HAVE WORMS?" He claims that she would give him de-worming treatments once a month because he was so skinny, but ate *everything*.

I also know a Mitchell who is known as Tan. It was a denigration - Mitchell - Hell - Satan - Tan. We were at a Catholic school so calling someone Hell or Satan was frowned upon, somewhat, so we called him Tan. It still sticks, a lot, and the fact that Mitchell is his last name, and his first name is Aaron, just makes people even more confused.

My youngest daughter went by 'Roo' for  a couple of years.  Let's say her name was 'Elizabeth'.  The sequence was Elizabeth - Lizzie - Liz - Lizzaroo - Roo.

[Marisol]

I love Tony.  Never heard anyone use "Ant". 

[Ceallach]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

This always interests me too!   Another one I've noticed in this neck of the woods:  the Anthony's are now called "Ant" instead of "Tony".  The ones older than 40+ are Tony's, but not the ones younger!

The younger Anthonys I know go by their full names; I've never heard of one called Ant!

Definitely a regional thing then!  I know a fair few "Ants" in New Zealand.  (They still go by Anthony as well, but their friends call them Ant/s and will refer to them as Ant in conversation).   

[camlan]

BTW, I think it's interesting how nicknaming trends can change with time, not necessarily distance. When I was growing up all the Kathleens and Catherines were known as Kathy or Cathy. Now Kate or Katie seems to be the most popular nickname. Also back then, most Elizabeths went by Beth. Now the younger Elizabeths I meet go by Elizabeth, with the occasional Betsy. Also, Becca seems to have eclipsed Becky as the nickname of choice for Rebecca.

Boys too. I know lots of men my age (20s) named Robert and William, but they always go by Rob or Will, never Bob or Bill.

My brother Robert, who is in his 50s, simply hated the nickname "Bob." So we had to call him "Rob." Bob seems to be the default nickname, at least for guys his age.

As Rob got older, he didn't bother correcting people if he didn''t see them often/wouldn't see them again. It's interesting, because I can tell how well someone knows him by whether they call him Rob or Bob. I had a suspicion when a really cute girl at one of his birthday parties was calling him "Rob" and sure enough, they got married!

And there was the time we were all home for Christmas to see my dad and someone called the house and asked for "Bob." I answered the phone and told the caller that there was no Bob here--simply didn't occur to me to think the caller wanted to talk to Rob.