As a general rule, I pretty much hate nicknames. I think they are...well, I have a name for a reason, right? Nicknames seem weird to me. That's not to say I've never had one. I think I've had several. My family, for instance, calls me "T". Always have and always will. I had two nicknames from my ex: Estelle, which was more a joke than anything and still makes me laugh and Felix, which was bestowed upon me early on in our relationship. In fact, I can't remember a time he didn't call me Felix; he rarely used my given name. And while I mostly hate nicknames, I didn't mind that one. I'm still sad, sometimes, that it is gone.
Isaac and I, however, don't have nicknames for one another (not counting the "babe" or "my love" or "whatever else goes in that vein we call one another"). He has a couple from his younger years that people still sometimes call him, but I cannot, for the life of me, join in with them. It just seems weird. He's very much an "Isaac". Sammy has a host of funny nicknames. Some which won't live past his small years, but some that may. Most, I'm sure, he would hate for me to record for posterity. "Poodle" I'm sure, is one of those. Oops! Does this count as recording?! Hmmm...:) (In my defense, poodle has a very natural progression...I'm just not sure why it STOPPED and STUCK there!) However, he gets called Sammy Lammy, Poodle, Lou (which is most common and I can see that one sticking...especially since he gets called that in public and actually answers!) and, of course, Sammy. Which is not his given name. I sometimes get sad thinking there will most likely come a day when he is just "Sam" and not "Sammy". Hurts my heart a little.
I know I'm not alone in my shortening the name for nicknames dislike. One of my best friends hated when her given name (Nicola) was shortened to Nick or Nikki or something else (we won't get into how her nickname from then on became Sprite...). And I know my sister was pretty adamant that her oldest was called his given name from the start and not shortened to any of the popular nicknames usually attached to that name.
What about you? Nickname fan? Hate yours? Wish you had a cool one and long to start the trend yourself? (oh, wait...is that just my superhero dream coming to life?)
(Speaking of makes me happy...not that I was...10 pts to the person who can tell me where the title of the post comes from. It makes me laugh!)
(get the message, electronic)
My name is Patricia. Thank goodness my parents didn't insist on no nicknames. Somehow Patricia just doesn't sound right for a young child. In fact I still feel old when someone uses it. I was Patty till I was about 11. Then I decided that Tricia sounded so much more "city" when we moved to Utah from North Carolina and the kids were teasing me about my accent.
ReplyDeleteEventually even that nickname got shortened to Trish. Almost no one calls me Tricia anymore.
I started out naming my children with very strict orders to everyone around that no names be shortened and no nick names be given.
Kayleigh had nicknames almost immediately. No one listened to me. ha! But they never shortened her name. No Kay or Leigh. Just other random nicknames. In high school some of her friends did start calling her Kay.
Heather seemed safe in that there isn't any natural way to shorten it. But the nicknames came right away with her too. The one that stuck, even now that she is 22 years old, was Heiffer. LOL Can you believe that? And she doesn't mind!
By the time Mackenzie was born I had given up. Even I began calling her Kenzie right away. Now she tells people that her name is Mackenzie but the Mac is silent.
Emily was Em right away.
Amber and Crystal weren't mine from the beginning and didn't seem to come with any nicknames when they became mine.
Ironically, now that I've lost all my fight over the subject, Jaxon is mostly just Jaxon. Sometimes "Mister" given his unique only male child status.
>end of novel<
For me it depends on the nickname and where/who it came from. (I form my opinion on a case by case basis.) How it was conceived makes a big difference for me.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, think it's rude when someone who doesn't really know you insists on shortening your name even when you express your preference for your given name. They haven't earned the right for that level of name intimacy. Or whatever.
(How did I end up with "conceived" and "intimacy" in a comment about nicknames?)
The title reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
ReplyDeleteI've had a ton of nicknames. I was called Grace by several of my friends my freshman year of college - to the point where they forgot my real name. The only times that names have come close to bothering me is when current boyfriend randomly comes to the same nickname that the previous one did (weird feeling but not a huge deal), or when I get called the wrong name, usually Rebecca. It's been Rebecca ever since I was in primary, an it makes me wonder if I look like a Rebecca or it's just another R name from the bible.
lbs - I agree. It DOES depend on a lot. I had a friend once who always knew a telemarketer was on the phone because he asked for "Joe". My friend was never Joe...always Joseph. So only people trying for the familiar (and failing!) used Joe.
ReplyDeleteRachael - seriously...people call you Rebecca? Grace was going to be the middle name should Sammy have been a girl. I often wondered if people would think it was due to the place, though. Almost to the point that I talked myself out of it!
I'm with lbs. It really depends on who gives the name and why. I am not a fan of shortening my own name. When people would ask if I was called Mandy, I would reply with all the considerable attitude I had, Do I look like a Mandy to you? No one ever asked twice...
ReplyDeleteHa! I CANNOT imagine calling you Mandy...
ReplyDeleteI think this no nick name thing comes from our great-grandmother who insisted that you call a child by the name you give it when it is born. I remember my friend was always Sarah Jane and now when I see her on facebook it seems weird to me to just see Sarah.
ReplyDeleteI have always HATED the name Sandy and if you call me that, I will not answer you. Well, the first time I will answer long enough to tell you that it is not my name. The only one that could ever get away with calling me Sandy is Mom and that is because she called me by the letters of my name: San-Dee-R-longA (hence the e-mail address,sandyray) I totally agree with Lbs. on people needing to earn the right to call me by something other than the name by which I am introduced.
As for my kids- I have pretty much stuck by calling them what I named them. Jessica does get shortened to Jess and when she was small Jessie. Jacob prefers Jake and Matthew prefers Matt- I however call them Jacob and Matthew. Brandalyn is the only one that I call by a shortened version- Brandi.
But most of them have had silly names when they were babies/pre-school age. And like you with Sammy, I am not sure they would appreciate me recording them in public. So I will refain from telling you that buff Marine Donovan was "Banana bear" until he was almost 2.
And like Trish, I will end my novel on this subject. (do you remember what I used to call you when you were small? And how when I left for college you were cried because no one would call you that anymore?)
I commented first thing this morning and my comment is not here, and I am sad.
ReplyDelete-shaz
I always wanted a cool nickname but with Hubbard as a maiden name the most I got was Hubbweird which I absolutely hated. On and people keep calling me Lori for some reason which I loathe, detest, may never speak to the person again for doing so. So not me. Oh, one more, my grandmother used to call me "Lora-lou-I-Love-You". that was okay... for grandma to say, not so much on others.
ReplyDeleteVery curious about Shaz's disappeared comment. and just where does the title come from?
Don't even get me started on what people call me here... not nicknames, per sea, but they just DO NOT understand my name, so they change it from what I said, to what they think it should be. Oh, and my guess is Ferris Buelers Day Off.....
ReplyDeleteD
Sharon - I never saw it! I'm so curious...
ReplyDeleteThe title comes from my REAL favorite movie, "Bedazzled".
Rachael - My name is Rebecca, and people often call me Rachel. I think it is because they're two Biblical R names and they're even related in the Bible, so people probably think they're interchangeable or something.
ReplyDeleteI second lbs's comment. I've been given a lot of nicknames, and I don't mind any of them that come from friends, but when people I barely know start shortening my name, I get irritated. I'd rather they called me Rachel. Or "Rache." Ha ha.
My family calls me "Boo," and my husband picked up on it and started calling me "Boo," which seemed kind of weird to me at first, but since he was married to me, he had achieved nickname-worthy intimacy, as lbs might say, so I decided it was probably okay (probably), but then he started messing around with it to the point where he now frequently calls me "Boobs," which I don't find charming, despite our intimacy. I might like it better if I could think of it as an ironic nickname, but basically I just find it kind of creepy. But since it's his personality to do things that creep me out, I guess it's appropriate.
On the other hand, I am an incorrigible nickname-bestower, so I suppose I can't complain. (I don't bestow them on people I barely know, though, so it's not like I'm a hypocrite or something. Or at least not a big one.)