A
nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a
descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official
name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or
truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used
simply for convenience (ex. "Bob", "Bobby", "Rob", "Robbie", "Hob",
and "Bert" for the name Robert)The term
hypocoristic is used to refer to a nickname of
affection between those in love or with a close emotional bond,
compared with a
term of
endearment. The term
diminutive name
refers to nicknames that convey smallness, hence something regarded
with affection or familiarity (e.g., referring to children,) or
contempt.Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 6
th edition
The distinction between the two is often blurred.
As a concept, it is distinct from both
pseudonym and
stage
name, and also from a
title (for example,
City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these
concepts.
A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of
acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.
Etymology
The compound word
ekename, literally meaning "additional
name", was attested as late as 1303. This word was derived from the
Old English phrase
eaca "an
increase", related to
eacian "to increase"). By the 15th
Century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an
ekename" led to its corruption into the form "a nekename." Though
spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word
have remained relatively stable ever since.
Uses in various societies
In
Viking societies, many people had
nicknames
heiti,
viðrnefni or
uppnefni
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.
Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard
about someone doing something could not identify the slave. In
capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the
slaves had nicknames, to protect them from being caught, as
practicing capoeira was illegal for decades.
Computing
In the context of
information
technology, a nickname (or technically a
nick) is a
common synonym for a
screenname or
handle.
Nickname is a name to shorten a name.
Nick is a
term originally used to identify a person in a system for
synchronous conferencing. In
computer networks it has become a
common practice for every person to also have one or more nicknames
for the purposes of
anonymity, to avoid
ambiguity or simply because the natural
name or technical
address would be too long
to type or take too much space on the
screen.
Performing arts
Many writers, performing artists and actors have nicknames, which
may develop into a
stage name or
pseudonym. A
bardic
name may also result from a nickname. Many writers have pen
names which they use instead of their real names. Famous writers
with a pen name include
Dr. Seuss,
Mark Twain,
Lemony Snicket,
Lewis Carroll and
George Orwell.
Nicknames for people
To inform an audience or readership of a person's nickname without
actually calling them by their nickname, the nickname is placed
between the first and last names and surrounded by quotation marks
(e.g. Catherine "Cate" Jones). The middle name is eliminated (if
there is one). Very rarely is the middle name mentioned with the
nickname, except when the first name is composed of two words, e.g.
"Beth Ann".
- They may refer to a person's job or title.
- "Bones" for a forensic
scientist or mortician.
- "Doc" for a doctor.
- "Sparky" for an Electrician.
- They may refer to a person's physical characteristics,
personality or lifestyle choices.
- In English:
- "Four-eyes" for a person with glasses.
- "Train tracks", "tin teeth", or "braceface" for a person with
braces.
- "Fatso" for a person that is overweight.
- "Butterface" for a girl that is good looking everywhere "but
her face".
- It should be noted that in English such nicknames are often
considered offensive or derogatory, unless the nickname is based on
a trait that is viewed positively. All of the above examples would
be offensive in most contexts.
- In Spanish-speaking cultures:
- Flaco (thin, weak)
- Palito (little stick)
- El Gordo (the fat one)
- Description of one's physical characteristics in a nickname
should almost never be taken as an insult in Spanish (for instance,
in the title of Univision's hit variety
show, El Gordo y la Flaca).
- Sometimes an adjective can become a nickname for a member of a
social group that shares a given name with another member of the
same group, e.g. "Gay Anthony" or "Little Jake". For example, in a
department with two professors with the initial and lastname Z.
Liu, they may be referred to as "Important Liu" and "Adjunct
Liu".
- A nickname can can be a shortened or modified variation on a
person's real name.
- They can be contractions of longer names Margaret to Greta
- With many nicknames a letter, usually R is dropped ie: Fanny
from Francis, Walt from Walter.
- During medieval times the letter R would often be swapped for
either L or D, ie: Hal from Harry, Molly from Mary and Sadie from
Sally.
- In nineteenth century, frontier America, Mary and Molly were
often given the nickname Polly.
- Letter swapping for nicknames is common, usually the letter R
for another letter. ie: from Robert: Hob, Dob, Rob, Bob and Nob,
from Richard: Rick, Dick and Hick, Bill from Will which in turn
comes from William and Peg from Meg which is derived from
Margaret.
- Sometimes a nickname can come from the back of the name (ie:
Drew from Andrew, Xander from Alexander)
- It can also can come from the front of the name (ie: Chris from
Christopher/Chistine, Sam from Samuel/Samantha and Ed from
Edward/Edmond/Edwin)
- Another possible nickname can come from the middle (ie: Liz
from Elizabeth or Della from Adelaide)
- Before the 17th century most
nicknames had the diminutive ending "in" or "Kin", where the ending
is attached to the first syllable. (IE: Watkin/Walter/Wat-kin
Hobkin/Robert/Hob-kin or Thompkin/Thomas/Thom-Kin.) While most of
these have died away, a few remain such as Robin (Rob-in, from
Robert), Hank (Hen-Kin from Henry), Jack (Jan-kin from John) and
Colin (Col-in from Nicolas).
- Many nicknames usually drop the final one or two letters and
add ether ie/ee/y as an ending ie Davy from David, Charlie from
Charles and Jimmy from James.
- In some cases another name may be used as a nickname. For
example, on the show Dead Like
Me the main character was called George, which was short
for Georgia.
- Initialization, which forms a nickname from a person's initials
(i.e. A.C. Slater from Albert Clifford Slater)
- Nicknames are sometimes based on a person's last name (i.e.
"Tommo" for Bill Thompson) or a combination of first and last name
(i.e. "Droopy" for Andrew Peterson, or "A-Rod" for Alex Rodriguez)
- Loose ties to a person's name with an attached suffix. For
Example, Gazza for English footballer Paul Gascoigne (though used more widely in
Australia for Gary) and similar "zza" forms (Hezza, Prezza, etc.) for other prominent
personalities whose activities are frequently reported in the
British press. See also Oxford "-er" for a
similar but wider phenomenon.
- It may allude to a person's mental characteristics (though
often used sarcastically):
- In Comics, it usually refers to a
character's special powers:
- "Wolverine" for James Howlett
because of his claws and excellent sense of smell.
- "Flash" for Wally West because of his
super speed.
- They may refer to the relationship with the person. This is a
term of endearment.
- In Japanese culture, Japanese honorifics is designed so that
term of endearment convey the exact status of the relationship
between two people. However, the recipient of the honorific is
allowed to restrict the use when used by a certain person.
- To avoid confusion between peer groups with the same given
names, surnames may be used.
- A nickname can be used to distinguish members of the same
family sharing the same name from one another. This has several
common patterns among sons named for fathers:
- The first bearer of the name can be referred to as Senior,
Daddy or have "Big", or "Older" placed in front of his given name,
as in "Big Pete", or "Older Pete".
- A son named after his father (but not after his grandfather) is
often referred to as Junior, Chip (also a diminutive of Charles,
but in this case in reference to "a chip off the old block"), Skip,
Sonny, or Deuce. Skip can also refer to a man named after his
paternal grandfather, implying that the name "skipped" a
generation. Another common, but much less popular nickname for a
son named after his father is having "Little" placed in front of
his name, as in "Little Pete", though this tends to be avoided if
possible (especially if the son happens to become physically bigger
than the father he's named after) due to its unpopularity with most
sons who share the same name with their fathers. Likewise, a
similar, and more acceptable form of this kind of nickname is to
have "Younger" placed in front the younger son's name, as in
"Younger Pete".
- The third generation carrying a name (usually with III after
his name) is often referred to as Trey, Tripp, or Trip (from
Triple). Skip also is a frequently used nickname for "thirds"
because they "skipped" being a "Junior". (This is so because,
technically, one is only a "Third" if both the "Senior" and
"Junior" are living when the "Third" is born; however, in the
United States, the practice of a "Junior" dropping the appellation
upon his father's death has all but disappeared, so many more
"Thirds" are found in the US.)
- The fourth generation carrying a name (usually with IV after
his name) may be referred to as Ivy, (as in IV) Quad, Quadry, or
Dru (from Quadruple).
- The fifth generation carrying a name (usually with V after his
name) may be referred to as Quint, Quince, Quincy, or Quinton (from
Quintuple).
- It may relate to a specific incident or action. Examples:
- It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character.
Examples:
- Napoleon or Hitler for someone with a dictatorial
manner.
- Pollyanna for someone with a very
optimisitc view of things.
- It may be related to their place of origin or place of
residence. Example:
- Gloucester, Paul from Gloucester or PFG for
someone named Paul who comes from Gloucester
.
- It may refer to a person's political affiliation. Examples:
- A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:
In Anglo-American culture, a nickname is often based on a
shortening of a person's proper name, a
diminutive.
However, in other societies, this may not necessarily the
case.
In
Indian society, for example,
generally people have at least one nickname (
call name or
affection name) and these affection names are generally
not related to the person's proper name. Indian nicknames very
often are a trivial word or a
diminutive (such as
Bablu,
Dabbu,
Banti,
Babli,
Gudiya,
Golu,
Sonu,
Chhotu,
Raju,
Adi,
Ritu, etc.).
In Australian society, typical Australian men will give nicknames
that may be ironic, for example, a man with red hair will get the
nickname 'Bluey'.
Nicknames of geographical places
Many geographic places adopt nicknames because they can help in
establishing a civic identity, help outsiders recognize a community
or attract people to a community because of its nickname, promote
civic pride, and build community unity. Nicknames and slogans that
successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also
believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult
to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have
achieved substantial economic benefits by "
branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.
Collective nicknames of inhabitants of a geographical
place
Besides or replacing the
demonym, some
cities and village have collective nicknames for their inhabitants.
This
tradition is still strong nowadays in Wallonia
(Belgium),
where this sort of nickname is referred to in French as "Blason populaire".
See also
References
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