Nicknames

Why is it that everyone must have a nickname?  Sometimes it's just a play on your given name, and sometimes it is an event that could haunt you forever.  Nicknames started historically where it was common for several people in the family to have the same name.  I have a friend whose name, and several sister's names, was Mary Margaret.  Mary could have the nicknames Molly, Polly, or Mae.  Margaret might be called Peggy, Greta, Meg, Maggie, or Daisy.  Her name was Peggy, and her sister's name was Molly.  What?  I think I will have a child named Lisa and call her Stacy.  That makes no sense to me.  Maybe it's a Catholic thing.

I remember in Jr. High School, one of the teachers was doing role on the first day of school.  He would run down the list of names and almost every kid would change their "given" name to a nickname.  He finally said, "Why don't you people use the names your parents gave to you?"  Interesting question.  I would be really surprised if Nick ever uses the name Nicholas.  So, why did I feel compelled to name him the more formal name knowing that he would probably never use it?

Sometimes parents use nicknames to make their kid's names sound cuter and more age appropriate because they have named them a more grown up name.  Say, for instance, when your name is Melissa and somebody in your family thinks it's cute to call you Missi.  Unless you live in Texas and are a member of the garden club, no grown woman wants to be saddled with that.  Oh, and a note to all those well-intentioned family members, it takes years to shed that name.  I still have friends that will always call me Missi because THAT WAS MY NAME WHEN THEY KNEW ME AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER.  That was the name I always had.  Of course that is what I told people to call me growing up. Now, not so much. I always have a huge identity crisis whenever I dial the 417 area code where I grew up.  Um, hi it's Melissa Married Name, uh, Missi Maiden Name.  Yikes.  There are also some people that refuse to conform.  Sometimes I will call my mother and say it's Melissa.  Who, she says?  Um, it's Missi.  You know, you were the one who put the name on the birth certificate.  I'm just saying when you give your cute little children nicknames, make sure you aren't saddling them with an identity crisis.  Chances are you are going to screw them up somehow anyway and this one could be avoided.

Some fun ways are to give them nicknames never to be used outside of the home.  Some of my favorite Nick ones are Nicholas Nickleby, Nicklebear,  Nickleberry, Sugarfoot and some that I'm saving to bribe him with in later teenage years.  Taylor's are Taylor Tot, Totman, Wumpkin, Little Stahly, Totski, Taylor Bug, Taylor Mae, and Pumpkin Bear.  There is no rhyme or reason to them and I doubt we will still be using them in 20 years.  Fun for me.  Not traumatic for them.

Some cultures ALWAYS give you a nickname.  For instance, the Australians always use nicknames as a term of endearment.  Mine is Mel.  I can't tell you how much I am not a Mel.  Hey, Mel.  I know that it is meant to be nice, and a 3 syllable name is a handful, so I don't complain.  Besides, they shorten everything.

Then there are the nicknames you are saddled with.  I won't mention some of them here, CHICKEN, but they all have a piece of history behind them.  In my last job, I was the recipient of the nickname "Chops."  I had a customer who was a rather large man of at least 425 pounds and we were at a corporate event with all the other customers in Las Vegas.  One of my co-workers saw that my customer was staring at me from across the room.  My co-worker said, "That man over there is staring at you like you're a naked pork chop."  So, that's how I got the name Chops. 

Parents beware.  Give your kids nicknames they can use privately in their own homes.  Let their friends come up with the rest.