Most people probably know what a nickname is. It’s a name that is normally descriptive, but which isn’t their given name or surname. For instance, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was commonly known by his nickname of Jack. The retired basketball player, Ervin Johnson, was given the nickname “Magic” because of how he handled a basketball when he played. Jazz great, Louis Armstrong, was known by his nickname, Satchmo. There are many other examples of nicknames and a lot of people have them. Some people don’t.
One of my uncles was known to everyone as “Bud”, his nickname. His real name was Theron Sylvester Haley. On the other hand, my brother, Steve, had a nickname that was only used by family; Bugs (after Bugs Bunny). I have a nickname that only family and childhood friends call me by. I was given the name when I was brought home from the hospital as a premature baby. As the story was told, I was tiny because I was a premature baby and when my grandmother saw me for the first time, she exclaimed, “Why, he’s no bigger than a buzzard’s breath!”. My family still calls me Buzz, the contraction of ‘buzzard’s breath’, though I won’t answer to it when others call me by that name unless it is used by one of the few remaining childhood friends who knew me before I became 10-years-old.
Here’s a bit of trivia:
The word “nickname” was originally written as “eke name” or “ekename”. In its original use, ‘eke’ meant “in addition to” or “also”. Thus, an ekename was an additional name. The word was written as ‘an ekename’ and when spoken, this rather took on the form of ‘a nekename’. Later, this was written as simply nickname.
At any rate, nicknames have been around for a long time; at least before the middle-ages.This poll is in regards to nicknames.
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Question of
Do you have a nickname?
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Yes, and it is the name I usually go by
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Yes, but it is a private nickname only used by family or close friends.
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I had a nickname in the past, but don’t presently use it.
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Not that I’m aware of.
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Question of
Do you have any close friends or family members who are known by a nickname?
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Yes
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No
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Possibly, but I’m not sure
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Question of
Have you ever given someone a nickname?
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Yes
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No
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Not intentionally
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lovely post dear i like it
i have given nicknames to many people and it creates fun while calling them.
Do you find it easier to remember a person’s nickname than it is to remember their real name?
I have a family nickname, others with business friends, and a childhood friends.
And now I’m giving myself nicknames on the web. So I’m here and on the Robin Biznis.
And my name is Dragan Cankovic
Personally, I really like your real first name. That is a neat name.
Thank you for thinking that my name is nice, I know it was popular at the time of my birth. It’s coming from a dear.
i gave my late shihszus nickames: tina was tintin, vivi was vivianne, and dibbu was dibbuleo or leo as well as my late cat lelou was leloubelle or leelee. the nickname for my current cat, Gumby is GummyBear.
We also nicknamed many of our pets. We’ve done that for a very long time.
I’ve given everyone close a nickname – but not to shame or what, just that I feel closer to them when I call them by their nicknames (that is of course if they don’t mind).
I however don’t have one other than my initial.
We purposely named our daughter so that her initials would spell something in case she decided that she wanted a nickname. Her name is Chrystina Athena Trulove and everyone actually calls her Cat. :))
Oh, that is pretty creative and cute…