NationStates Jolt Archive

This is another post in continuing series of questions about the evolution of society. I've wondered about manners, speech, tattoos, and other crucial topics, but this time it's really important. People just aren't what they used to be when it comes to names.

When I grew up, every kid was called by a nickname or a diminutive form of his real name. William was Billy, then Bill. Charles was Charlie, then Chuck. Margaret was Maggie or Peggy. Someone with a particularly weird name might be called Butch, or Buddy. I knew a guy named Kermit, but only by Butch until much later in life. The only time we ever heard one of the gang referred to by their proper name was when they were in trouble. Then, it was the whole thing, as in "David Allan Coe, get in here this minute."

Now, everyone under thirty, or so, seems to want to be called by their proper first name. Okay, I oblige them, but why aren't they content with a more familiar form. Especially when everyone has adopted a false familiarity with everyone else.

I have an engineer that works for me named Charles. Not Chuck. Never. He's young. I have another engineer that works for me named Chuck. Not Charles. He's around my age -- mid forties.

We're even introduced to two and three year olds as "Michael", "Jonathan", or "Edward", or worse for some of the girls, "Anne Marie", or "Elizabeth". Don't people call their kids "Mike" or "Eddie" or "Beth" anymore?

If this goes anywhere, I've got a sidebar about nicknames in Marine Corps squadrons that's kind of funny, but I'm tired of typing.

They left for Brazil.

Now, everyone under thirty, or so, seems to want to be called by their proper first name. Okay, I oblige them, but why aren't they content with a more familiar form. Especially when everyone has adopted a false familiarity with everyone else.

Hm...no. Hardly anyone I know calls me by my first name (Chris). It's too common. Same for all of my other friends named Chris.

They left for Brazil.
There's a lot of Brazil, isn't there? I was looking at a map of South America and I couldn't get over how much of it was Brazil.

Hm...no. Hardly anyone I know calls me by my first name (Chris). It's too common. Same for all of my other friends named Chris.
You're right. That one exception disproves my entire generalization. The shame of it all.

Well, I do know a couple Jameses who prefer to be referred to as James... but then I know a James who gets called Jamie and another who gets called Sparky... my uncle gets called Jim or Jimmy, but he's also older.


I have had some nicknames, one of my friends calls me Squishy. That's not really a diminuative though, my name doesn't really make for good diminuatives...

There's a lot of Brazil, isn't there? I was looking at a map of South America and I couldn't get over how much of it was Brazil.
Yeah, kinda like Russia. There's just so much of it.

My name is Karina, but I experienced being called Mons three years ago. And that is what everyone calls me now.

You're right. That one exception disproves my entire generalization. The shame of it all.
I don't want to be called by my first name either, I very much prefer "Big Cheese".

On the other hand, there are a lot of grown men in the South that never outgrew their childhood names. My wife has a 60+ uncle named Tommy. I have a technician working for me, whose given name is Tommie.

Well, if you get used to being called a certain thing, why change it?

I always get the most stupid nicknames, so no loss for me.

i'm usually called meg(which i hate), meggie moo(surprisingly alright with me) or frankie and most of my friends aren't usually called by their proper names either.

You're right. That one exception disproves my entire generalization. The shame of it all.

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?

Anyway, a good many of my friends have nicknames, so I haven't noticed any change myself.

Me and many of my friends have nicknames. My mate Jack is known to everyone as Dobby and I'm known as Azza or Deep.

having a name "Bruce", good luck shortening it.

Also, my dads name is Larry. Not Lawrence, but Larry. When ever a church or religious group sends us mail, it is sent to Lawrence. Everyone else seems to get it. Anyone have a reason why it would only be churches that do this?

I have a "nickname" which I've aquired fairly late in my childhood. Fact of the matter is it is a diminuitive. That means that it's an insult for someone who isn't close to you to use it. They are both de-formalizing and not particularly respectful to distance. I certainly only let a few people refer to me as "Jimbo" rather than "James".

The basic issue is that in the professional world, you don't let others lessen their respect for you, unless its part of trying to make a deal. That's a matter of remaining competitive in the feild.

Of course, as the millenium generation begins entering the workforce, nicknames will rise again, because we tend to be informal and less work-driven than generations before us. We work hard on other things, which in turn means that our priorities change.

having a name "Bruce", good luck shortening it.
Bru? Or "B" for that matter?

Bru? Or "B" for that matter?
my mother used to give me random nicknames because you can't yell "Bruce" without sounding like you're whining.
So I've been Fred, Guffy, and a few others. As well as Boobs, Bronto, and Spike from friends.

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?

Anyway, a good many of my friends have nicknames, so I haven't noticed any change myself.
Wrong side of the bed? No, but I haven't had any coffee, yet. Maybe this whole proper name thing is a United States phenomenon.

my mother used to give me random nicknames because you can't yell "Bruce" without sounding like you're whining.
So I've been Fred, Guffy, and a few others. As well as Boobs, Bronto, and Spike from friends.
Your mom called you Boobs?

Your mom called you Boobs?
nope...that was a nickname from my friends. And it actually originally had noting to do with the female body. Go figure.

nope...that was a nickname from my friends. And it actually originally had noting to do with the female body. Go figure.
Ah, you said your mom gave you random nicknames, so I got kinda surprised.

Ah, you said your mom gave you random nicknames, so I got kinda surprised.
I've read that it's a bad sign when parents don't have cute pet names for their kids. The parents that don't call their daughter things like "punkin" are, supposedly, not as attached to the kids.

I've read that it's a bad sign when parents don't have cute pet names for their kids. The parents that don't call their daughter things like "punkin" are, supposedly, not as attached to the kids.
I think it's worse when your mom can't remember your name, no? Mine has to go through all the names in the family (and from time to time my cousins) before she gets my name right.

A guy I work with and his wife recently had a baby girl and called her Roxy

It's the coolest name i've heard in ages

I got Lou as a nick name, but only cuz my middle name is Louise, so nothing special there.

*shrug*

people just try to be different i guess

I think it's worse when your mom can't remember your name, no? Mine has to go through all the names in the family (and from time to time my cousins) before she gets my name right.
Hah. Every parent has that problem. My parents would go through the list of kids before they got to me, and so do I when it comes to my kids. In fact, I get the best friends mixed in sometimes.

I think it's worse when your mom can't remember your name, no? Mine has to go through all the names in the family (and from time to time my cousins) before she gets my name right.

mine used to call me mark....after my brother.. but i'm a GIRL .. how do you confuse those two?

*sigh*

Hah. Every parent has that problem. My parents would go through the list of kids before they got to me, and so do I when it comes to my kids. In fact, I get the best friends mixed in sometimes.
Still, pretty disturbing.

I'm a Samantha but I show up on lists as Sam so people naturally think I'm a guy...oh, well, why bother?

having a name "Bruce", good luck shortening it.

Also, my dads name is Larry. Not Lawrence, but Larry. When ever a church or religious group sends us mail, it is sent to Lawrence. Everyone else seems to get it. Anyone have a reason why it would only be churches that do this?Similar with my mom, her name is Becky, not Rebecca. Everyone wants to think that her name is really Rebecca.

You're right. That one exception disproves my entire generalization. The shame of it all.

Well, you generalised based on personal experience, so he can too.

And I'm used to people of all ages having at least 2 nicknames or more, the only person I can think of that doesn't have a nickname is my grandmother Emma.
Nicknames are still rampant all over Germany, and over large parts of Ireland, too.

At my school normally the people with nicknames share names with other people. Then we use some shortening (or not) of the last name to specify which one.

At my school normally the people with nicknames share names with other people. Then we use some shortening (or not) of the last name to specify which one.
Ditto...although we do that to mostly guys...with girls, it doesn't sound as cool.

I'm always referred to by my last name...A unique last name it is too.

my first name is a 'nick name' it's not short for anything, it has annoyed me since I was about 3. I hate it.

That being said, I do have a nickname, that has nothing to do with my name, it's Smunkee.

My kids' were given "proper names" and were introduced and called by their full first names until they let me know they wanted to be called otherwise, it's mostly because I hated my first name and hubby got strapped with a shortened version of his name at birth and is still trying to shake it.

The 3 year old has a nickname she prefers so we use it. The 5 year old is still playing with variations, when she decides we will call her what she wants. ;)

"My name is Jim, but everyone calls me...Jim."- Blazing Saddles

Now, everyone under thirty, or so, seems to want to be called by their proper first name. Okay, I oblige them, but why aren't they content with a more familiar form.
My real name is Stephen and I hate being called 'Steve' for the same reason I hate it when people spell it 'Steven' - there's no 'v' in 'Stephen'. One guy I knew at school always abbreviated it to one syllable, but I let him get away with it as he spelt it 'Stephe' to humour me. I don't mind so much people abbreviating 'Safalra' to 'Saf' though (some people even call me by that name in real life).

We're even introduced to two and three year olds as "Michael", "Jonathan", or "Edward", or worse for some of the girls, "Anne Marie", or "Elizabeth". Don't people call their kids "Mike" or "Eddie" or "Beth" anymore?


I go by a lot of names. Mike, Mike James, Jim, smart ass, and around here, Val and Vald. :D

I need a NS nickname that isn't Outcast, Jesuits, or worse, OJ. Ideas?

I don't like the nicknames that match my first name. The only things I could possibly be called, based on my first name, are "Ann" which is very common in my area and not likely to get my attention, "Angie", which is my sister's name or "Julie" which I have a strong aversion to considering the fact that the only three Julies I've ever met were heinous bitches. My -family- calls me by a nickname but it's incredibly embarassing and I refuse to talk about it outside the family. There's also the fact that my name, when seen on paper, looks "odd" (I think people just refuse to even attempt to pronounce it) so most people in a professional setting just call me by my last name -anyway-. *shrugs* I don't mind nicknames but after I strongly warn people against creating one based on my first name they refuse to create one at all.

I need a NS nickname that isn't Outcast, Jesuits, or worse, OJ. Ideas?

Out? Jes? Outty? Jessy? Otis? OCJT? :p

Out? Jes? Outty? Jessy? Otis? OCJT? :p
bold means No. Could live with Jessy and Jes I reckon.
OCJT works too.

This wasn't nearly as exciting as the thread about tattoos. But I promised a story and so here it is.

When I got to my first real Marine Corps Air Wing Squadron, I got my nickname or callsign. My name sounded vaguely like Cookie Monster, but the Cookie part was what stuck, rather than the monster part. Anyhow, there was this guy that everyone called Rodney.

There are two ways to get a good and permanent callsign. One of them is to luck into it because of your name. I knew a guy named Pepper, and of course his callsign was Waldo. The other way is to do something to earn a callsign. I flew with a pilot that didn't release the parking brake before a cat shot and blew both tires. His name was Boom-Boom for a while.

Back to Rodney, though. The squadron had come back from a deployment, during which, they watched the movie, Caddyshack, nightly. Everyone had memorized all the lines and Rodney had the approximate personality of Rodney Dangerfield. No, he didn't get any respect, either. Or at least, no more that was owed to him by law. Anyhow, at the first squadron party, I met his wife. I mentioned how Rodney and I had been doing something or other and she just turned red. I think steam even came out of her ears. She informed me that his name was not Rodney, it was Jim! Okay, I really didn't know. I still don't think I ever called the man Jim during the entire next 3 years we were in the squadron, nor any time that I referred to him after that point.

That's how well some nicknames can stick.

I'm a Samantha but I show up on lists as Sam so people naturally think I'm a guy...oh, well, why bother?

well, it's either that, or you're called saman and people will think you're a fish....

Meh... my names Michael. Never refered to myself as Mike, and neither did anyone else until this year. Even then only sometimes, and "Michael" still prevails. I guess Mike just doesnt seem right for me :)

well, it's either that, or you're called saman and people will think you're a fish....
Been there...so not fun.

Meh... my names Michael. Never refered to myself as Mike, and neither did anyone else until this year. Even then only sometimes, and "Michael" still prevails. I guess Mike just doesnt seem right for me :)
You seem familiar...oh, well, I'm just loopy!

nicknames are all over the show in my school, you cant get rid of tehm

Been there...so not fun.

well, at least your name doesn't sound so... american(though it is welsh). i swear, everytime someone says my name i wanna puke.

I'm a Samantha but I show up on lists as Sam so people naturally think I'm a guy...oh, well, why bother?

Interesting... I've known more people named Samantha than people named Sam, so I tend to think associate Sam with girls rather than guys. Of course, the fact that I watch Stargate SG-1 doesn't help any...

On another odd note, my usual nickname is probably a more common name than my real name. Yep, I'm another "Chris"... unless I'm around way too many other people named Chris, in which case I become "CB squared".

I get called Fangio or "the Fange" by one of my friends. :p

I need a NS nickname that isn't Outcast, Jesuits, or worse, OJ. Ideas?

Jezbah? OuJe?

In real life, my only nickname is CA. Chocolate Applesauce! Woot!

Online, usually Kirbs...Here, Dina.

Jezbah? OuJe?

Cassie?

I come from a very sports oriented school, so we end up addressing each other by last name.

Well, I do know a couple Jameses who prefer to be referred to as James... but then I know a James who gets called Jamie and another who gets called Sparky...
My name happens to be James, but i can't stand nicknames...I had a teacher who called me "Jimbo" and she happens to be my least favorite ever...I think she did it to annoy me

I would get called Jen or Jenny. But that's just shortening my name.

Almost none of my friends with whom I hang out are adressed by their real names. Neither at home, nor at university [different city].
Strangely enough, both groups of friends have adopted calling me just by my last name...

So, I honestly don't believe that the nicknames are gone. :p

I would get called Jen or Jenny. But that's just shortening my name.

Or Naddy! Don't forget that!

Or Naddy! Don't forget that!

Of course! How could I forget? :p