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Help[Opinions] What are some nicknames that are a stretch?
Inspired by a poll asking whether Lily is a stretch of a nickname for Elizabeth.
An unfitting nickname I heard is Chloe; for Claudia. I quite like it, to be honest.
“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”
-Lori Greiner
An unfitting nickname I heard is Chloe; for Claudia. I quite like it, to be honest.
“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine, I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”
-Lori Greiner
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Replies
I know that Lily can be short of Elizabeth, but that was done when there were so many Marys, Elizabeths, Annes and Margarets around that you had to be creative with nicknames. Also, Lily is now so much associated with the flower (and also a full name, a flower name) that it makes no sense to me to use it as a nickname for Elizabeth. I think people would even get really confused. Many of these old nicknames don't work anymore, in my opinion.
I think these don't work anymore:
Elizabeth nn Lily
Anne nn Nancy
Mary nn Mamie
I know that someone here once liked Penelope nn Poppy. That never worked for me personally. Claudia nn Chloe also doesn't work for me.
But I hate far fetched nicknames or nicknames that are well established full names.
And I am a hypocrite because I love Edward nn Teddy and many people think that makes no sense ;) And it doesn't, I guess. But Teddy is a nickname that you can really call any little child (like honey or bear) so I think it is okay.
I think these don't work anymore:
Elizabeth nn Lily
Anne nn Nancy
Mary nn Mamie
I know that someone here once liked Penelope nn Poppy. That never worked for me personally. Claudia nn Chloe also doesn't work for me.
But I hate far fetched nicknames or nicknames that are well established full names.
And I am a hypocrite because I love Edward nn Teddy and many people think that makes no sense ;) And it doesn't, I guess. But Teddy is a nickname that you can really call any little child (like honey or bear) so I think it is okay.
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Bob & Bill & Peggy
Bob as a nickname for Robert has always seemed like a stretch. Rob makes sense, but Bob should be short for Bobart.
Bill for William - Where did the B come from? Since it has been used for a while people no longer seem to question it, but where are the Bs coming from in these old nicknames?
Jack as a nickname for John - I like the name Jack, but the only thing that it has in common with John is the first letter. It isn't any shorter than John, so it doesn't serve a real purpose as a nickname.
Molly as a nickname for Mary.
Peggy for Margaret - Why and how did Peggy ever become a nickname for Margaret? The two are nothing alike. Okay, they both have a G in the middle, but they look entirely unrelated to each other.
Bob as a nickname for Robert has always seemed like a stretch. Rob makes sense, but Bob should be short for Bobart.
Bill for William - Where did the B come from? Since it has been used for a while people no longer seem to question it, but where are the Bs coming from in these old nicknames?
Jack as a nickname for John - I like the name Jack, but the only thing that it has in common with John is the first letter. It isn't any shorter than John, so it doesn't serve a real purpose as a nickname.
Molly as a nickname for Mary.
Peggy for Margaret - Why and how did Peggy ever become a nickname for Margaret? The two are nothing alike. Okay, they both have a G in the middle, but they look entirely unrelated to each other.
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In the absence of a time machine, these are guesses.
Margaret: shortens to Maggie very easily. If you're bored or playful, Maggie can morph into Meggie. Once that's done, all you need is a sibling with a bad cold (this is the UK we're talking about, back in the Middle Ages probably) and you get Peggy.
Molly and Mary: I also detect the presence of a sibling here. R sounds are notoriously difficult for children, so Molly could be their best attempt at Mary. And it took on a life of its own and, same as Meggie, morphed into Polly.
Jack, or Jock in Scotland, = Johnkin = little John, like a lambkin! And it got shortened.
Bob and Bill also seem to be likely mistakes made by the very young; babies and toddlers find /b/, /d/, /p/ and /m/ easy to say (think baba, dada, papa, mama ...). Parents think this is cute, and perpetuate it.
Margaret: shortens to Maggie very easily. If you're bored or playful, Maggie can morph into Meggie. Once that's done, all you need is a sibling with a bad cold (this is the UK we're talking about, back in the Middle Ages probably) and you get Peggy.
Molly and Mary: I also detect the presence of a sibling here. R sounds are notoriously difficult for children, so Molly could be their best attempt at Mary. And it took on a life of its own and, same as Meggie, morphed into Polly.
Jack, or Jock in Scotland, = Johnkin = little John, like a lambkin! And it got shortened.
Bob and Bill also seem to be likely mistakes made by the very young; babies and toddlers find /b/, /d/, /p/ and /m/ easy to say (think baba, dada, papa, mama ...). Parents think this is cute, and perpetuate it.
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I never realized that Jack, coming from Johnkin, is little John. Johnkin is adorable and does make me think of Jack differently.
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Bobart is cracking me up hahaha
These nicknames were used at a time when 10% or so of all women were called Mary and most of the others were Anne, Margaret or Sarah. So they had to come up with kinds of odd nicknames to tell all of the Marys and Sarahs apart: Mamie, Molly, Sally, Sadie etc.
I like some of the nicknames (Sally, Maisie etc.) but I would use them on their own now, not as a nickname, because most people won't make the connection.
Peggy came from Margaret -> Marge -> Meg -> Peg -> Peggy, I guess. Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret and Pegan is as well.
These nicknames were used at a time when 10% or so of all women were called Mary and most of the others were Anne, Margaret or Sarah. So they had to come up with kinds of odd nicknames to tell all of the Marys and Sarahs apart: Mamie, Molly, Sally, Sadie etc.
I like some of the nicknames (Sally, Maisie etc.) but I would use them on their own now, not as a nickname, because most people won't make the connection.
Peggy came from Margaret -> Marge -> Meg -> Peg -> Peggy, I guess. Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret and Pegan is as well.
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From what I understand Bob, Bill and Peggy come from rhyming slang
Bob > Rob
Bill > Will
Peg > Meg
Molly is of ish understanding. I can see how Mary could have became Malle if you put a heavy accent to Mary, and then from Malle to Molly
No idea about Jack / John though
Bob > Rob
Bill > Will
Peg > Meg
Molly is of ish understanding. I can see how Mary could have became Malle if you put a heavy accent to Mary, and then from Malle to Molly
No idea about Jack / John though
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I've heard about Cockney rhyming slang, but I hadn't considered it being used to alter nicknames. They still feel like a bit of a stretch as nicknames when contrasted with the name that they started with, but I can sort of see what they did there.
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Agnes: if you pronounce it the French way, then Nancy makes a lot of sense. Anne -> Nan(cy), so An-yez -> Nan(cy) too. I think!
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My mother refused to believe me when I said Polly was short for Mary.
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Here in South Africa, there is a very good classical music radio station which often features the work of a distinguished choir-master who is universally loved and admired; people also, quietly, sympathise with him because his fn is indeed Richard (and nothing else, no nn at all) and his ln is Cock. This is a genuine case of "What were the parents thinking?", though presumably they just weren't familiar with that kind of slang.
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Dominique nicknames: Donnie . Minnie . Mikki
Eleanor: Leni
Veronica: Vera . Nicki . Vicki . Ronnie . Ricki . Roxy
Vivienne / Vivian: Vinnie
Abigail: Allie . Billie . Bailey
Alexandra: Andri .. Xan / Zan . Xandi . Andra . Landry . Sandrie / Xandri
Gabriella: Abbie .. Bella .. Belle .. Ella
Violet - Etta . Lettie
Rebecca: Rex . Ricki . Roxy . Ruby
Gwendolyn: Glen . Glynn
Plus millions more I’m sure.
Eleanor: Leni
Veronica: Vera . Nicki . Vicki . Ronnie . Ricki . Roxy
Vivienne / Vivian: Vinnie
Abigail: Allie . Billie . Bailey
Alexandra: Andri .. Xan / Zan . Xandi . Andra . Landry . Sandrie / Xandri
Gabriella: Abbie .. Bella .. Belle .. Ella
Violet - Etta . Lettie
Rebecca: Rex . Ricki . Roxy . Ruby
Gwendolyn: Glen . Glynn
Plus millions more I’m sure.
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In Spanish, some nicknames come from baby talk (e.g Chus; for Jesús or Chago; for Santiago), so:
Fra- becomes Pa- and then -co is added.
Fun fact: not many Spaniards know the way Pepe is a diminutive for José. It actually comes from Josepe, a now archaic variant of José. The last syllable is repeated.
Fra- becomes Pa- and then -co is added.
Fun fact: not many Spaniards know the way Pepe is a diminutive for José. It actually comes from Josepe, a now archaic variant of José. The last syllable is repeated.
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