Kids nicknames over the years

[Clark]

My youngest son graduated from "pumpkin" to "tiger" to "pal" sort of automatically as a comfortable nickname as the years went by. He is almost 30 now and when we see him, I still use Pal (or his name).

What sequences, if any, did any of you use?

 

[ricoba]

My 15 year old son has always been "Buddy" & my 13 year old daughter still answers to "Baby"......and I hope they continue to do so for years to come

 

[AwayWeGo]

Nickname-Proof Names.

We gave our kids nickname-proof names -- that is, given names without ready-made built-in short versions or commonly associated nicknames (avoiding, e.g., Joseph [Joe], Jacob [Jake], Richard [Dick], William [Bill], etc.). Nothing wrong with those, we just settled on other names.

That worked OK. Our son Brian (38) has always gone by Brian & still does.

But our son Bruce (35) changed his name after he moved to California a few years back. Now he's Cole Alanson -- Alan's son, get it? He didn't so much change his name as rearrange it.

We offered no input into the selection of a name for our grandson. Nevertheless, on their own his parents came up with another nickname-proof name, Graham. He's only 3 years old, and sometimes his mom calls him Buddy or Bunny or Grahamarama.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

 

[jackio]

Our daughter was Sissy because her brother could not pronounce her given name, Colleen. Now she is Colleen but I call her Leeny. Michael is pretty much Mike outside the house, and Patrick only allows me and one aunt to call him Paddy. He goes by Pat at school. Occasionally he is called Paddy-Waddy-Doo-Doo at home, but he would never admit to it. I am called Jacki by everyone because Jacquelyn, although a pretty name, is just too darn long.

 

[ausman]

We named our son James after my Grandfather, and he could be many things with that name.

Both of us are of Scottish heritage however so we called him Jamie.

Which worked fine until around 2nd or 3rd grade when there were a number of females in the class with the same name. Kind of what happened in the 50's with Lesley/Leslie, now I don't know a male Les.

He then wanted to be called James and so he is, on family gatherings however there are many Jamie references, he accepts the comments and name but the next day he is still firmly James. He was 21 last month.


Sometimes I wish we just begun with Jim.

 

[Amy]

But our son Bruce (35) changed his name after he moved to California a few years back. Now he's Cole Alanson -- Alan's son, get it? He didn't so much change his name as rearrange it.

Just curious -- if you don't mind sharing, why did he change/rearrange his name?

 

[AwayWeGo]

New Name.

Just curious -- if you don't mind sharing, why did he change/rearrange his name?

My best guess is he was starting over fresh on the West Coast & felt the need for a new name to go along with his new beginning.

Yet by using the components of his birth name, rather than choosing something completely different, he was maintaining his roots & if anything elevating his family connection.

Here's an Internet link you can click to see his picture & listen to some of his rock & roll tunes. (He's on keyboards & vocals.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

 

[JudyH]

Well, Basham, my horse and I were pregnant at the same time. The vet was so excited he said to name one after him. He was James Morgan. I wanted to name my baby after my mother Jean, so Jamie worked, if it was a boy or girl. My baby was a boy, so he got James Whitney. We called him Jamie, and still do. By 7th grade however, he changed it to James, and the older kids call him Jamie, and the new ones James.

The horse was called Serendipity, cause I expected a gray male, and got a gorgeous red female, like her mother. They are 3 months apart. Jamie is 26, we just lost Serri at Thanksgiving

 

[KarenK]

My grandfather called me Jimmie (or maybe Jimmy) on occasion as a child. I did not like it, as I thought he should know my name. And I was a girl. He had a step-grandchild named Jimmy and I thought he confused me with him. He died in 1969 (my grandfather) and years after I said something about it to my mother and aunt, and they nearly died laughing. Seems he used to call them both "Jimmy" as kids -- it was just his way when he couldn't quite remember someone's name!! (That step-cousin, Jimmy, by the way, became a semi-famous actor and uses James.)

 

[Bucky]

My four and a half month old grandson is named Adam. Great name. I just have a heck of a time using it when I'm snuggling him. I use Bud, Buddy and my daughters least favorite Bubba. When he lays down on my chest to take a nap the name just doesn't matter.

 

[Fletcher921]

My kids are Bugface and Rye-man...

 

[michelle]

Thanks so much for the posters with the references to James/Jamie, it has really helped me a lot!

We are expecting a boy this week! And for the longest time, our top choice has been James, but called Jamie ( again the Scottish heritage thing!) and Jamie would have been fine in the UK, where dad is from, or South Africa, where I am from. But it just doesnt seem to work well here. So, we have decided against it, but still keep wondering about it...

These posts have helped me realize that I can put Jamie to rest now.

(My son, who is still a toddler, has many, many nicknames, and they change almost weekly. He is changing so quickly, and we just add more and more names. But we also call him by his first name, which is Dylan, not easily abbreviated, which was the intention.)

 

[AwayWeGo]

Alexander

Alexander naturally forms more nicknames than any other name I know...

Al

Alec

Alex

Lex

Andy

Sandy

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

 

[swwoods]

My dad's name is Jobe (in the bible, the Book of Job) Thurman. His friends call him Peewee or J.T. but his family calls him Thurman. I never knew how to introduce him. I met somebody not long ago that did not realize J.T. and Thurman were the same person.
I named my daughter Katelyn. I wanted Katerine but several people asked me if I was going to call her Kathy so I changed to Katelyn thinking no one would shorten it. Well my MIL insist on calling her Kate, and it drives me CRAZY!

 

[AwayWeGo]

Almon Theodore

My grandfather's name was Almon Theodore Cole. Nobody called him by either of his given names, or by any kind of nickname. He was simply A.T. Cole. Within the family, he was called Pop or Granddad. Everywhere else, he was Mr. Cole.

My aunt told me that when my grandparents were newly married, for the 1st few years even my grandmother called him Mr. Cole. (Grandmom's father's name was Napoleon Bonaparte Richason, but that's another story.)

My father's middle name was Richason -- his mother's family name. Because it's spelled like Richardson but without the RD, it frequently gets misspelled. It took me several E-Mail exchanges with the proprietors of the Indiana Journalism Hall Of Fame to get them to spell it right. Fortunately, they got it squared away while my father was still living.

Later, I had to go over to the monument company in person to make sure they spelled it right on his tombstone. Sure enough, on their paper proof copy, it had that superfluous RD in it. Fortunately, the version that's carved in stone is correct.

 

[arlene22]

I don't think there is such a thing as a nickname proof name in my family. You would think Arlene would be nickname proof, but over the years I have been called:
Arlz (most popular)
Arl
Arlie (only by my dad)
Arlyle
Artie
Arlena
Leen
Leenie
and less kindly, by siblings growing up and even today by my dear BIL, Snarlene and Snarlz

What is it they say? Just don't call me late for dinner