So over the years I have heard nicknames for names and they don’t even have the same letters in them like [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] sometimes has the nn [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], and [name_u]John[/name_u] gets the nn [name_u]Jack[/name_u]
This is going to sound crazy but can some one please explain how this is possible to me, I’ve never had a nickname other than [name_f]Vi[/name_f] or Vivvy and don’t understand the way nicknames work very well
Well, [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] means [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. I think [name_u]John[/name_u] and [name_u]Jack[/name_u] also have the same meaning.
Some nicknames stem from meaning, like Pearl being a nickname for Margaret because it means pearl.
Other nicknames come from similar sounds, like how Jack stems from John. Another example would be Kit from Katherine (Katherine → Kat → Kit)
In cases similar to Philippa “Pippa”, the nickname comes from commonly shared letters in each name.
Not all nicknames need to make total sense to work though! One of my favorite nicknames is Nim, which I use for almost any name starting with N.
Jack has been a nickname for John since the Middle Ages. There was less variety in names then, meaning more people shared names. Hence the need for lots of nicknames for the same first name in order to distinguish people. John was the most popular name for boys and underwent a lot of evolution. I believe it went from John → Jan → Jankin → Jackin → Jack.
This is also why you have Marge/Meg/Peg/Peggy/Mae/Pearl for Margaret, Eliza/Lizzie/Libby/Bess/Bessie/Beth for Elizabeth,
Rick/Ricky/Rich/Richie/Dick/Dickie for Richard, Ed/Eddie/Ted/Teddy/Ned for Edward, Rob/Robbie/Bob/Bobby/Bert for Robert… names that used to be very common tend to have the most diverse nicknames because more names were needed to distinguish everyone who had that name.
one other reason for unusual nicknames might be via international variants
for example, elsie might seem a little contrived as a nickname for elizabeth - but it makes infinitely more sense if you consider it as coming from elspeth, the scottish form of elizabeth
A lot of names get nicknames based on shared meanings/origins with other names. If you want a new nickname maybe search for other names with similar origins or meanings 