Nicknames when older

General Name Discussion
1

I was inspired by today’s blog post by [name]Pam[/name], and also by reading [name]Linda[/name]'s from earlier this year, to write about my experience with nicknames.

My name is [name]Erica[/name]. I have always been [name]Erica[/name]. I have a few nicknames from different people, but they usually don’t catch on to anyone else. When I was 5, and my brother was 2 and a half, he called me [name]Sissy[/name] sometimes. My cousin who was only 2 couldn’t say my name well (every young child always mispronounces it, and being the oldest of all the grandkids on both sides, and many of my parent’s friend’s children, I am often “[name]Air[/name]-ka” with the middle syllable of i left out, or some other variation.) My mom told my cousin to call me [name]Sissy[/name] too, just to make it easier, and it stuck for a while, but not long enough for when my other cousin was born a few years later.

Around 5th grade, I had a friend named [name]Erin[/name]. She got called [name]Air[/name] all the time, and called me that too. I wasn’t crazy about that, and luckily it was short-lived.

In middle school a friend started calling me [name]Rica[/name], and our Spanish teacher actually caught on and started calling me that. I really liked that one! My friend still calls me that often. A few years later another friend thought of it, and although the two aren’t friends, it’s like my special nickname from both of them.

Then there’s my stage names. The people I’ve been in productions with remember my stage names. My best friend and I still sign birthday cards with our names from the Nutcracker, and there are several other similar situations.

But I have no real nickname used by many. I don’t mind. I’m actually not a huge nickname person anyways, and I love the name [name]Erica[/name]. But I’ve been thinking it would be fun to come up with something to introduce myself as for college next year, like a new beginning. Also, I am a dance teacher, and the kids call me Miss [name]Erica[/name], and they tend to not be able to pronounce it, and call me the name of the other teacher who has a one-syllable name. I was also trying to think of something for them to call me, but not be totally different, so the parents still know I am [name]Erica[/name] when they see it on the schedule. Many it’s too late for nicknames, but I think it’s fun to find new ones.

2

I’ve always been [name]Stephanie[/name] for the most part. Like you, nothing that “stuck”. I get Stephie a lot from people who knew me when I was very young, so I assume that’s what I was called a lot as a baby. That one also came back during teenage years when my nieces were learning to say it. Also, their first form of it was Teffie. I still get called both of those from my mom, sister, and nieces when they’re being “cute”. Had one friend in HS who called me Giggles. Mostly it’s either the full [name]Stephanie[/name], or [name]Steph[/name]/[name]Stef[/name].

Oh, almost forgot when my sister is in a certain mood she’ll come out with Step-Hanie. :slight_smile:

At a preschool I used to work at, if the teachers had a name that kids had a hard time with they’d just use their first initial. So, you could be Miss E. (which will turn into “[name]Missy[/name]” most likely…lol).

3

My two year old niece is a budding name nerd who has given everybody the best names!
My surname Starts with McEl like McElroy, and instead of [name]Nanny[/name] McElxxxx like the rest, [name]Tara[/name] went for McElNanny which they all now call her. She also refused to call [name]Fiona[/name] Nonee like all of the rest of us, and calls her Fone a, and [name]Roisin[/name] is now Roaring, baby [name]Niamh[/name] is Neeeeeeeevvvveeeeyy (she is also sat on and kissed rather a lot) [name]Aoife[/name] is [name]BeeBee[/name] to everyone now, and [name]Austin[/name] and [name]Ozzy[/name] are both Awty, and Eoinn, [name]Chloe[/name] and [name]Zoe[/name] are all just Oee (a note that even a two year can point out how similar that sibset is). [name]Declan[/name] is Decking and her parents (if she hears anybody else call them by their names and not Mammy and Daddy) are not [name]Siobhan[/name] and [name]Damien[/name], but Abawn and Demon. But the best one, was when she released me from my nephews old nickname of [name]Baba[/name] (it was original maba which seems a bit more logical from [name]Samantha[/name]) and call me [name]Mata[/name]. Several of my friends thought this was cute, so now they call me [name]Mata[/name]/ Manta/(in one case)Manta [name]Ray[/name]

My Brother [name]Philip[/name] got Fatty from all of us (I have n idea how I got Fatty from [name]Philip[/name]), until he put his foot down when I was six and he was sixteen and simply refused to answer unless you called him [name]Philip[/name].

My four year old niece’s dancing teacher is call Miss [name]Victoria[/name], and she calls her MissyTorry, and my old dancing teacher (MissyTorry’s mother) was called [name]Silvia[/name], but she used Miss [name]Hill[/name] instead because Miss [name]Silvia[/name] was a little tricky in little mouths, , so if you have a short surname you could try using it.

4

I had forgotten about that…I was Giggles for years too! lol