Many of you probably aren’t shocked but I’ve always loved the name [name]Liam[/name], never realizing that it’s a shortened version of [name]William[/name] (and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to honor my grandfather who was named [name]William[/name]). Perfect!
Realizing this intrigued me and made me question what other names out there stem from longer forms of names. Of course there are some pretty obvious ones, but can you think of any similar to the [name]William[/name] nn: [name]Liam[/name] that I or other Berries may not have thought of?
I only realized this recently too…
It’s back on our list too because DH loves the name [name]Liam[/name] and I’m more partial to very classic, “strong” boys names…but have never really liked the nn [name]Will[/name]. [name]William[/name] could fit the bill with nn [name]Liam[/name]…
I guess another one that only recently lightbulbed in my head was [name]Frederick[/name] nn [name]Rick[/name]
I also had NO idea there was a connection between [name]Robert[/name] and nn [name]Hobbes[/name].
I “discovered” this back when I was at a mothers group with my oldest. A woman had a little boy there who was named after her grandfather, [name]William[/name] (I have a grandfather with this name too), and the childs name was [name]Liam[/name]. Hearing it said vs seeing it, then it made sense. I blame lack of sleep and preoccupation of other things in the year before for having a “duh” moment then and there, lol.
Knew a neighbor when I was in high school who named her baby [name]Charlotte[/name] (before it was trendy, back when all I could think of was “[name]Charlotte[/name]'s [name]Web[/name]” and “[name]Bronte[/name]”) after her DH’s middle name which was [name]Charles[/name]. That got me thinking about how there are femininations of names that are not just adding about an “A” to the end like [name]Paula[/name], [name]Erica[/name], [name]Victoria[/name] etc.
Sometime in the next few days I know one of these “of course its related!” names will come up in my head, but right now I am blanking on any other than the obvious ones.
Apparently [name]Tess[/name] was used as a nickname for [name]Esther[/name] (as well as more obvious names [name]Theresa[/name] etc). Oh and there was an [name]Anastasia[/name] who went by [name]Nancy[/name] on my family tree.
[name]Polly[/name] and [name]Molly[/name] are actually nicknames for [name]Mary[/name]
Zibby from [name]Elizabeth[/name] and of course [name]Betsy[/name] and [name]Betty[/name] from [name]Elizabeth[/name]
[name]Dolly[/name] and [name]Dot[/name] from [name]Dorothy[/name]
[name]Kit[/name] from [name]Catherine[/name]
[name]Hal[/name] from [name]Harold[/name]
[name]Kip[/name] from [name]Christopher[/name]
[name]Sadie[/name] from [name]Sarah[/name]
[name]Peg[/name] from [name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Nelly[/name] from [name]Helen[/name]
[name]Nell[/name] can be a nickname for [name]Eleanor[/name] and Flee can be for [name]Florence[/name]. I love [name]Melly[/name] for [name]Melanie[/name] in Gone With the Wind. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants has some unique ones-[name]Bee[/name] for [name]Bridget[/name], [name]Tibby[/name] for [name]Tabitha[/name], [name]Carma[/name] for [name]Carmen[/name]. I’ve heard [name]Fee[/name] for [name]Felicity[/name]. And of course [name]Betty[/name] and [name]Libby[/name] for [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Maggie[/name] for [name]Margaret[/name].
Not traditional, and most Berries get it but the “outside world” often doesn’t: [name]Lia[/name] for names like [name]Magnolia[/name], [name]Cordelia[/name] and [name]Amelia[/name].
Oh and of course all the lovely Eastern European ones: [name]Nastia[/name] for [name]Anastasia[/name], Kveta for Kvetoslava, [name]Kata[/name] for [name]Katarina[/name], Aga for Agnieszka, [name]Ula[/name] for Urszula, Domi for [name]Dominika[/name], [name]Masha[/name] for [name]Maria[/name], [name]Olya[/name] for [name]Olga[/name].
Now I know many of these stand on their own at least sometimes today, these are historic nicknames and original forms.
Girls
[name]May[/name]/[name]Mae[/name] - [name]Mary[/name]/[name]Margaret[/name] originally
[name]Molly[/name] - [name]Mary[/name], usually, sometimes [name]Margaret[/name]
[name]Polly[/name] - Same as [name]Molly[/name]. I rather like [name]Polly[/name] for [name]Opal[/name] but that is NOT traditional.
[name]Daisy[/name] - [name]Margaret[/name] via [name]Marguerite[/name], which is French for daisy.
[name]Maisie[/name] - [name]Via[/name] [name]May[/name], for [name]Mary[/name] or [name]Margaret[/name]!
[name]Reina[/name]/[name]Reyna[/name]/[name]Rayna[/name] - Short for [name]Katherine[/name]/[name]Katarina[/name] in Yiddish, and [name]Regina[/name] in Spanish.
[name]Katia[/name] - [name]Katarina[/name]
[name]Kaila[/name]/[name]Kayla[/name] - [name]Kelilah[/name], which is almost unheard of now, and [name]Kayla[/name] very popular on its own. My mom was astonished I would consider such a “terribly old-fashioned” name as [name]Kayla[/name], as she associates it with the Olde Country.
[name]Jenny[/name] - [name]Jane[/name], originally, not [name]Jennifer[/name]. And the famous opera singer [name]Jenny[/name] [name]Lind[/name] was a [name]Johanna[/name].
[name]Sukie[/name] - [name]Susanna/name
Boys
[name]Ned[/name] - [name]Edward[/name], [name]Edmund[/name], [name]Edwin[/name]
[name]Ward[/name] - [name]Edward[/name]
[name]Jack[/name] - short for [name]John[/name] normally, sometimes short for [name]Jacob[/name] among old-fashioned Jewish people. (lots of 1800s Jacks in my family, no Johns!)
[name]Kit[/name] - [name]Christopher[/name]
[name]Kip[/name] - [name]Christopher[/name]
[name]Jon[/name] - [name]Jonathan[/name], not [name]John[/name].
[name]Jonty[/name] - [name]Jonathan[/name]
[name]Ike[/name] - [name]Isaac[/name] in US.
[name]Zack[/name] - [name]Isaac[/name] in Australia. Husband and I both like [name]Isaac[/name], don’t agree on nickname!
[name]Hal[/name] - [name]Henry[/name], occasionally [name]Harold[/name] but often [name]Henry[/name].
[name]Hank[/name] - Generally [name]Henry[/name], occasionally others. [name]Hank[/name] [name]Williams[/name] was a [name]Hiram[/name].
[name]Harry[/name] - [name]Henry[/name]. [name]Prince[/name] [name]Harry[/name] is a [name]Henry[/name].
[name]Frank[/name] - Sometimes standalone, but often [name]Francis[/name].
[name]Zeke[/name] - [name]Ezekiel[/name] and [name]Hezekiah[/name].
[name]Zeb[/name] - [name]Zebedee[/name] and [name]Zebulon[/name].
[name]Zach[/name] - [name]Zachary[/name], [name]Zachariah[/name]/[name]Zacharias[/name]. (or [name]Isaac[/name] if you’re my husband!)
[name]Xander[/name], [name]Sander[/name], [name]Sandy[/name] - [name]Alexander[/name]
[name]Janet[/name] for [name]Jane[/name] as well, like in ‘[name]Jane[/name] Eyre’. I’ve heard [name]Jessie[/name] as a nickname for [name]Janet[/name] too in [name]Scotland[/name].
[name]Dick[/name] from [name]Richard[/name] is simply due to rhyming. In Old English, the ‘ch’ in [name]Richard[/name] was pronounced with a ‘k’ sound ([name]Rickard[/name]), which gave the nn [name]Rick[/name] which gave rise to [name]Dick[/name] and Hick.
In the same way, that’s how [name]Polly[/name] came to life, as a rhyming alternative to [name]Molly[/name].
Wow Berries! Thanks for the huge response on this. I appreciate all the input and love the feedback. I guess I should have been more clear though, as I was primarily looking for names within names, not necessarily nicknames. Sorry about that.
What intrigued me most about [name]Liam[/name] from [name]William[/name] is that it’s a direct lift of the L-I-A-M. Some of you included names that do this: [name]Rick[/name] from [name]Fredrick[/name] or [name]Lia[/name] from [name]Amelia[/name] and others.
With that said, does anyone else have anything to add? Thanks a million!
[name]Ian[/name] for names like [name]Julian[/name], [name]Sebastian[/name], [name]Dorian[/name], [name]Lucian[/name], etc…
[name]Thane[/name] for [name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Drew[/name] for [name]Andrew[/name]
[name]Jamin[/name] for [name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Dan[/name] for [name]Brendan[/name]
[name]Topher[/name] for [name]Christopher[/name]
[name]Nic[/name] for [name]Dominic[/name]
Rett or [name]Rhett[/name] for [name]Everett[/name] or [name]Garrett[/name]
[name]Finn[/name] or [name]Fin[/name] for [name]Griffin[/name]
[name]Nathan[/name] for [name]Jonathan[/name]
[name]Rick[/name] for [name]Patrick[/name]
[name]Hardy[/name] for [name]Richard[/name]
[name]Ben[/name] for [name]Reuben[/name]
[name]Seth[/name] for [name]Joseph[/name] (sure, the spelling’s a little different but it sounds very close)
[name]Dan[/name] for [name]Aidan[/name]
[name]Fred[/name] for [name]Alfred[/name]
[name]Lee[/name] for [name]Leslie[/name]/[name]Lesley[/name]
[name]Ivor[/name]/[name]Iver[/name] for [name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Sonny[/name] for [name]Mason[/name]/[name]Jason[/name] etc
[name]Becca[/name] for [name]Rebecca[/name]
[name]Ella[/name] for [name]Isabella[/name]
[name]Ria[/name] for [name]Victoria[/name]
[name]Nora[/name] for [name]Eleanora[/name]
[name]Tricia[/name] for [name]Patricia[/name]
