Nickname
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225854997
2008-07-15T18:38:10Z
129.83.31.3
/* Nicknames for people */
{{Refimprove|date=June 2008}}
[[Image:Carter-inauguration-large.jpg| frame | right | 189px | "I, Jimmy Carter..." [[Jimmy Carter|James Earl Carter]] is sworn in as President of the United States using his nickname "Jimmy" ]]
A '''nickname''' is a [[name]] of an entity or thing that is not its [[proper name]]. It may either be used instead of, or in addition to, the proper name. It may be a familiar or truncated form of the proper name, such as ''Bob'', ''Bobby'', ''Rob'', ''Robbie'', ''Robin'', and ''Bert'' for ''Robert''. Most nicknames are shorter than the proper name,{{Fact|date=June 2008}} which is a reason a nickname can also be called a '''short name'''.
The term [[hypocoristic]] or "pet name" is used to refer to a nickname of affection between those in love or with a close emotional bond, compared with a [[term of endearment]]. The term [[diminutive]] name refers to nicknames that convey smallness of the names,{{unclear}} e.g., referring to children. The distinction between the two is often blurred.
As a concept, it is distinct from both [[pseudonym]] and [[stage name]], and also from a [[title]] (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts.
A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.
==Etymology==
In 1440 AD, misdivision of ''ekename'' (1303), ''an eke name'', literally "an additional name," from [[Old English]] ''eaca'' "an increase," related to ''eacian'' "to increase". <ref>{{Citation |quotes=no |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=Nickname |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nickname |accessdate=2007-08-31}}</ref>
In [[Viking]] societies, many people had nicknames ''heiti'', ''viðrnefni'' or ''uppnefi'' which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts.
==Computing==
In the context of [[information technology]], a nickname (or technically a ''nick'') is a common synonym for a ''screenname'' or ''handle''.
Nickname is a name to shorten a name. '''Nick''' is a term originally used to identify a person in a system for [[synchronous conferencing]]. In [[computer network]]s it has become a common practice for every person to also have one or more nicknames for the purposes of [[anonymity]], to avoid [[ambiguity]] or simply because the natural name or technical [[address]] would be too long to type or take too much space on the [[Computer display|screen]].
==Performing arts==
Many writers, performing artists and actors have nicknames, which may develop into a [[stage name]] or [[pseudonym]]. A [[bardic name]] may also result from a nickname. Many writers have pen names which they use instead of their real names. One very famous writer with a pen name is Dr. Seuss.
== Nicknames for people ==
To inform an audience or readership of a person's nickname without actually calling them by their nickname, the nickname is placed between the first and last names and surrounded by quotation marks (i.e. Catherine "Cate" Jones). The middle name is eliminated (if there is one). Very rarely is the middle name mentioned with the nickname (exceptions being when the first name is composed of two words, e.g. "Beth Ann").
*They may refer to a person's job or title.
**Sawbones (or further shortened to "Bones," as in [[Dr. McCoy]] from Star Trek: TOS) or Doc for Doctor
*They may reference a person's physical characteristics or lifestyle choices.
**In English
*** Tubs, Chubby, Fatso, or Wideload for a fat person (generally offensive)
*** Four-Eyes for a person with glasses (mildly offensive), and train tracks for braces
*Sometimes, a nickname descriptive of the person will be given to one member of a social group that shares a given name with another member of the same group, e.g. "Gay Simon" or "Little Jake".
**In Spanish-speaking cultures
***''Flaco'' (thin, weak)
***''Palito'' (little stick)
*** ''El Gordo'' (the fat one)
*** ''Description of one's physical characteristics in a nickname should almost never be taken as an insult in Spanish.''
*It may allude to a person's mental characteristics, (though often used sarcastically):
** Encyclopedia, as in [[Donald Sobol]]'s fictional child detective [[Encyclopedia Brown|Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown]]
** [[Einstein]], referring to the famous physicist.
** Sherlock, in reference to [[Arthur Conan Doyle|A. C. Doyle]]'s [[Sherlock Holmes]]
** [[Brainiac (comics)|Brainiac]], as in the fictional [[DC Comics]] character
*They may refer to the relationship with the person. This is a [[term of endearment]].
*A nickname can also originate from someone's real name.These are usually used to make names shorter and thus easier to say.
** CJ for someone whose initials are C.J. This initialisation almost exclusively ends in J. It is less deisriable, and often insultingly used, for someone called, for example, Benjamin Uriah Murton, who may be tortured by the nickname "Bum" for the rest of his life.
** 'Tommo' for an Andrew Thompson.
** To avoid confusion between peer groups with the same given names, surnames may be used.
*A nickname can be used to distinguish members of the same family sharing the same name from one another. This has several common patterns among sons named for fathers:
** The first bearer of the name can be referred to as Senior, Daddy or have "Big" placed in front of his given name, as in "Big Pete".
** A son named after his father (but not after his grandfather) is often referred to as Junior, Chip (also a diminutive of Charles, but in this case in reference to "a chip off the old block"), Skip, or Sonny.
** The third generation carrying a name (usually with III after his name) is often referred to as Trey, Tripp, or Trip (from Triple).
** The fourth generation carrying a name (usually with IV after his name) may be referred to as Ivy (as in IV) or Dru (from Quadruple).
** The fifth generation carrying a name (usually with V after his name) may be referred to as Quint, Quince or Quincy (from Quintuple).
*It may relate to a specific incident or action.
**Examples: [[Capability Brown]] was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility". Other examples include: [[Ali Hassan al-Majid|Chemical Ali]] and [[Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf|Comical Ali]]. Many fictional characters have nicknames relating to events: Examples include the [[Char Aznable|Red Comet]], [[Shin Matsunaga|White Tiger]], [[Andrew Waltfeld|Desert Tiger]] and [[Mu La Flaga|Hawk of Endymion]].
*It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character. Examples:
** [[Napoleon]] or [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] for someone with a dictatorial manner
*It may be related to their place of origin or place of residence. Example:
** Gloucester, Paul from Gloucester or PFG for someone named Paul who comes from [[Gloucester]].
*It may refer to a person's political affiliation. Examples:
** Dipper for a member of [[Canada]]'s [[New Democratic Party]].
** [[Tory]] for a person affiliated with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|United Kingdom]]'s or Canada's [[Canadian conservatism|Conservative]] Party.
A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:
* Tippecanoe for [[William Henry Harrison]]
* Dubya for [[George W. Bush]], an exaggeration of Texan pronunciation of 'w', President Bush's middle initial.
* Opa for the Dutch lifesaving [[Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij|KNRM]]-[[folk hero|hero]] [[Dorus Rijkers]]. Dorus became a [[Grandfather|Grandpa]] (Dutch:''Opa''), at the age of 23 (by the marriage to a widow with eight children), and soon everybody called him ''Opa''.
* Gazza for English footballer [[Paul Gascoigne]] (though used more widely in Australia for Gary) and similar "zza" forms ([[Michael Heseltine|Hezza]], [[John Prescott|Prezza]], etc.) for other prominent personalities whose activities are frequently reported in the British press.
== Nicknames of geographical places==
Particularly with geographical places, it is important to distinguish between nickname and title. A nickname is almost always a brief term that is either friendly or derogatory and can be substituted for the real name at will. A title is usually a multi-word term, often created for promotional purposes, sometimes created as a putdown, that cannot be substituted for the real name at will.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
Most of the "city nicknames" are not nicknames; they are titles. For example, Kansas City is titled (or dubbed) 'Heart of America' and 'City of Fountains'; it is nicknamed KC. People will use KC frequently in everyday speech as a substitute for Kansas City; it is the popular nickname for the city. By contrast, the term 'City of Fountains' is uncommonly used as a title (not a nickname).
== See also ==
<table width="80%"><tr valign=top><td>
* [[Athletic nickname]]
* [[Australian national sports team nicknames]]
* [[Epithet]]
* [[Hypocoristic]]
* [[Pseudonym]]
* [[Terms of endearment]]
* [[Sobriquet]]
* [[Victory titles]]
* [[List of sportspeople by nickname]]
* [[List of nicknames of British Army regiments]]
* [[Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces]]
* [[Nicknames in darts]]
</td><td>
* [[List of hockey nicknames]]
* [[List of monarchs by nickname]]
* [[List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility]]
* [[List of nicknames of historical personages]]
* [[List of nicknames used by George W. Bush]]
* [[List of nicknames used in cricket]]
* [[List of nicknames for sports clubs and stadiums]]
* [[Lists of nicknames in football (soccer)]]
* [[List of U.S. Presidential nicknames]]
* [[Legal name]]
* [[List of military figures by nickname]]
* [[List of U.S. state nicknames]]
</td></tr></table>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Given names]]
[[Category:Informal personal names]]
[[Category:Nicknames| ]]
[[ca:Àlies]]
[[cs:Přezdívka]]
[[cy:Llysenw]]
[[da:Øgenavn]]
[[de:Spitzname]]
[[es:Anexo:Alias]]
[[fr:Surnom]]
[[hr:Nadimak]]
[[id:Nama julukan]]
[[he:שם חיבה]]
[[nl:Bijnaam]]
[[ja:愛称]]
[[no:Kallenavn]]
[[nds:Ökelnaam]]
[[pl:Ksywa]]
[[pt:Alcunha]]
[[ksh:Shpeznaame]]
[[ru:Прозвище]]
[[simple:Nickname]]
[[fi:Lempinimi]]
[[sv:Smeknamn]]
[[th:ชื่อเล่น]]
[[uk:Нік]]
[[wa:Såvaedje no]]
[[zh:綽號]]