What's in a Nickname?

I am a nickname mom. It is rare that I call my children their given names to their faces. I love pet names, plays on their name, lovey names, etc. This may stem from the fact that my parents never called me by my name to my face unless they were mad at me. Truly, the only time my dad ever called me "Michele" is when he was displeased with me, and I hated the way it sounded, even though I like my name.

My husband also never calls me by Michele, and if he does, it sounds so wierd and I hate it. You may wonder what they call me instead...my nickname is Shel. However, I would say that most of my adult friends call me by Michele and it doesn't bother me at all. But I do find that those closest to me always naturally transition to Shel. I have one friend that came up with the nickname "Shellatte" for me because of my love of Starbucks Lattes...I love that nickname!

My parents had nicknames for all three of us siblings growing up. Mine was "Bee Bop Baby and I Don't Mean Maybe". Yup, that's right. Where did this come from, you ask? I believe that it started from them calling me Shelby, shortened to Bee, then Bee Bop, then Bee Bop Baby and I Don't Mean Maybe. My dad still calls me Shelby or Bee and I like it. Perhaps Mom or Dad could clarify in comments about how this crazy nickname came to be.

My parents called my sister Melainey Dingle-Fritzer. Now I have to know the history behind that one...mom? dad?

My brother was called Shotter Bo, or Shot Bo or Shot...again, how did you come up with that?


From the time I was two I called my sister Nonny because I couldn't pronounce her name...it is rare to never transition out of a toddler nickname, but I never did and have called her Non my whole life, even my children call her Aunty Nonny. My brother called her Non until he became an adult and thought he was "too cool for school" and transitioned himself to Mel...I still think it's wierd to hear him call her Mel instead of Non.

When E was a baby we tried out the common "Peanut" with her. It just didn't stick. I went through a long phase where I referred to all my girls as my lambs or lammie's and I called E "Lammie" a lot. Now that she is such a big girl we mostly stick with the basic "Ev" and sometimes the dramatic "Evieleena" that she wishes was her given formal name.

M I think I have gone over before...I would say we mostly call her Mads, but any variation...Mads, Madel, Madelina, Madelie, Madder, Madeleenie, Mads Mare...and following my parents lead, I find that I only call her Madeline when I am being stern with her.

S is referred to mostly by her middle name around here...Rose, Rosy, Roe, SarRosy.

G has the most unusual nickname. The Goo...this nickname has evolved over time. Somehow Goose or Goosey started to stick on her and we'd call her Gracie Goosie, then Gray Goose, then Gray Goo, then just Gooey for a long time, which then got switched up to Goo, Google, Googley, GooBall, Goofy, and Googie. So we just stick with "The Goo" now, since it sums up all the wacky names we call her nicely. I also call her "baby girl" and she likes that title a lot! :)

I'm also all about the "lovey" names for my kids...honey, baby, sweetie, cutie, dollbaby, dear one, lovie, my love...don't you just want to vomit? :)

Nicknames to me mean endearment, love, and personal connection with someone. If I know a friend has a nickname, I tend to use it. It feels closer, more bonded.

How about you, what nicknames do you have for yourself/hubby, or give to your kids and how did those names come about?