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A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or thing's real name (for example, Bob, Rob, Robby, Robbie, Robi, Bobby, Rab, Bert, Bertie, Butch, Bobbers, Bobert, Bobadito, Robban, (in Sweden), is short for Robert). As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, 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. Many artists and actors have nicknames, which in years past were called a stage name. A person's online nickname may also be known as his handle, especially within hacker culture.

Etymology: In Middle English the word was ekename (from the verb to eke, "enlarge"; compare Swedish öknamn). Later, an ekename developed into a nickname when the "n" shifted through junctural metanalysis.

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.

Nicknames for people

Types of personal nickname: Also known as pet name, shortened name, truncated name, alternate name, name derivative, associated name, hypocoristic form of a name, diminutized name, or diminuted name. Sometimes related to "alias."

Relating to culture/nationality

It may relate (offensively or otherwise) to a person's nationality or place of origin.

Examples:

Relating to counties of England

A nickname may relate to an English person's county of origin. Examples:

  • Bedfordshire Bulldog or Bedfordshire Clanger
  • Buckinghamshire Beef and Bread
  • Cambridgeshire Camel or Crane
  • Essex Calf
  • 'Ampshire 'Og (Hampshire)
  • Lincolnshire Yellowbelly
  • Kentish Long-Tail (Kent)
  • Norfolk Dumpling or Norfolk Pudding
  • Suffolk Fair-Maid or Silly Suffolk
  • Surrey Capon
  • Wiltshire Moonraker
  • Yorkshire Tyke

Relating to personal characteristics

A nickname may relate to the person's occupation. Examples:

It may reference a person's physical characteristics. Examples:

  • Baldy or Curly (ironic) for a bald person
  • Tubby or Chubby for a fat person
  • Lofty, Lanksta or Stretch for a tall person
  • Four-eyes for a person with glasses (offensive)
  • Specs for a person who wears glasses
  • Wheels for a person who uses a wheelchair (generally considered offensive)
  • Carrot, herring, bloodnut, Carrot Top, Ginger, Red, Rusty, Ranga (Australian) or Firecrotch for a person with red hair
  • Blondie for a person with blond hair
  • Grey for a person who has a very Light Blue eye color, also called the Grey eye color.
This is particularly common in Spanish-speaking cultures, with nicknames like Flaco (thin) or Palito (little stick), El Gordo (the fat guy), Chino for anyone who looks vaguely Asian, or Gato (cat) for someone with blue or green eyes.

It may be a sarcastic, or simply ironic, reference, e.g., Curly for someone with straight hair (or no hair at all) - this form was typical in Australian English in the mid 20th Century but less so in current parlance, e.g:

  • Bluey for a person with red hair
  • Tiny for a very large person
  • Dulz for a cross eyed person (offensive)
  • Shorty for a very tall person
  • Slick for a clumsy, awkward or shy person
  • Slim for a fat person

It may relate to a person's character, imagined or real. Examples:

  • Grumpy
  • Swotty
  • Romeo

It may relate to a specific incident or action. Example: Capability Brown was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility". Other examples include: Chemical Ali and Comical Ali. Many fictional characters have nicknames relating to events: Examples include the Red Comet, White Tiger, Desert Tiger and Hawk of Endymion.

It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character. Examples:

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 a town called Gloucester.

It may reference a person's political affiliation. Examples:

Others

A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:
  • Tippecanoe for William Henry Harrison
  • Dubya for George W. Bush. Dubya is from the Texan pronunciation of 'w', Bush's middle initial.
  • Jack The Dripper for painter Jackson Pollock who created many of his works by dripping paint over horizontal canvas
  • Gazza for English footballer Paul Gascoigne (though used more widely in Australia for Gary) and similar "zza" forms (Hezza, Prezza, etc) for other prominent personalities whose activities are frequently reported in the British press

A person's nickname may have no traceable origin. For example, a person named "Harold" may be nicknamed "Fred" for no apparent reason, or a man who was named after a relative may ask his friends to call him "Chip" to avoid confusion.

Nicknames of geographical places

Cities

See also: list of city nicknames for a more comprehensive list.

Countries

  • The Land of the 1000 Lakes - Finland
  • The Land of Santa Claus - Finland
  • The Land of Midnight Sun - Finland
  • The Great White North - Canada
  • The Land Down Under, Oz, Great Southern Land - Australia
  • The Land of the Long White Cloud - New Zealand
  • L'hexagone (The Hexagon) - France
  • The Fine Country - Singapore - Often in a sarcastic or satirical manner, as to playfully describe the law enforcement of Singapore as corruption-free and highly efficient; however, the island nation is also widely accepted has been imposing high fines to minor offences such as littering with such high effiency that granted such nickname to the nation.
  • The Land of the Rising Sun - Japan
  • The Pearl of the Orient Seas - Philippines
  • Da Lu (mainland - lit. 'Big Land') - mainland China
  • The States, America, Uncle Sam, Jesusland - United States (Jesusland is mostly the United States *)
  • The Emerald Isle - Ireland
  • Blighty - Great Britain
  • The Lucky Country - Australia
  • The Country With no Nickname - Sweden
  • The Boot - Italy
  • The Land of poets - Somalia

Regions

  • The Wet Coast - British Columbia, Canada; a play on "The West Coast" because that area of the country rains a lot
  • Red states - states that strongly supported George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections
  • Blue states - states that strongly supported Al Gore and John Kerry in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, respectively
  • The Deep South, Bible Belt - Southern U.S.
  • The Dirty South (usually the South Eastern States but not limited to the whole Old South)
  • The Left Coast - the states of Washington, Oregon, and California in the United States; due to their location in the country and general support of "the left" (liberal political ideology).
  • Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe (Spanish: Puente del Mundo, Corazón del Universo) - Republic of Panama; due to the convergence of the principal trade routes through its Panama Canal

Nicknames for political terms

  • Red - a communist, but can also mean a rebel who is against the government; inclining towards the left wing politically, as in a "Red Tory" in Canada, that is, a moderate conservative; also, ironically, a member or supporter of the United States Republican Party
  • Blue - a member or supporter of the United States Democratic Party; a supporter of the Conservatives in Canada -- and a "Blue Tory" is a right wing conservative
  • Pinko, Trot - a borderline communist
  • Hawk - a person who supports and pursues aggressive foreign policies, such as going to war in order to achieve his/her goals
  • Dove - a person who supports and pursues peaceful means to conduct foreign policy, as opposed to war
  • Tory - a person belonging to the British or Canadian Conservative Party.
  • Grit - a person belonging to the Liberal Party in Canada
  • The Little Red Book - the book that contains quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, often called that because the book itself has a red cover and small enough to fit into a pocket

Nicknames for some common items

Nicknames for professions

Nicknames for companies

Nicknames for universities

Military nicknames

See also: List of nicknames of British Army regiments; Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

Sports clubs and their nicknames

Sporting clubs are often given nicknames. These may or may not be incorporated into official names or be used by the club. The names of animals or colours are popular. Examples:

Football (soccer)

  • ''The Tykes (Barnsley FC}

Australian Rules Football

See also List of nicknames used in Australian rules

Rugby Union

Baseball

NBA Basketball

International Basketball

Cricket

American Football

  • Atlanta Falcons - The Dirty Birds
  • Buffalo Bills - Jills (by haters), B.I.L.L.S. (Boy I Love Losing Super Bowls) by haters, in reference to the team's failure to win the Super Bowl in four straight tries during the early 1990s
  • Carolina Panthers - Cardiac Cats (Due to winning/losing many games in the closing seconds during the 2003 season)
  • Chicago Bears - Da Bears; Monsters of the Midway, Build-a-Bears (by haters)
  • Cleveland Browns - Dawgs (from the Dawg Pound, a famously rowdy bleacher section of the team's former home, Cleveland Stadium, since transferred to today's Cleveland Browns Stadium), The Brownies, The Turds (by haters), The Cardiac Kids
  • Cincinnati Bengals - The Bungles (applied when the team plays poorly)
  • Dallas Cowboys - America's Team, Cowgirls (when playing poorly and haters), Cryboys (by haters)
  • Denver Broncos - Orange Crush, Donkeys (by haters, and when playing poorly)
  • Green Bay Packers - The Pack, The Peckers (by haters), Fudgepackers (by haters), Pack-queers (by haters)
  • Houston Texans - Procrastinators (when playing poorly)
  • Indianapolis Colts - The Blue Crew, The Herd, The Dolts (by haters)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars - Jags, The Jag Offs (by haters)
  • Kansas City Chiefs - The Chefs (in honor of a Snickers ad in which the grounds crew paints Chefs in the end zone)
  • Miami Dolphins - Fins, The Fish, The Aquatic Mammals
  • Minnesota Vikings - Vikes, Vi-queens (when playing poorly)
  • New England Patriots - Pats, The Patsies, Patty Cakes
  • New Orleans Saints - Ain'ts (when playing poorly), Sinners (also when playing poorly), The San Antonio Saints (it was rumoured they might move to San Antonio)
  • New York Jets - J.E.T.S. (Just End The Season) used when playing poorly, Jersey/B
  • New York Giants - G-Men, Jints, Big Blue, Big Blue Wrecking Crew, New York Football Giants (Made Popular by Chris Berman), Jersey/A, New Jersey Giants (due to the large fanbase in Northern New Jersey), Madagascar's crew.
  • Oakland Raiders - The Silver and Black, Da Raidahs, The Faders
  • Philadelphia Eagles- Birds, Iggles (many Philadelphians pronounce the team's name this way), Pigeons (by haters), Beagles (by haters and when playing poorly)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steel Curtain (in their glory years of the 1970s, has been resurrected due to their recent success), The Black and Gold, The Stillers.
  • St. Louis Rams - The Blue and Gold, Rammers, Male Sheep, The Greatest Show on Turf, Lambs, Goats (when playing poorly)
  • San Diego Chargers - Bolts (from the lightning bolt design on their helmets), SuperChargers
  • San Francisco 49ers - 'Niners, The Whiners, Faggy-Niners (by haters, in reference to San Francisco's gay friendly reputation and the high concentration of homosexual fans)
  • Seattle Seahawks - Hawks, Seachickens (by haters).
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Bucs, Yucs (made popular by Chris Berman when they were a regular cellar dweller)
  • Tennessee Titans - The Thumbtacks, The Flaming Thumbtacks, The Oilers (Their team name in Houston)
  • Washington Redskins - 'Skins, The Chesapeake Watershed Region Indigenous Persons, The Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons, DeadSkins (by haters)

Canadian Football

Hockey (Ice)

Sports stadia and their nicknames

Australia

South America

Britain

United States

See also

External links

Given names | Pseudonyms

Øgenavn | Spitzname | alias | surnom | Nadimak | Nickname | שם חיבה | Bijnaam | 愛称 | Ökelnaam | Nick | Alcunha | Nickname | smeknamn | Nickname | 绰号

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Nickname".

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