Complex Numbers

By Any Other Name

PROMPT May 23rd

Write about nicknames. What nicknames do you have for people in your life? What nicknames do others use to refer to you? Do any of these names have an interesting story for how they came to be?

I'm not real big on nicknames. I mean, if someone's named Edward and wants to be called Ed, then I call him Ed. If someone's named Zachariah and wants be called Wormy, okay, fine, I'll call him Wormy.

I've usually resisted the temptation to come up with my own nicknames for people, because I never know how they'll take it. There have been exceptions. One of my best friends started out here with the username dogfreek. She was young at the time, so I called her Puppy. That one stuck. Somehow, we're still friends. Harder to call her Puppy now because she's an old lady at this point. Also she reads this blog so now I'm in big trouble.

As for me, I've been called Robert, Rob, and Bob. Somehow never Bobby, at least as far as I can recall. Also some things less flattering. Doesn't bother me, though, because if you show that you're bothered by a nickname, that just makes them want to use it all the more. But really, I don't care; when I refer to myself in the third person here, I use Waltz. As long as I know it's me you're talking about, then whatever.

Some of those aren't what I'd normally think of as nicknames, though; just lazy versions of my name. Technically, Bob is a nickname, as is Ed and Liz and other common monikers, but I'm talking about how I perceive it, not the technical definition. A nickname is something like Wormy, above (I've never actually known anyone named Wormy, though I've known a couple of Zacks). Or Stinky, or Hoss (I live in the south), or Red.

Nicknames are also distinct from usernames, though it is of course perfectly acceptable to use a nickname as a username or, here, as a handle. I don't consider jackhammer69 to be a nickname, for example (or a particularly clever username). Unlike with usernames, usually you don't get to choose a nickname for yourself, but you can end up owning it if people call you it.

Interesting thing about French I've learned: it's fairly common knowledge, I think, that the French word that translates as name is nom. The translation of first name is prenom. But there's also a French word, surnom, that you'd think would mean surname or, as we think of it in English, family name; but no, nom means either surname or full name (I'm still a little unclear on the usage), while surnom translates to nickname. Which is especially weird to me because the French word sur generally means something like on, or on top of, as in sur la table. It may well be a linguistic coincidence, but to remember it I started thinking of surnom, nickname, as meaning above the name.

But the really cool thing about nicknames is that, well, they're usually bestowed upon someone once their character is at least somewhat developed, as opposed to one's legal name, which is usually granted before or just after birth, before your parents know what you're really going to be like. While it could be argued that given names can steer one's personality and guide one's career - you think John Wayne would have had the gravitas he did if he'd kept Marion Morrison as a working name? -- the reverse can be true for nicknames.

The downside of nicknames is, of course, that kids are assholes and they'll come up with embarrassing ones, like for example calling someone named Amber "Amberger."

With all the power names have, you'd think there'd be more people choosing them for themselves. I guess in most cases, you're either used to the one you're stuck with at birth, or you want to respect your parents' choice. Besides, changing it can be a real pain in the tuchis. And that can sometimes lead to ridicule, too, as when Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol.

Bottom line is, usually I'll call a person by the name they wish to be called. Anything else is just rude.

Unless you're Puppy.

It has come to my attention that y'all voted this Best Blog for the second year running. All I can say is: thank you. I appreciate the votes, the readers, and of course the comments. But definitely read the other nominations, too; they're worth the time. And congratulations to all the other Quills winners!