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Old Fashioned NIcknames (Ace, Buck, Cap, etc)
So last week I was into rugged nicknames (Thom, Clem, Bill, etc--see http://www.behindthename.com/bb/view.php?id=3308164&board=baby). From there, I grew interested in rugged nicknames that aren't (usually) related to fns, but that wouldn't seem unusual as nns (in the US, at least). Here's a list I made trying to come up with as many names as I thought fit into this category. Most if not all of these are cribbed from a website with a list of Air Force pilot call signs. The list is probably endless, and I'm far from fond of many of these names, but WDYT?Ace Buck Beck Bud Buddy Bull Beau Boo Bam Bubba Brick Buster Biff Bird Bones Boom Boot Bro Bugs Bug Bugsy Bullet Burns Butch Buzz Cap Chief Cam Carnie Casper Chevy Curly Cypher Cajun Chewy Chico Copper Conan Crash Cruise Doc Dash Dog Dice Dizzy Drip Dingo Doogie Duck Duke Dutch Elk Elf E.T. Fez Fizz Flash Flea Flex Flint Freeze Fudge Finch Fletch French Gory Gadget Gator Ghost Gig Goose Guppy Gopher Grim Groucho Gold Goody Grit Gunner Gun Hawk Heck Hollywood Homer Hulk Hurley Harpo Happy Hatch Horse Hoss Huey Indy Irish Ike Iron Jam Jughead Jedi Jet Junior Kong King Kato Kid Kiddo Kojak Khan Lucky Link Lump Law Lefty Linus Maddog Magellan Marlin Max Mikey Mac Maverick Merlin Mex Mo Monk Moose Moss Mule Mustang Notch Noodle Nuke Opie Oz Patch Peanut Pink Pinky Pointer Punch Pup Pyro Pasha Pig Quiz Rock Red Razor Ram Ranger Rattler Rex Rip Roach Rocket Rocky Rag Rat Rascal Rebel Rocko Rube Sport Sage Scoop Sonny Sweep Sandy Scooter Shakes Shooter Slick Smokey Snake Solo Spider Splinter Squawk Squirt Stretch Scar Scotty Scruffy Shadow Skeet Skeeter Skip Slim Smash Spike Snoopy Snoop Spanky Speedy Spyro Spoon Spook Spud Spot Stallion Stork Streak Suds Surf Tread Tank Thumper Thunder Torch Track Tag Taz Tex Toad Tron Turbo Turk Utah Viper Web Wedge Whiskers Wooly Waldo Wilder Wiz Wizard Wolf Wolfman Woody Yoyo Yogi Zoot ZipNow I don't think that this type of nn makes a good fn. But I would like to find nns like these for my children (which ones they'll end up with, of course, depends on them, and as they're not born yet, who knows?). To match these nns, though, I like very traditional fns paired with a quirkier mn. Separate from the whole question of old-timey nns, WDYT of these combos?John Mattituck - I was in Mattituck, Long Island yesterday...I think this is the Yankee-est combo I have ever liked. John is also my father's fn (he goes by his mn) and my grandfather's fn.
Victor Swainland - My grandmother lived on Swainland Road when her house burned down. It's certainly a strange thing to carry in a name, but I like the idea of honoring what has been lost.
Blaise Norman - Just two names I like, really. The name nerd in me things that Norman, because it has such a French meaning, calls attention to the French origin of Blaise.
Martha Consuelo - This is certainly the stuffiest girls combo I have ever loved. Fn honors my aunt Marta María. In real life, I probably won't be able to use the name Consuelo (she's a step-great-aunt, with whom my family isn't on great terms), but lately I have been going crazy for it.

This message was edited 7/24/2008, 2:26 PM

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I like the following nicknames, especially the ones with an astericks next to it.Beau Bird* Cypher Dingo Flea Fletch French* Goose Guppy Hollywood* Indy* Irish* Jedi Jet* Kid Kiddo Kojak Lucky* Monk Moose Moss* Punch Roach Rocket Rascal Rebel* Shooter Skeet Skeeter Spook Tread* Tag Toad Turk WedgeI don't however, conisder the following names to be NNs and I think they could work as full names.Beck
Conan
Wilder
Pasha
Maverick
Max
Maddog (if it is actually Maddog and not Mad Dog)
Linus
Gunner
Finch
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That is a pretty fun list. I like random NNs like that; they're fun. Chris' family mostly have at least one random NN. Not quite fighter pilot names, but Christopher gets called Dig/Diggy, Sarah is Bob (noooo idea how that one happened), Rebecca is Bug, and Mindy gets Minnow. I also know a Christopher who gets called Kip; that's fairly traditional but hardly ever heard anymore.I really like John Mattituck (and Bear's NN suggestion of Tuck!) and Blaise.
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John Mattituck -- I love the name John and I like the idea of a quirkier mn. But I'd like to see something that has a little more meaning to you than just, "my Mom was there once." You didn't ask for this, but I'm going to pick a nn from your great list that I think best fits a John Mattituck, nn Hawk or Tuck.Victor Swainland -- Wow. This sounds like a character out of a Tennessee Williams play: Victor Swainland, Southern hunk. The "swain" part is especially appealing. And I like your reasoning for using it; very zen. Victor Swainland, nn Dash.Blaise Norman -- Right you are with the Norman imagery. It fits beautifully with sophisticated Blaise, although I'm getting a vague, blazing-village-after-a-Norman-attack kind of feeling. But I'm weird. Blaise Norman, nn Pyro.Martha Consuelo -- You and me both, my dear. I used to suggest Consuelo when I started doing various internet boards. No one had any enthusiasm for my beautiful Consuelo so I gave up. The "sway-lo" sound is irrisistible to me. Martha make a lovely complement to it. Martha Consuelo, nn Mo? (= first and last letters of the combo) (My niece Maureen is a "Mo" and I can tell you it is the cutest nn. We called her Momo as a baby.)As for the list itself, you have tooooooo much free time on your hands. :-) Me too. You should keep that list handy and when someone asked for help naming a pet you can post it. Great ideas in there. Not all of them are strictly nns, though. Ex: Linus, Casper, Conan, Rex. In fact, these are pretty chic, sophisticated formal names, to me. But I understand others might use them as nns. I just hate to see them not get their due as formal names.
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You've killedVictor Swainland and Blaise Norman! or at least you've hit the connotation nail right on the head...twice.Victor Swainland can't be my son anymore...he's a Southern hunk with a tragic streak. Unless I marry a Southern alcoholic with a dark secret I fear my Victor Swainland won't live up to his name.And Blaise Norman is a mad impressionist painting forever recreating the same scene of a quaint French village on fire. Ack.And let's make Consuelo a top 1000 name. I so wouldn't mind.
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