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My cousin named her son John after his father (he's actually a junior... ugh) and well thinks weren't good with daddy then and are even worse now (they're not married) and so no one in our family want to call him John or any variation thereof. We used to say, he's cute as a bug, and eventually it was shortened to Bug. And that's his name. He goes to daycare and preschool and is called Bug, not John. He knows his real name but prefers his nickname. I actually find it very adorable.

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And come to think of it, my best friend in middle school used to be called Bug from the same saying when she was a little kid. (Her name is Elizabeth.)

I know heaps of people, but I'm not sure if its more a cultural thing in Australia, because it seems really common to call someone by a name that isnt really a name. Here are some of the more unusual examples that have nothing to do with the persons actual given name, but are the names they are most well known by. I find it often has to do with some aspect of the persons looks or personality.

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Blue- my dad grew up with this, but he is actually a red-head. Apparently it was common to call a redhead 'Blue' in Australia in the 40's and 50's, and still happens today.
Tinman
Nobby
Yamble - (a slang word to describe someone talking a lot)
Bubble
Irish
Barrell
Creak

On Mitt Romney

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That's his actual middle name, it isn't a nickname.

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Willard Mitt Romney
He was named "Willard" after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend.[3] Mitt, his middle name, was the nickname of his father's cousin Milton Romney,[4] who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to 1929

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I don't know anyone with nicknames like that though.

Long post

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Yes! I have three cases of this:

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A boy from my high school was named Robert, but goes by Buddy- when he was little he used to be "Mommy's buddy", and it stuck.

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My uncle used to have a best friend when he was about five who followed him around everywhere, so my grandpa called them Mutt and Jeff (after the old comic strip). Since then my uncle goes by Mutley or Mutt, at least in our family.

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And finally, when my mom (Anne) was an infant, she and my grandparents were traveling late at night. My mom was hungry, so they pulled into a diner. The chef had just closed for the night but he had muffin batter in the fridge, and my mom ate a ton of it. Her parents called her Little Miss Muffet, which was shortened to Muffi. Now my cousins all call her Aunt Muffi.

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I agree with you about people with names like this being characters. I think sometimes the names just stick! (Sorry this is such a long post!)

Where I live, there is a huge extended family with the last name Buckingham. Most of them go by some form of Buck. The grandfather is Big Buck and the grandmother is Bucky. They're really well-known in our city, and I love their nicknames.

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I know a guy who goes by Red, because he has red hair. I love it, and I really can't remember his real first name.

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I know a teenager who's real first name is Tag, and it really suits him. His brothers are Brody and Zeke.

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The rest of them I've never heard used as nicknames, except for coaches who call their players Champ and Bud.

I have a cousin who was called "Buddy" during his childhood. I don't think he goes by it so much anymore outside of family.

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Generally though, I'm not a fan of these typs of names because they seem too informal.

I don't really care for any, even if just a pet nick name. When I was younger and involved with sports, my dad would jokingly call me Champ but as far as the others, I don't know anyone who goes by them.

I can't say I know anyone with a given name like any of the names you list... except for a old lady at a Jewish senior centre I worked at for a summer. Her name was Bunny.

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The 50's is really great for fishing for "nickname-names" like this - they were really into that then. Stuff like Lucky, Butch, Dusty and Sport. I think it was kind of a beatnik thing.

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There is something undeniably edgy and artsy about these kinds of names, and I like a few of them - but not too many. They seem a little coarse in some situations, and a little demeaning.

They're cute on small kids, but I think they're annoying if used instead of the real name regularly. As you said, I see them more as pet names than nicknames, like "honey" or "dear".

I must object to you terming Bud as a name that sounds more like a pet name than anything else.

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My father went by the name Bud all of his life. Well, as a child, he was called Buddy, and this became Bud as he grew older. His actual given name was Joseph.

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He didn't acquire the nickname by virtue of the fact that he was a character, though. It was used to differentiate him from his father, after whom he was named.

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I just love Bud as a nickname. It always brings to mind a really nice, handsome guy.

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I had a childhood friend whose father went by Red. His actual name was John, but he was called Red because he had red hair. I believe that this was once quite common.

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I would put Red and Bud in a different category than the others you listed. The others DO sound like pet names, and I don't find them attractive. Especially Buck. No, Critter is worse than Buck.

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