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Old School Nicknames

Old School Nicknames

Vintage names have been cool for a while now, but old school nicknames are just starting to come into their own.

The Brits have led the way on the revival of the retro nickname, with their fashionable little Alfies and Evies, Freddys and Teddys — though Teddy just might be a girl.

Especially fresh on this side of the pond are the old school nicknames for boys: We’ve long loved Ned and Joe and Hank, but we are newly fond of such choices as Ray and Hal, Walt and Monty.

For girls, names that are just beginning to awake from a long slumber sound especially fetching: Dottie, Betty, Lou.

Using one of these new old nicknames for your child can be a way to give a fresh spin to a classic name, to distinguish a little girl from her namesake grandma, or to set your Henry apart from the five others on the block.

Here, a roundup of classic and vintage names and their old school nicknames.

girls

Adelaide or AdelineAddie

Beatrice or BeatrixBea or Trixie

CharlotteLottie

Dorothea or DorothyDory or Dottie

EdithEdie

Eleanor or HelenNell

ElizabethBetty or Libby

EvelynEvie

FlorenceFlo or Flory or Flossie

HarrietHattie

JosephineJosie

KatherineKay or Kitty

LouiseLulu or Lou

MargaretMaisie or Peggy

MaryMamie or May or Minnie

MildredMillie

SarahSally

TheodoraTeddy, Thea, or Dora

boys

AlbertAl or Bert

AlfredAlfie or Freddy

ArthurArt

CalvinCal

EdwardNed

FrancisFrank

HaroldHal

HenryHank

JamesJim

JohnJack or Johnny

JosephJoe

LouisLou

MontgomeryMonty

RaymondRay

RobertBob

VictorVic

VincentVince

WallaceWally

WalterWalt

WilliamBill

WoodrowWoody (but proceed with caution here)

Which are your favorites?

About the Author

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond

Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.

Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.