OK, here’s a thought. Suppose you find yourself beginning to really like some of those classic mid-century nicknames like the ones you’ve been hearing on shows like Mad Men and in movies like Revolutionary Road, but you don’t really care for the names they’ve been traditionally attached to. Some of them mght be too Grandma or pa, some of them overused in the recent past. As in ‘Don? Maybe. Donald? No, thanks.’ So what we’ve done here is put together a list of some possible, more contemporary and/or interesting and/or less widely used alternatives that manage to hold on to the desired nickname.
ALBY — ALBANY rather than Albert
ALEX — ALEXIO rather than Alexander
ANNIE — ANNABEL rather than Ann
ART — ARTEMAS rather than Arthur
BEN — BENEDICT rather than Benjamin
BETH — BETHEL rather than Elizabeth
CAL — CALLUM rather than Calvin
CAT — CATALINA rather than Catherine
CORY — CORMAC rather than Cordell/Cornel
CRIS — CRISPIN rather than Christopher
DEE — DELILAH rather than Deanne
DON — DONOVAN rather than Donald
DOT — DORIT rather than Dorothy
ELLIE — ELODIE rather than Eleanor
EVIE — EVANGELINE rather than Evelyn
GUS — AUGUST rather than Gustave
JAN — JANUARY rather than Janet or Janice
JEN — GENEVA rather than Jennifer
JESSIE — JESSAMINE rather than Jessica
JO — JOCASTA rather than Joanne
JOE — JOSIAH rather than Joseph
KEN — KENYON rather than Kenneth
LIBBY — LIBERTY rather than Elizabeth
LIL — LILIA rather than Lillian
LUCY — LUCIA rather than Lucille
MARE — MARIBEL rather than Mary
MEL — MELISSANDE rather than Melissa
MIKE — MICAH rather than Michael
MILLIE — MILLICENT rather than Mildred
PHYL — PHYLLIDA rather than Phyllis
RAE — REAGAN rather than Rachel
ROB — ROBINSON rather than Robert
ROSIE — ROSAMUND rather than Roseanne
SAM — SAMSON rather than Samuel
SAM — SAMARA rather than Samantha
TESS — TESSA rather than Teresa
WILL — WILLEM rather than Willard
WINNIE — WINTER rather than Winifred
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9 Responses to “New Routes to Old Nicknames”
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Caterina Says:
linda Says:
This is true, but although Lucy is a name in its own right, it did come to be used as a pet form of Lucille (as in I Love Lucy/Lucille Ball) and in the modern era, Nan is used as a short form of Nancy, despite its origins, and rarely as as a nickname for Ann. In this case, we were dealing with current usage.
Elisabeth@YCCII Says:
I talk to parents all the time who are having this problem.
Maggie is a big one for those who don’t care for Margaret. I love Magdalena for that one. Josie could be for Jocelyn rather than Josephine (though I prefer the latter).
Some of the full names on this list are really spectacular!
rachelmarie Says:
I love the name Cormac. I knew a kid named Cormac and thought it was the coolest name ever. Haha.
Donald is my grandfather’s name, and I like the nickname Don, but hate Donald. Donovan is a great way to still honor him.
Great suggestions 🙂
linda Says:
Thanks!
Jenmb Says:
Any suggestions for Nate? I love that name but not so much Nathan/Nathaniel
Pamela Says:
How about Maxfield for Max? It’s my son’s name and everyone always “ooohs” about it when they hear his full name.
keyroses Says:
Love this list! We named our first Eliana (nn Ellie) and like that she can go by a more unusual or common name depending on her age/personality. We’re pregnant with our second and will go with Matthias (Matt) or Josiah (Joey) for a boy…we’re still on the fence with a girl name, but we definitely want it to follow the same idea.
aunt_ning Says:
My Great Aunt was Josie but her real name was Joanne
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Just a nitpick: Lucy is not a nickname, it is a full name in its own right.
Nan is a nickname for Anne, as is Nancy.