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A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or thing's real name (for example, Bob, Rob, Robby, Robbie, Robi, Bobby, Rab, Bert, Bertie, Butch, Bobbers, Bobert, Beto, Bobadito, and Robban (in Sweden), are all short for Robert). As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from title (for example, City of Fountains), although there may be overlap in these concepts.
A nickname is sometimes considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can often be a form of ridicule.
Many performing artists and actors have nicknames, which in years past were called a stage name.
Etymology: In Middle English the word was ekename (from the verb to eke, "enlarge"; compare Swedish öknamn). Later, an ekename developed into a nickname when the "n" shifted through junctural metanalysis.
In Viking societies, many people had nicknames heiti, viðrnefni or uppnefi which were used in addition to, or instead of their family names. In some circumstances the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts.
In the context of information technology, a nickname is a common synonym for username and is also known as a handle, especially within hacker culture.
A nickname in this context is ordinarily associated with any system that requires a login, such as a website, instant messaging system, or a private network. Such nicknames are routinely employed to enable a certain level of security or anonymity, or for other reasons.
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Nicknames for people
Types of personal nickname:
Also known as pet name, shortened name, truncated name, alternate name, name derivative, associated name, hypocoristic form of a name, diminutized name, or diminuted name. Sometimes related to "alias".
It may reference a person's physical characteristics. Examples:
Frankie or Curly (ironic) for a bald person
Tubby or Chubby for a fat person (generally offensive)
Lofty, Lanksta or Stretch for a tall person
Four-eyes for a person with glasses (offensive)
Specs for a person who wears glasses
Wheels for a person who uses a wheelchair (generally considered offensive)
Carrot, herring, bloodnut, Carrot Top, Ginger, Red, Rusty, Ranga (Australian) or Firecrotch for a person with red pubic hair
Carrot-top, Ginger, Red, Rusty, or Bluey (Australian) for a person with red hair
Mushmouth (or Mush) for a person with a Southern U.S. drawl.
This is particularly common in Spanish-speaking cultures, with nicknames like Flaco (thin) or Palito (little stick), El Gordo (the fat guy), Chino for anyone who looks vaguely Asian, or Gato (cat) for someone with blue or green eyes.
It may be a sarcastic, or simply ironic, reference, e.g., Curly for someone with straight hair (or no hair at all) - this form was typical in Australian English in the mid 20th Century but less so in current parlance, e.g:
Tiny for a very large person
Dulz for a cross eyed person (offensive)
Shorty for a very tall person
Slick for a clumsy, awkward or shy person
It may relate to a person's character, imagined or real. Examples:
It may relate to a specific incident or action. Example: Capability Brown was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility". Other examples include: Chemical Ali and Comical Ali. Many fictional characters have nicknames relating to events: Examples include the Red Comet, White Tiger, Desert Tiger and Hawk of Endymion.
It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character. Examples:
It may be related to their place of origin or place of residence. Example:
Gloucester, Paul from Gloucester or PFG for someone named Paul who comes from a town called Gloucester.
It may refer to a person's political affiliation. Examples:
It may allude to a person's intelligence, such as:
(These latter two are often also used sarcastically.)
A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:
Dubya for George W. Bush, an exaggeration of Texan pronunciation of 'w', Bush's middle initial.
Jack The Dripper for painter Jackson Pollock who created many of his works by dripping paint over horizontal canvas
Gazza for English footballer Paul Gascoigne (though used more widely in Australia for Gary) and similar "zza" forms (Hezza, Prezza, etc) for other prominent personalities whose activities are frequently reported in the British press
A person's nickname may have no traceable origin. For example, a person named "Harold" may be nicknamed "Fred" for no apparent reason, or a man who was named after a relative may ask his friends to call him "Chip" (as in "chip off the old block") to avoid confusion.
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Nicknames of geographical places
Particularly with geographical places, it is important to distinguish between nickname and title. A nickname is almost always a brief term that is either friendly or derogatory and can be substituted for the real name at will. A title is usually a multi-word term, often created for promotional purposes, sometimes created as a putdown, that cannot be substituted for the real name at will. Most of the terms below are not nicknames; they are titles. For example, Kansas City is titled (or dubbed) 'Heart of America' and 'City of Fountains'; it is nicknamed KC. People will use KC very frequently in everyday speech as a friendly substitute for Kansas City; it is the popular nickname for the city. By contrast, probably only the tourist industry ever uses the term 'City of Fountains'; this is a title, not a nickname.
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Cities
See also: list of city nicknames for a more comprehensive list.
Heart of America (It's near the geographical center of America), City of Fountains (It has the most public fountains of any U.S. city), KC (also KCK when referring specifically to Kansas City, Kansas, and KCMO when referring specifically to Kansas City, Missouri) - Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri
The Big Sweet Grass Basket, The Palmetto City, The Holy City, The Big C-H-S, The Marina City, Chucktown - Charleston, South Carolina
Space City, Bayou City, H-Town, Oil Capital of the World - Houston, Texas
Bluff City, City of Churches, Blues City, Big M-Town (The Hernando de Soto bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:IMG_0095.JPG has a really big M on it), The M - Memphis, Tennessee
"Hogtown", "T.O.", "T-Dot"; and Centre of the Universe - Toronto, Canada, often used negatively by Canadians who live outside of Toronto due to the fact that the city is one of the financial and cultural hubs of Canada and that there is a perceived bias towards Toronto by the Canadian media and its Prime Minister
Queen City of the South - Cebu City, Philippines
The Most Livable City in the World - Melbourne, Australia. Became synonymous with the city after it frequented first place and top positions in various world city rankings.
BrisVegas - Brisbane, Australia due to its similarities with Las Vegas as far as weather, nightlife (used ironically) and general atttractions.
Winterpeg or "The Peg" - Winnipeg, Canada Due to the city's extremely cold weather and the idea that Winnipeg is the geographic centre of Canada.
The Bridge City, The Hub City - Saskatoon, Canada due to Saskatoon having many bridges relative to its population and being the "hub" along many provincial highways, with convenient routes to other centres in the province and beyond.
The Queen City, The 'Nati with 2 Sins, Cinci, Porkopolis, C-Nasty - Cincinnati
The Yo - Youngstown, Ohio (Also Known As: Little Chicago, The Hoboken of Ohio, The Eastcoast of Ohio, The City of Homes, The Steel City, The Steal City, The Rust(y) City, The. Y.O., Yompton, Yo-town, and Y-Town
Raytown - Racine,Wisconsin (Also Known As: Racilla, Rayceezy, the Belle City, the Ray)
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Regions
Red states - states that strongly supported George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections
Blue states - states that strongly supported Al Gore and John Kerry in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, respectively
The Dirty South (usually the South Eastern States but not limited to the whole Old South, usually used among rappers)
The Left Coast - the states of Washington, Oregon, and California in the United States; due to their location in the country and general support of "the left" (liberal political ideology).
Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe (Spanish: Puente del Mundo, Corazón del Universo) - Republic of Panama; due to the convergence of the principal trade routes through its Panama Canal
The Third Coast- the cities and states that are on the Gulf Coast of the Untied States. (The term is also used in the film industry to refer to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex due to a large number of movies, commercials, etc. being filmed there – the "First Coast" is implied to be Hollywood and the "Second Coast" being New York.)
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Nicknames for political terms
Red - a communist, but can also mean a rebel who is against the government; inclining towards the left wing politically, as in a "Red Tory" in Canada, that is, a moderate conservative; also, ironically, a member or supporter of the United States Republican Party
Blue - a member or supporter of the United States Democratic Party; a supporter of the Conservatives in Canada -- and a "Blue Tory" is a right wing conservative
Hawk - a person who supports and pursues aggressive foreign policies, such as going to war in order to achieve his/her goals
Dove - a person who supports and pursues peaceful means to conduct foreign policy, as opposed to war
The Little Red Book - the book that contains quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, often called that because the book itself has a red cover and small enough to fit into a pocket
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Nicknames for some common items
boob tube, idiot box, telly, TV, goggle-box (UK), glass nipple - television
loo, john, potty, bog, can, shitter, dunny or dunny can (Australia) - toilet
Brew, Frat Soda, brewdog, bronson, brewski, Glug Glug - Beer
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Nicknames for professions
Blue (southern US), Stripes, Zebra, Sisco - referee
Chaps - chaplain in the Navy or Marine Corp
Copper, Rozzer (Brit.), Bobby (Brit.), The Fuzz (plural), Cop, Pig/Bacon, Flatfoot, Blueboy, Po-po, Jakes., 5-0, Boy 'dem - police officer
Detec - Undercover police officer (specifically for their unmarked vehicles)
Loan Shark - an underworld, street corner type money lender with high interest rates and usually enforces re-payment with threats of physical violence - Leg Breaker usually refers to the loan shark's enforcer
Roomie - room-mate, or sometimes an hotel employee
Shark, Ambulance Chaser, Shyster - lawyer
Spook (usually a plural) - (U.S. military) intelligence agent
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Nicknames for companies
"Big Blue" - IBM, computer hardware/software manufacturer
"The Big Eye" - CBS, broadcasting network
"Bloblaws" or "Blah-Blahs" - Loblaws, Canadian supermarket chain
"Crapple" - Apple Computer, a computer, software and consumer electronics manufacturer
"Jacques Penné" - JCPenney clothing stores
"K-Fry" or "K-Fried" - KFC, American fried chicken restaurant chain
"The Little Thief" - Little Chef, UK roadside restaurant
"Lose-It" - Loomis, Canadian courier company
"Ma Bell" - AT&T, American telephone company
"Mickey D's", "Golden Arches", "McDeath", "Rotten Ronnie's", "McDogchow", "McDick's", "McConvicts", "MacDo" mainly in France, though former usage common in Australia - McDonald's, global fast-food chain.
"Macca's" or "McChucks" - (In Australia) McDonald's, global fast-food chain.
"M$," various versions of "Micro" plus an expression with or without various $-type signs; i.e. "Microsloth,"; or "The Borg" - Microsoft, software company
"Needless Markup" - Neiman Marcus, American upscale specialty retail department store
"Office Despot" - Office Depot, Chain of office supply stores
"OOPS" - UPS, American courier service
"Pizza Slut", "Pizza Smut" - Pizza Hut, Global pizza chain
"Snot Gothic", "Goth Stoppit", "Whiny Hole," "Hot Profit" - Hot Topic
"Sooner-or-Later" - Purolator, Canadian courier company
"Tar-Get" ("Get" pronounced "zhay")- Target retail store chain.
"Timmy's," "Tim's" or "Timmy Ho's" - Tim Hortons, Canadian coffee and doughnut chain
"Taco Hell", "Toxic Hell", "Baco Tell", "Taco Smell", "Toxic Bell", "Taco Beelzebub", "T-Bizzy" - Taco Bell fast-food restaurant chain
"Wally World", "Mall-Wart" or "Wal-Marde" (in Quebec, "marde" being slang for shit) - Wal-Mart, global chain of retail stores.
"Weggies" - Wegmans Food Market inc.
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Nicknames for universities
"Carolina" for either of two schools:
"Harvard on the Hill" derogatory term used for local community colleges
"Ghetto cat" or "Snack cat (kitty)" for Food Lion
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Military nicknames
Airdales (sometimes Aerdales)-- U.S. Navy term for Air Force pilots or U.S. Navy aviators
Barbarians - Derogatory term for members of the U.S. Military, referencing their brutality
BB Stackers - U.S. Navy Ordnancemen
Biggles - Australian Air Force Pilot
Bubblehead - U.S. term for U.S. Navy submariners
Dogface, gopher, grunt, cannon fodder, Bullet Stopper, Bushwacker, 11 Bang-Bang, 11 "Bravo" Infantard - infantry soldier (U.S. Army)
Fire Dawgs - American Marine, Air Force, and Army Firefighters
Floating Heads and Diggers - Australian Army Soldiers
G-men - government officials (FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, etc.)
Leathernecks, jarheads, devil dogs, bullet sponge - U.S. marines
Matelots, squids, swabbies, deck ape, deck monkey - sailors
Pongos - British Army, Australian Army (As in 'Where ever the army goes, the pong goes')
Raffies - Australian Air Force Personnel
SEAL - Sea Air Land, Navy commando so widely respected and fraternal that no other name is allowed
Zipperhead - armoured tank soldier, derived from their use of "zip up" to close hatches when under fire. A Vietnam War term for the Vietnamese
See also: List of nicknames of British Army regiments; Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces
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Sports clubs and their nicknames
Sporting clubs are often given nicknames. These may or may not be incorporated into official names or be used by the club. The names of animals or colours are popular. Examples:
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Football (soccer)
The Bhoys, The Hoops, The Celts, The 'Tic - Celtic
I Bianconeri (The White-and-Blacks), La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady) - Juventus
Les Dogues (The Mastiffs) - Lille
'Gers, Light Blues, Teddy Bears - Rangers
The Hoops - Glasgow Celtic; also in imitation FC Dallas (USA)
The Jags - Partick Thistle F.C.
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Makrillarna (The Mackerels) - GAIS
Los Merengues (The Whites), Los Galácticos (The Galactics) - Real Madrid
Mussi Volanti (Flying Donkeys) - Chievo
O Peixe (The Fish), O Alvinegro (The White-and-Black) - Santos
United - Clubs named United often use their surname as a nickname.
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Australian Rules Football
For players' nicknames, see: List of nicknames used in Australian rules
AFL
Brisbane Lions - Lions, Brissie, Roys (Derived from Fitzroy; one of the two teams merged to create Brisbane),
Bad News Bears (Derived from Brisbane Bears; the other of the two teams merged to create the Brisbane Lions)
REPRESENTATIVE SIDES
Victorian Representative Team - Big V, Vics
Combined NSW/ACT/QLD/NT/Tas Representative Team - Allies
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INTERNATIONAL
China National Team - The Blues
England National Team - Dragonslayers
Indonesian National Team - Bintangs (Stars)
Malaysia National Team - Warriors
Pakistan National Team - Dragoons
Samoa National Team - Bulldogs
Singapore National Team - Wombats
Spain National Team - Bulls
Wales National Team - Dragons
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Rugby Union
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Baseball
Boston Red Sox - BoSox; "Da Sox"; "The Dirt Dogs"; "Cowboy Up";Olde Towne Team; Red Sux (by haters), Red Cubs, The Sox, Red Flops, derogatory used by Yankees fans. The Idiots, affectionate term coined by team during 2004 Championship run
Chicago Cubs - Cubbies; Loveable Losers; Scrubs; Dubs; Northsiders; Build-a-Bears (by haters).
Chicago White Sox - ChiSox; Pale Hose; Southsiders; Black Sox (after throwing the 1919 World Series); White Sux (by haters), Sox Suxs (by haters who think "White Sux" is offensive).
Cincinnati Reds - Redlegs (a nickname used in the early 1950s during the Red Scare); nicknamed "The Big Red Machine" during the team's run in the 1970's, when they won the division 6 times and appeared in the World Series 4 times
Los Angeles Dodgers - Bums, the Boys of Summer (both from their Brooklyn days; usage in L.A. has faded with time), Blue Crew
Milwaukee Brewers - Brew Crew; Brew-has; Professional Alcoholics (by haters); Beermakers
New York Mets - nicknamed "The Loveable Losers" when they first started playing, the Kings of Queens; The Amazin' Mets, The Amazins, "Miracle Mets" (during their run in the 1969 season. They eventually won the World Series), Mutts (by haters), Pond Scum (by haters),
New York Yankees - The Bronx Bombers; The Pinstripes; Yanks; Dream Dashers; Evil Empire (coined by Red Sox executive Larry Lucchino); Dynasty of Disgrace; The Enemy; Damned Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies - (Fightin') Phils; Phightins; Sillies; Pillies (given when some players were involved in an amphetamine scandal in the early 1980's); Quakers and Blue Jays (alternate nicknames used early in the team's history, the first from the 1880's, and the second from the early 1940's); Whiz Kids (for the 1950 National League Championship team, for their youth); Wheeze Kids (for the 1983 National League Championship team, for their lack of youth
San Francisco Giants - Jints (rhymes with "pints"); gigantes (Gee-gant-As) which is Spanish for Giants
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NBA Basketball
Knickerbockers, Knuckleheads (by haters) - New York Knicks (technically, the reverse is true, Knickerbockers being the full but rarely used team name).
Raps or Craptors or Zoo Crew (for the bench) (by detracters) - Toronto Raptors
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International Basketball
Tall Ferns - New Zealand women's national team
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Cricket
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American Football
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Canadian Football
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Australia
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South America
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Britain
Wembley Stadium - The Twin Towers (no longer exists due to stadium redevelopment)
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United States
AT&T Park - The Phone, McCovey Cove (the latter is actually the minor arm of San Francisco Bay just beyond the right-field fence)
Chase Field (formerly known as Bank One Ballpark) - The BOB
Heinz Field - The Mustard Palace, The Big Ketchup Bottle (Heinz Field has two giant Heinz ketchup bottles at the south end)
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See also
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