Watching football on television the other day, Hubby referred to University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders as Prime. I said, “Prime? Where did that come from?” Turns out, he got the name Prime Time from a college teammate while returning from a successful football game on the team bus – and it stuck! Okay! Whatever!
As you know, my given name is Roberta. That wasn’t always the case. The formal announcement of my birth proclaimed the arrival of baby Judy. Then, a few weeks later, my dad, whose name is Robert, heard about the name Roberta. Being a first-time father, he wanted a namesake in case he never had a son – and as it turned out – he didn’t.
Did my family then call me Roberta? Of course not. I was called Birdie for short. That was okay until I got older, and the other kids yelled at me – “tweet” “tweet” and laughed uncontrollably. It was so embarrassing. What to do? Well, I insisted people call me Roberta. It took some doing, but I persevered. If someone didn’t call me Roberta, I would ignore them. That was fine until I got into high school. I was taunted again. This time by vile teenage boys. They started calling me RubberBra, which was even more embarrassing than Birdie. Well, many years have now passed. When someone new meets me, they often ask if I have a nickname. I tell them, “No.” So everyone calls me Roberta to my face – who knows what they call me behind my back? Once in a while, a loved one will still call me Birdie. The truth is I kinda like it. They are special people to me. However, beloved readers, please don’t call me Birdie. Thank you!
I’ve been thinking about names lately (probably because I have difficulty remembering them), but that’s another story.) So what’s in a name? Do our names mean anything? Are they that important? Some researchers say our names are an essential part of our identity. They carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections. Others, like a famous playwright, say our names don’t really mean anything. When William Shakespeare was asked, “What’s in a name?” he said names were simply a way to distinguish things or people, but names had no meaning. In his play Romeo and Juliet, he emphasized, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Many years ago, I knew a young couple who had a son. Their last name was Baum. What did they name their baby boy? Adam! Do you think they ever regretted giving him that name? Did he? A person of Asian heritage told me an interesting story. Her grandmother wouldn’t name her mother because her firstborn daughter had died early. She thought if she didn’t give her next child a name, that child wouldn’t be taken from her. Only when the unnamed child entered school did her teacher give her a name!
If we give someone a name, why do we immediately change it to a nickname? Does the nickname say more about the person, or is it just easier to say than the actual name? So many nicknames are achieved by adding an, ie, or y to the end of their given name. I suppose the nickname is more endearing. That seems fine for a younger person but ridiculous for a senior citizen.
My uncles all had nicknames. One was a little heavy. He was called Pork. One smoked Camel cigarettes. He was called Camel. Dad was called Rah – short for Robert. William was just called William – go figure! At one place I lived, the neighbors nicknamed their son Bubba. I never knew his given name. Another neighbor named their dog Bubba. When someone in the neighborhood called “Bubba,” the kid and dog would both come running.
It wasn’t uncommon for men my dad’s age to have nicknames in our farm community. One guy was called Bronc! As it turns out, as a young lad, he was good at breaking horses, ergo the name. Another guy was called Stub. I don’t know why. I don’t think I want to know. Another was called Chub. He wasn’t chubby, so I’m unsure where his nickname came from.
Continuing to ponder names, I recalled the “Our Gang Comedies” featuring “The Little Rascals.” Their names would not be acceptable today due to political correctness—Porky, Sparky, Alfalfa, and the most provocative of all, Buckwheat. I actually met Sparky in real life years later when he was in the military. No, they didn’t call him Sparky!
My husband and I made a mistake in naming our son. He and his dad shared the same common first name, so we always called our son by his middle name, which wasn’t as common. It’s caused my son a lot of confusion, and he’s considered changing his first name to his middle name. When he complains too much, I remind him of the Baum parents who named their son Adam!
I knew someone whose mother’s maiden name was Over. He applied for a job, and the last question of the application was, “What is your mother’s maiden name?” So he wrote “Over.” A few days later, after submitting his paperwork, he got a call from whom he hoped would be his future employer. The gentleman calling was confused. He said, “You wrote Over on your application, and when I turned it over, there was nothing there!” Of course, this elicited a chuckle from my friend, but he didn’t get the job! I wonder why?
Parents often mistakenly call one of their kids by a sibling’s name a few times before they get it right. And imagine giving your children similar-sounding names (e.g. Minnie, Millie, and Molly). Wouldn’t that be confusing? I’ve been guilty of calling someone by someone else’s name, even when the two names are quite different. I sometimes say my baby sister’s name when I meant to say my son’s name. (There might be some deeper psychological reason for our doing that.) Then, there was a time when my dachshund Wonder Dog was a big part of our lives, and I would often call my son by the dog’s name. So once again, when he complained, I apologized but reminded him it could be worse – remember poor little Adam Baum.
Growing up, I gave my baby sister the nickname“Duzzy!” Why? Because at the time, “Duz” soap was a big thing in the TV commercials. It was said to be soft and smell good. I said, “Just like my baby sister! She is a “Duzzy!” And it stuck. Very few people call her that now, but I occasionally do!
Johnny Cash’s song “A Boy Named Sue” was a big hit. Supposedly, his dad named his son Sue so he would grow up strong and tough! Ridiculous, isn’t it? I once knew a boy named Carol. After years of ridicule, he decided enough was enough and changed his name legally to Carl. Then, some names are generational. One day, my son came home from preschool describing a new boy with the weirdest name in his class. So I ask, “What is it?” He replied, “George! Have you ever heard such a weird name, Mom?” I said, “Yes,” and told him about George Washington. He didn’t seem too interested.
Then there are our terms of endearment – you know – “Honey,” “Sweetie,” “Dolly,” “Love,” and on and on I rave. They come in handy if you temporarily forget someone’s real name. I made up my own favorite term of endearment. I have no idea where it came from. Anyway, here it is, “Punky Snoovy.”
We give our pets names. Do they even know those names? Dogs seem to. Some say cats know their name, but that doesn’t mean they will come if you call them. I wonder how they know cats know their name if those cats never come? Supposedly, birds know their name, too – some birds, that is. I believe that may be true. Other animals, I’m not so sure.
Growing up on a farm, I learned to call pigs, cows, and cats. Pigs come to you if you call them with a sort of high-pitched “SOOEY, SOOEY.” Anyway, it always worked for me. I had good luck calling cows by yelling, “BOSSIE!” Barn cats would usually come if you called, “HERE, KITTY, KITTY, KITTY!” Domestic cats don’t. They stare at you, shaking their heads in wonderment!
A lot of money can be made from emulating certain animal sounds. Take, for instance, the Robertson family. That family has made millions from inventing The Duck Commander – a duck call. Yes, it really works. Who would have thought making and selling a duck call would lead to the creation of a top-rated TV show like “Duck Dynasty?” From that one program, many spin-offs were created – all sorts of paraphernalia – clothing – cups – mementos. There was even a short-lived Duck Dynasty musical.
A few days ago, someone told me a friend made a fortune selling moose calls! You have to be kidding! No, it’s true. I had to check it out. Hubby heard me watching the 6-minute YouTube video of the friend using his lure to call a moose. Hearing such loud, plaintive bleating, he rushed in to check on me, thinking I had severe stomach pains or something worse!
So, Punky Snoovies, do you have any interesting stories about names? What about your own or that of your offspring? Any provocative nicknames? Your comments are always appreciated and will never be published outside this website.
9 Comments
I am the person responsible for your nickname Bertie. When you were born mom asked me what we should call you. Bertie or Bobbie and I being 8 years old said Bertie. After I grew up I wished I had said Bobbie. I have a neighbor in AZ named Bobbie. When I met her I said your name must be Roberta. I have a sister Roberta and we called her Bertie. She said she was called Bertie all her life and when she moved to AZ she told everyone to call her Bobbie because she was tired of Bertie
Food names seem to be common on both sides of the pond. I have a Spanish friend who is named Aunt Canona for cannellini. I thought her name was Canona for years. Apparently one of her nieces confused real name of Encarna with Canona at a young age and the name stuck.
I seem to recall another Aunt being called Aunt Rhubarb instead of Aunt Roberta as well.
Again Roberta, very entertaining & thought provoking. When our 2nd daughter was born we were at a loss for names, & couldn’t come to an agreement, so we named her Jennifer Ann. No reason. Turns out every female born in that 5 year span was also named Jennifer. So no matter that we changed neighborhoods, if a Mom yelled “Jennifer”, or “Jenny”, there were a dozen responses. And they grew up in neighborhoods with lots of kids to keep them entertained & active outside. During college she decided to rename herself, “Soren” – she’d read a book with a Danish character of that name. We told her to be legal she had to go through the courts. She is a procrastinator, and only works well under pressure. Therefore, we were very surprised when she actually did it! Driver’s License, the whole 9 yards to Soren Jennifer! So I guess she was serious! At first it was difficult & we called her “Jennifer/Soren/whatever”. But that’s who she became but not according to the meaning of the name (stern) – she is the opposite, altho. she can be a bit bossy! Friends asked if it offended us because she dropped the name we’d given her. No! We think it’s great to able to chose your own name! I don’t know what mine would be, think I’d stick with Sandra or Sandy & Elizabeth after the Queen, so I’m good!
I’ve been called Vic by almost everyone I know at one time or another, even bosses and co-workers. I don’t mind. My brother was called Barney by some uncles who must not have liked his real name, Byron. He didn’t like Barney at all. In fact both his wives didn’t like ‘Bryon’ either and called him by his middle name. My parents were insulted. I am guilty of adding ‘boy’ to my sons’ names, much like John-Boy from The Waltons. We are on a cruise right now and the Indonesian cabin steward explained his name means Four. His siblings are named One, Two, and Three. We have a waiter named Blessing and another named Obey. His brother is named Trust. Great names!
I have three generations with the same name in my family – Sr, Jr, and the III. My dad was called Junior by the family and my brother has always been called Skip. We all lived in the same house when I was little, so I guess that avoided confusion.
My cat Annie always comes when I call her! So did the late Rosie the Wonder Cat, who was so smart that she did tricks on command! (One trick was the “Rosie Dance.”)
Only one person in my life called me Joey—my best friend’s mom. I’m named after my dad, so when I was young, I was called “Little Joe.” Hated it.
My sister had it the worst, as she was given a very old-fashioned name, named after my mom, “Hazel.” When we were young, all the neighborhood kids taunted her with “Witch Hazel,” and “Hazel the Witch.” So she showed them and changed it as an adult to “Megina.” Go figure.
Enjoyable read about names. Evoked many thoughts about my name, my nicknames, and what different people call me depending on when I met them. Won’t bore you with my story, but thanks for yours!
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