Discussion - Nicknames

This Week's Topic

Nicknames

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I know this seems like a non-bookish topic, but it was spawned while I was reading, so it counts in my book. Have you ever encountered a nickname and wondered where it came from? 

I think there have always been names that made me go hmmmm, but this particular chain of thought began with a character names Liam. Liam is a name I have heard before, and I accepted this character as Liam, until he said something to the effect of how he was named after his father, and how his father was a Bill-William. 

I can see Liam in the name, WilLIAM, but I have NEVER encountered a Liam-William in my life. Though, this is the third I have read about. Perhaps it's a generational thing? But, the name William has so many nicknames. 

William

• Will is an obvious short-form which can easily become Willy, but where did Bill come from? I did a little googling, and there were two explanations. One, being a rhyming thing. The name game anyone? With Bill rhyming with Will, and then there was the possible German explanation. Where Ws are pronounced as Vs which could easily slip to B. Hmmm, I am not as sold on that, but people are sure willy nilly with names. 

Richard

• Rich and Richie are obvious, but what about Rick, Ricky, and Dick? Dick seems so random. I see the rhyming thing getting blames again. Rich became Rick, and Rick evolved into Dick. 

Henry

• Hank is a popular nickname for those named Henry, and this one had the best explanation so far. 

The name dates back to medieval England. (Curiously, at that time, Hank was a diminutive for.) So how do we get Hank from Henry Hendrik is the Dutch form Henry Henk, ergo, Hank from Henk

John

• First of all, why does John need a nick name? It's four letters long! And then, the nickname is also FOUR LETTERS LONG. I read multiple explanation that go way back to Medieval times where -kin and -ke were added to turn a name into a pet name or diminutive form of the name coupled with the evolution of the name John to Jan led to Jack. I suppose the four letters to four letters is OK if we are applying this in a pet name or name for a little kid. I can buy that. 

Margaret

• I have an aunt Peggy, and I remember being baffled when I learned her real name was Margaret. This one seems to have a chain of events similar to many of the other nickname. Margaret became Maggie which became Meg, and then the rhyming name-game took over from there. 
• I must note, I learned that another common nickname for Margaret is Daisy. Did anyone else know this??? Apparently, this comes from the french Marguerite which is a type of Daisy. That is pretty clever there. 

Elizabeth

• The nicknames here are not baffling, but still, who thought of them? Beth, Liz, Lizzy - all easy to see. Even Eliza, I suppose, but Betsy? Betty? Everything I found points bag to the Middle Ages when Bet and Bess were popular as was adding suffixes to create the diminutive.

I have to admit, I had a lot of fun searching for some answers to these weird-common nicknames. It reawakened the linguist in me a bit. So, I am thrilled that Liam sent me down this rabbit hole.  

Now it's your turn!

Are there any nick names you wonder about?
Let us know in the comments!