A rose by any other name

Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive. ~Thomas C. Haliburton

For some reason yesterday, I started thinking about nicknames and so I thought "I shall blog about nicknames." I've had my fair share of nicknames, but thankfully none have stuck well enough to cause me any mental anguish or therapy bills in my adult life. I think the best nicknames are those bestowed upon you by others, but there are actually nickname generators out there if you are feeling left out and nicknameless.

I am grateful to have a name that cannot be shortened into another name, I think. But on second thought, having a real-name abbreviated nickname may alleviate the constant necessity to correct either spelling or pronunciation of my non-nicknamed name... hmmm...

1) Bunny - this stuck through most of my early childhood. Mainly I was called this by my immediate family, although my cousin Butch (he he... not her real name) still calls me this sometimes. Apparently I had some sort of snowsuit/baby clothing item that had bunny ears (insert "awwww..." here).

2) Sluggo - my dad graced me with this one during my softball years and it's probably self explanatory. It kind of wore off as I grew out of the sport and it pretty much disappeared by high school. Somehow, though, intermixed with Sluggo was...

3) Porcupine - another name given to me by my dad. Really he was the only one to use it and I have no idea where it came from. My intuition tells me that it has something to do with being prickly and hard to handle though. Dad?

4) Tanya Lasagna - the only nickname I really hated, but now I just think it's funny. The horrors of grade school brought this one on, and obviously it's just because it rhymed - the most basic origin of nicknames is to just pick something obnoxious that rhymes. So really, in the grand scheme of nicknames, I'm just grateful that my mom didn't name me Teenis.

5) Ta Na Na Na - another fall out of grade school, but in the latter years. In Jr. High, I had a teacher's assistant who was WAY cool and she used to say this in a sing-songey voice when calling me. To date, Kiss Him Goodbye sticks in my head as a great song and fun memory of Ms. Gwen. Admit it, even if you don't share my name, it's a catchy tune, eh?

6) Darryl - not that I've ever really been girly (a fact to which my entire family will attest) but until I got married, I always had very long hair. The summer after 8th grade, at camp, someone said I looked just like Daryl Hannah minus the tail. It stuck, and at least one of those friends pretty much only calls me Darryl to this day. I love it and her.

7) Porkchop - I hesitate to add this one to the list and thus admit it. This one was given to me by my then-boyfriend, now-husband, and I wouldn't even know where to begin to give you the origins of this one. After 13 years, he doesn't really call me anything except "Hey" so this one can also now be added to the vault.

So there you have it - me in all my nickname vulnerability and glory. What about you?

Overheard at our house:
Beebs - "Yeah, I hit her. What was I supposed to do? She was all up in my grill."