During an episode of “30 Rock,” Pete, one of the on-show producers, tries to start going by the nickname Dallas. Though going as far not to acknowledge his regular name, Dallas doesn’t stick. Nicknames have a weird way of coming about—young kids not being able to pronounce names, inside jokes, or a name that accidentally comes out one day and never goes away.
Some of our favorite nicknaming techniques come from the original names themselves. Adding a hyphen, for example, and any other ending. Rhyming names with words that sound similar, or transforming the first half of a name into another word completely. Nicknames have a way of just happening—unfortunately for Pete, you can’t make Dallas happen.
A former friend of mine chose to go by his second name rather than his first, but signed documents with his first initial, which happens to be “R.” He quickly became The Reverend, eventually just Rev, and unofficially, “R dot.”
Here are some of our favorite names to nickname.
Boys:
John (Hebrew): God is gracious; in the Bible, one of the Apostles
Robert (German): One who is bright with fame
Alex (Greek): Helper and defender of mankind
Andrew (Greek): Manly; A warrior
Girls:
Abigail (Hebrew): The source of a father’s joy
Jazmin (Persian): Resembling the climbing wall plant with flowers
Hannah (Hebrew): Having favor and grace; in the Bible, mother of Samuel
Adrienne (Latin): Man from Adria
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