Tuesday, January 3, 2012

I need a new nickname for my son.

I love nicknames. I think they're fun, creative and really create a bond between people. I've had a ton of nicknames over the years, most of them I've liked. Different people have used different ones based on funny things that we've been through together. Flash, Taco, Charlie, Nightowl, Grassy, and of course, Mother Hen. Each has a funny story or a reason behind it and each one makes me smile when I hear it being used.

My daughter has a few nicknames so far, Carebear and Bear, both I love so much, but my son so far only has B-Man. It's ok, but I've been thinking about this for weeks now and feel he needs a better nickname. He's too little to really have a funny story to create his nickname and unfortunately his real name doesn't help to create any new nicknames.

I've always loved names that could be broken down into other little names. My real name is Susanne and I love it. It can be made into Sue, Susie, Susan! Each one can depict a different mood I'm in. I use Susanne for when I need to be more professional. I occasionally use Susan if I'm trying to be serious. If I'm feeling fun or silly I'll use Susie. And about 90% of the time when I introduce myself to people I'll tell them my name is Sue because it's easy to remember and easy to spell right (no one spells Susanne right, they always spell it with a "z" and it drives me crazy).
So, yes, I love names that can be broken down into other little names. I love Carebear's real name since her name can be broken down into a few, but B-Man, poor B-Man. He's got maybe one other name his can be broken into. He was named after his Grandfather and I love the name dearly but no nicknames can really come from it.

So I'm stumped and guess I'll have to wait for a really good nickname to come around for him.
All this thinking about nicknames got me pondering the people I know and the nicknames they have. I can't really think of anyone who doesn't have a nickname at all, even if it's just a shortened version of their birth name.

I started to think about nicknames in general and why we even use them. I did some research and discovered some pretty interesting things, like how nicknames are used in various societies and how they can come from physical characteristics, personality traits, mental characteristics, lifestyle, social group, the list goes on and on. It doesn't seem to matter where you get the nickname, just that you have one.

So since they seem so important I guess I've got my job cut out for me to find the best nickname I can for my little guy!

1 comment:

cdnkaro said...

God luck, let us know what you come up with!