# How does Maria Jose become Coté? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872 "2015-09-28T20:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/1 "2015-09-28T20:54:13Z")
I was just reading that Chilean-born actress Coté de Pablo’s real name is María José de Pablo. She say she uses Coté because it’s a common nickname for María José in Chile. Can anyone explain how María José became Coté? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/2 "2015-09-28T21:12:53Z")
How does “John” become “Jack?” Nicknames are weird. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/3 "2015-09-28T21:28:48Z")
Also Peggy as a nick for Margaret - I never understood that one. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/4 "2015-09-28T21:41:14Z")
My favorite is “Pepe” for Jose. Supposedly it’s from P.P., standing for _padre putativo_, because Joseph was the putative father of Jesus. (Other theories say that it’s from Josepe, an older form of Jose.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/5 "2015-09-28T21:44:19Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Also Peggy as a nick for Margaret - I never understood that one. Here’s one explanation - [The Origins of 11 Nicknames](http://mentalfloss.com/article/24761/origins-10-nicknames), It also covers John-\>Jack As said above, nicknames are weird. Once you introduce letter swapping and rhyming pretty much anything is possible. ---
**Author:** ![NVME702-redux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@NVME702-redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NVME702-redux)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/6 "2015-09-29T01:54:50Z")
There are a lot of nicknames in Spanish for given names…here are some that I can remember, because they’re all relatives!! Chago- for Santiago Licha- for Luisa Cuca- for Refugio Chayo- for Rosario Pancho- Francisco Concho- Concepcion Chole- Soledad Nacho- Ignacio Chema- Jose Maria Chuy- Jesus Rafa- Rafael Pepe- Jose- already given Tencha- Hortencia Lencho- Lorenzo Chele- Mercedes Beto- Alberto Chela- Graciela Pepa- Josefa Lalo- Gonzalo Lulu- Lourdes Mage- Margarita When your name is religious and stuffy sounding, it helps to have a nickname! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/7 "2015-09-29T03:22:26Z")
A lot of those nicks are baby/toddler mispronunciations: Coté, Lencho, Chole. My cousin Iñaki pronounced his own name as Cidaki when he was little - he knew he was doing it wrong and hated it when people adresssed him by the mispronunciation. Even as a grown up, saying Cidaki was a surefire way to make him pay attention (and glare, but we grinned back). I’ve also known people called Curriña, Curro or Nena not as a derivation of their name, but because they’d been tiny (_curro/a_) or were the youngest/the only girl (_nena_) among a bunch of boys. > [@Colibri](#): > > My favorite is “Pepe” for Jose. Supposedly it’s from P.P., standing for _padre putativo_, because Joseph was the putative father of Jesus. (Other theories say that it’s from Josepe, an older form of Jose.) _Pater putativus_, actually; the initials P. P. would be carved or painted on a “strip of cloth” to help identify the statue. The two languages just happen to have the same initials. That same mecanism is supposed to give us Paco for Francisco: _Pater Comunitatis_ became PaCo. on statues of St Francis Assisi. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/8 "2015-09-29T12:57:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > My favorite is “Pepe” for Jose. Supposedly it’s from P.P., standing for _padre putativo_, because Joseph was the putative father of Jesus. (Other theories say that it’s from Josepe, an older form of Jose.) For some reason the P.P. thing sounds implausible to me. It reminds me of the myths about ‘posh’ coming from ‘port out, starboard home’ and ‘fuck’ coming from ‘fornication under consent of the king’. Also, the Italian version of José is Giuseppe, and the nickname for Giuseppe is Beppe (which sounds like a toddler mispronunciation of Giuseppe). Your Josepe/Pepe theory makes sense to me - it’s an exact parallel to the Italian. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/9 "2015-09-29T13:07:35Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Here’s one explanation - [The Origins of 10 Nicknames](http://mentalfloss.com/article/24761/origins-10-nicknames), It also covers John-\>Jack > > As said above, nicknames are weird. Once you introduce letter swapping and rhyming pretty much anything is possible. like how in Eastern Europe, “Sasha” is a diminutive for Aleksander. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/10 "2015-09-29T13:55:07Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > like how in Eastern Europe, “Sasha” is a diminutive for Aleksander. That’s because in Russian you add ‘-sha’ to make a diminutive/familiar version. So Aleksandr -\> Aleksasha -\> Sasha. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/11 "2015-09-29T14:27:52Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > like how in Eastern Europe, “Sasha” is a diminutive for Aleksander. > [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > That’s because in Russian you add ‘-sha’ to make a diminutive/familiar version. So Aleksandr -\> Aleksasha -\> Sasha. Come on, you two are pulling my leg. So, Susan Alexander–Kate Todd, “NCIS”–adopts the stage name Sasha and, in effect, becomes “Little Alexander Alexander”? Cute. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/12 "2015-09-29T16:51:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > My favorite is “Pepe” for Jose. Supposedly it’s from P.P., standing for _padre putativo_, because Joseph was the putative father of Jesus. (Other theories say that it’s from Josepe, an older form of Jose.) Perhaps it’s related to [Peppino](http://www.behindthename.com/name/peppino), the diminutive for Giuseppe. Peppino is short for Giuseppino. [This site](http://spanishlinguist.us/2013/03/pepe-and-paco-2-mysterious-spanish-nicknames/) suggests that it comes from Beppe, a nickname for Giuseppe. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/13 "2015-09-29T17:50:14Z")
> [@NVME702-redux](#): > > Lalo- Gonzalo > > Lulu- Lourdes Add to that, from my own family: Lolo - Manuel (Manuel -\> Manolo -\> Lolo) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/14 "2015-09-29T18:04:23Z")
I learned that “Chuck” really has no connection with “Charles.” It was used as a general purpose nickname showing affection and probably got attached by “Charles” because they have the same beginning sound. ---
**Author:** ![ulei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ad7895/32.png) [@ulei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ulei)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/15 "2021-11-10T14:35:36Z")
This is way late into this thread and well, the thoughts are bit fanciful. Question: does “Coté” have an other-than-nickname meaning in everyday Chilean-Spanish? I have seen “cote” (pronounced like coat) in middle(?) / old(?) English as a shelter for barnyard animals among the other meanings. Uncertain if there is a similar meaning in Chilean-Spanish. If it does, and this is the stretch, and given the heavy influence of Catholicism in Latin America, could the combination of Maria Jose (Mary and Joseph) be a pun from the Biblical story of the manger (aka shelter for animals) and thus become Cote? It’s not that uncommon for us to forget the origin story if words / phrases I suppose. Again, this is predicated on a huge assumption that there is shared meaning of the word Cote for shelter. Just food for thought. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/16 "2021-11-11T18:52:05Z")
I wonder how old the youngest person to use the nickname Dick is. On another message board I read, there’s a member with Richard in his username and he used to sign his posts Dick but has not for some time. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/17 "2021-11-11T21:19:31Z")
[Dick Pound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Pound?wprov=sfti1) is a Canadian athlete and high ranking member of the IOC. A few years ago he was in the running for president of the IOC. As a result, he gets into the news occasionally, especially during discussions of international sports. Every time it does, social media blows up with the sniggering. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/18 "2021-11-12T04:23:24Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Also Peggy as a nick for Margaret - I never understood that one. replying to an old question, but i think it’s because of Irish Gaelic. The Celtic languages change their initial consonants in certain circumstances, and I think the “m” of “Margaret” became the “P” in “Peggy”, which I’ve always thought of as an Irish name. @Dr.Drake would be able to comment and say if I’m way off. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/19 "2021-11-13T00:48:18Z")
The story I was told was that it went Margaret —\> Maggie —\> Meggie —\> Peggy. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872/20 "2021-11-13T00:53:37Z")
As for the original question: In Spanish, the letter “J” is pronounced somewhere between an English “H” and “K”. I can easily imagine “Jose” becoming “Cose”. From there, “Cose” to “Cote” is not much of a stretch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-maria-jose-become-cote/732872.md?page=2)