Was listening to the radio this morning and heard the name “Midge”. Started to wonder…what’s that short for? Margaret? Something else? So then that led to the whole thing of nicknames that aren’t very close to the original name. Like Peggy for Margaret, Dick for Richard, and probably lots of others.
So…what’s the deal with Midge, and how in God’s name did Peggy become short for Margaret?
Yeah, I used to wonder about these names myself. I read the link to Adams’ column, which seemed to cover this pretty much. My own “Margaret to Peggy Path” has always been:
There are other examples of this. Robert goes to Bob (and, if you’re me, back to Bobert, which is a fictitious name I made up along with Billiam). A friend of mine used to call her brother Jeff “Beffer”.
I think baby-talk might come to play in this. Babies regularly substitute letters, especially consonants, for one another. From a learning perspective, Bobby is a lot more efficient than Robert since it was one consonant sound, while Robert has three. So Robert’s little brother might have called him Bobby in an earnest attempt to say his full name - thus coining a popular (albeit dated) nickname.
As far as I know, Midge tends to be a male name - remember Midge Ure from Ultravox? (80s). Not related to Margaret. But I have no idea about the origin of the name…if you search for some of the online baby naming sites, it may give an origin or meaning.
Actually, I have (somewhere in a box in mom’s attic) a Midge doll, one of Barbie’s friends (circa 1960s, IIRC), out of production for many years. [Not valuable - her hands and feet are gone - don’t ask, long story, too many details.]
Also, my college nickname was Midge; FTR, I am not a Margaret. [And I have my hands and feet.]
Midge is a nickname for Margaret or Marjorie. It seems to have been popular in the 50s.
Midge Ure is the only male Midge I know of.
Incidentally, my grandmother’s first name is Mary and second name is Magdalen. She’s always been called Peggy.
Just a guess.
If you say the words Meg and Peg, you will notice that lips and tongue are in the same position, only the direction of air flow is different.
I wonder if that could have anything to do with it.
IIRC, Midge was the name of Moose’s girlfriend in the Archie comics (or still is…)…Don’t know if that was a nickname or not, though.
My sister-in-law’s ex-boyfriend was Midge. His real name was Michael. He was from Ireland, so maybe it’s an Irish thing.
A midge is a bug larva!
Midge was a flute-playing mouse.
Let me pick a nit here (to use an appropriate expression):
“midge” actually refers to the adult form. From the AHD:
Midge was Barbie’s ugly sidekick!
Other questionably logical nicknames:
Henry = Hank
Charlie = Chuck
Edward = Ted
Theodore = Ted
Elizabeth = Betty
Dorothy = Dot
Catherine = Kate
Sarah = Sally
John = Jack
James = Jimmy
Thanks for the insight into Midge. I’d probably be a little taken aback if I ran into a man with that name. Although now I know it has bug implications, I’d be a little taken aback no matter what!
Pugluvr, I’ve always been confounded by the John and Jack relation. Not being a real history fan, I was confused for many years when people would refer to John Kennedy as Jack. Thought they were talking about 2 different people!
Pugluvr
The most common variation of Henry is Harry.
This certainly dates back to the time of the Tudors, with Henry VIII flagship being called ‘The Great Harry’
Boris B I have actually heard a comic joking about how is parents named him Billiam. I can’t remember his name but he was funny as hell.
The etymology of this is odd and the choice a bit arbitrary. “Chuck” comes from the usage shown in the phrase “chuck under the chin” – a gesture of affection (www.dictionary.com: “To pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin”). There used to be a term of endearment “my chuck” (i.e., the person you touched in this way). For some reason (probably the initial sound) “chuck” attached itself to “Charles.”
Henry = Hank
Charlie = Chuck
Edward = Ted
Theodore = Ted
Elizabeth = Betty
Dorothy = Dot
Catherine = Kate
Sarah = Sally
John = Jack
James = Jimmy
ya know i’ve always understood most of the above…hope it’s okay to copy and paste here…haha.
one i never got was
Richard = Dick
i mean whassip with that??
The Pill