# Strangest Nicknames of people you know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937 "2017-06-26T21:25:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/1 "2017-06-26T21:25:27Z")
And how they get that nickname? My brother was called pudz after the children in need bear by his friends , he looked nothing like the children in the need bear. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/2 "2017-06-26T22:22:55Z")
> [@Zerkaa](#): > > My brother was called pudz after the children in need bear by his friends , he looked nothing like the children in the need bear. Are you dude\_robert? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/3 "2017-06-26T22:34:33Z")
Fartin’ Martin. Self-evident. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/4 "2017-06-26T22:40:52Z")
My kids (now grown) went to school with a girl whose last name is Burde (pronounced ‘birdie’). They all call her Pigeon, and I have no idea what her real name is. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/5 "2017-06-26T22:50:35Z")
> [@Zerkaa](#): > > And how they get that nickname? > > My brother was called pudz after the children in need bear by his friends , he looked nothing like the children in the need bear. Even Googling doesn’t tell me wtf “need bear” is. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/6 "2017-06-26T22:55:40Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Even Googling doesn’t tell me wtf “need bear” is. Pudsey Bear, the “Children in Need” bear. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/7 "2017-06-26T22:58:30Z")
Bobby Philpot was known as Slobby Fleapot. Sorry to out him with his real name, but my story would have sounded false otherwise. It’s OK, because he was a real asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/8 "2017-06-26T23:05:17Z")
My mother used to know a guy called Shitburger, because once while drunk he ate one on a dare. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/9 "2017-06-26T23:16:25Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Pudsey Bear, the “Children in Need” bear. Thank you. Reading “children in the need bear” sounds like ‘need bear’ is a place that children go :smack: ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/10 "2017-06-26T23:30:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > My mother used to know a guy called Shitburger, because once while drunk he ate one on a dare. You build a thousand houses, do they call you “Ivan the housebuilder”? I knew a Hispanic man named “Tomas” (pronounced toe-MAS) whose nickname was “Pete”. It was explained to me as toe-MAS \> peat moss \> Pete. Never made much sense to me. I knew Tomas quite well, though. I never called him “Pete”, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/11 "2017-06-26T23:36:14Z")
I used to work in a building with a woman who answered to “Ugly”. I’m sure she referred to herself by that name at some point, then it stuck. It wasn’t at all unusual for someone to say, in all seriousness, “is Ugly working today?” or “tomorrow is Ugly’s birthday”. mmm ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/12 "2017-06-26T23:47:46Z")
I knew a guy who drove a city bus, and once ran over a stopsign. The other drivers called him “Stopsign” after that. I had a friend in high school we called “Zig.” His name was David Alan, and his last name also started with an A, so his initials were DAA. He though it looked silly, so he signed his artwork (he was pretty good, and drew some PSA posters and small-circulation magazine covers, and a few political comics that got published while he was still in high school) DZA. With a line through the Z, like a European 7. So we decided that Z stood for “Zig.” I don’t know why. Maybe someone asked him and he said it as a joke. Maybe someone else came up with it. I have no idea. I knew a guy named Kip. His real name was Darrell. Why he was a kid (in the 1930s), people called him “Skippy.” When he got to be about 11, he didn’t want to be called “Skippy” anymore, but he couldn’t get people to call him Darrell, because it was too big a leap, so he settled for “Skip,” then when he started high school, he told people to call him Kip, and he was Kip for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/13 "2017-06-27T01:59:39Z")
I have a cousin Bill called “Dink” within the extended family. I have heard various stories but the one that seems most likely is his father commented that he was a “dinky” baby. Another cousin is called “Val” because her birthday is Valentines Day. Her real name is Sheila. An aunt was named Esther but she was known by most people as Mickey. I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/14 "2017-06-27T02:14:32Z")
> [@Sandra\_Battye](#): > > I have a cousin Bill called “Dink” within the extended family. I have heard various stories but the one that seems most likely is his father commented that he was a “dinky” baby. > > Another cousin is called “Val” because her birthday is Valentines Day. Her real name is Sheila. > > An aunt was named Esther but she was known by most people as Mickey. I’m not sure why. I knew a guy named Monroe who was known universally as “Dink”. No idea why. He was a Midwestern white guy born in the late 20s, early 30s, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/15 "2017-06-27T02:25:05Z")
Every Thai has a nickname, some quite unflattering such as Pig and Frog. A lot of this stems from the notion that giving a baby an unattractive nickname will deter evil spirits from taking said baby, as they’ll think the baby defective. The oddest one I encountered was Bonot, especially since he insisted this was an English word. It eventually transpired that this was the typical Thai pronunciation of the English word “bonus,” and he was named thus by his father because he was born at the end of the month. I knew a Cooter in West Texas. He became Cooter amid the popularity of _The Dukes of Hazzard_. An adult, not a child. I think this speaks volumes about West Texans. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/16 "2017-06-27T02:35:09Z")
Guys I work(ed) with: - Sponge - Cupcake - Big Mike - Little Big Mike - Woody - Chad-and-a-half (50% bigger than regular Chad) - Shrek There are more, but they’re identifiable. ---
**Author:** ![Fossil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/47e85d/32.png) [@Fossil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fossil)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/17 "2017-06-27T03:13:56Z")
I think mine is weird, it’s Fossil. My next door neighbour who I called Uncle Tony gave it to me when I was about 4 years old. Uncle Tony was an alcoholic and during one of his sober periods I asked him why he called me Fossil. He said that it was a long story that I would understand when I was older and he would tell me then. Unfortunately he died when I was 8 years old and he never told me the reason. I am only called Fossil by that part of my family (not DNA related). I love it, it always makes me think of him and the time we spent together. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/18 "2017-06-27T03:40:34Z")
My father’s family called him Dub, because his name (full name) was W. H… I also had an uncle called Hap, though I don’t know why, his name was Wilbur. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/19 "2017-06-27T04:33:06Z")
I had a high school friend we called Don’t Know. He got the nickname after once getting rip-roaring drunk at a party and when asked if he knew where he was he replied “don’t know”. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937/20 "2017-06-27T09:43:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Are you dude\_robert? Don’t accuse others of socking, please. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangest-nicknames-of-people-you-know/789937.md?page=2)