# Tell us about anyone you’ve known who has an odd or semi-unusual nickname **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 13, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642 "2016-08-13T01:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [August 13, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/1 "2016-08-13T01:20:47Z")
The only rule: this person must have been known by his or her nickname more than their given name. In other words, they ‘go’ by it. \*\*Gus \*\*– I’ve known 2. My dad’s friend when I was a kid, and a cousin. \*\*Skip \*\*– 2 again. A childhood friend and a current co-worker. \*\*Chip \*\*– a former co-worker. I probably have more, I’ll have to think on it a bit. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/2 "2016-08-13T01:25:32Z")
Those seem like just about the most non-odd, boring nicknames. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/3 "2016-08-13T02:19:39Z")
Tallest guy in HS; Lurch. I never knew his real name. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/4 "2016-08-13T03:47:15Z")
I used to work at a university that had a law professor who only went by SpearIt. I don’t know his legal name, but he was only ever called by one name, SpearIt. No last name. I never met him, but I was in the IT function, and I complained about his user ID violating our naming convention. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/5 "2016-08-13T04:52:24Z")
A guy named Winegar, who everyone called ‘Wingnut’ because of his ears. A guy we called ‘Tex’, which isn’t that unusual. But his last name was Schritter. Say them both together: Tex Ritter. I knew a ‘Bubba’, which I guess isn’t unusual in the South, but he was from Chicago. He was called Bubba because he called everyone he knew ‘Bubba’. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/6 "2016-08-13T05:05:38Z")
My friend got the nickname **Foley** for no reason at all. He was in a band and one guy decided they all needed nicknames and that is the one he got. His name is not Foley, he is not a Foley artist, it’s just his nickname. This was pretty much his name exclusively for many, many years and people often thought it was his last name. It faded away in the past 5 years or so and I just remembered the other day that it even existed. A guy I went to school with is called \*\*Pedro \*\*because that happened to be his chosen name in Spanish class in high school. His name is not Pedro or Peter or anything Latin-sounding. He graduated 25 years ago but everyone still calls him that. His best friends had nicknames that sounded like they also were a result of Spanish class but they were the result of the one guy’s real first name and the other guy’s last name. Another kid from high school that I knew exclusively as \*\*Barney \*\*(short for Barney Badass) because that was a nickname given to him by older kids, and it perpetuated down through all other classes even after the older kids graduated. He did manage to shake that nickname after high school but it took me a minute to stop calling him that. My nickname in real life is **JJ** and has been since second grade. I tried to shake it in middle school when it came to my attention that there was another kid in the school with the nickname and it was a _boy’s_ nickname - but it didn’t work. Then after school most of my friends knew me from school (as JJ) so new friends I’ve made in the past 20 years have come to know me as JJ as well so here I am. Oddly enough I have never dated anyone who called me JJ - all of the guys have been from “outside” I guess. I’d say 75% of the people who ever call me by name call me JJ. The aforementioned “Foley” does not call me JJ haha ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/7 "2016-08-13T06:09:47Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > \*\*Gus \*\*– I’ve known 2. My dad’s friend when I was a kid, and a cousin. > > \*\*Skip \*\*– 2 again. A childhood friend and a current co-worker. > > \*\*Chip \*\*– a former co-worker. Those are examples of “odd or semi-unusual” nicknames??? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/8 "2016-08-13T06:28:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Those are examples of “odd or semi-unusual” nicknames??? 😕 Well, I’d say those are unusual today, at least, because no one ever has a nickname like that now. They’re like the cliche nicknames from old TV shows. I know a guy everyone calls “Bobo,” and also a woman called, “Momo.” And I have a friend we all call “Che,” (or “El Che”), because he’s from Argentina, and it was only recently that I realized I don’t know his real name. I also once knew a guy everyone called “Lemons” – in the plural. ---
**Author:** ![IT\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@IT\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IT_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/9 "2016-08-13T07:09:16Z")
On board ship; US Navy, around 1970. We had a Radioman everyone called Paxton Quigley, the name of the protagonist in the film “Three in the Attic”. I honestly never found out his real name. Same ship, same time. A new guy came on board, talked constantly about hunting, so everyone started calling him Nimrod (Biblical, I know:)). When it turned out that ALL he knew or could talk about was hunting, the nickname morphed into Numb-rod.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/10 "2016-08-13T07:21:43Z")
A biker - president of the club - named Blossom. I never knew his real name, and I was warned never to ask how he got his name. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2016, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/11 "2016-08-13T07:25:37Z")
I knew a guy with the nickname Mike. Which was unusual because his real name was Christopher. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/12 "2016-08-13T07:50:32Z")
CEO of the Hell’s Angels Vic Chapter many years ago was a bloke called Ball Bearing. What was more unusual was his pet of choice was a chihuahua. And his kid was called Kenny. Fair dinkum. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/13 "2016-08-13T08:18:25Z")
I had a college buddy who was known as Worm. His brother was Pig. Both names predated when I met them, so I don’t know the origin. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/14 "2016-08-13T10:34:24Z")
My niece’s boyfriend (an extremely nice guy); while his first name (given name) is Lindsay: everyone he knows, call him-- and have long called him – Jib. It is seemingly unknown where this name came from, but in some indefinable way, it perfectly fits him and his personality. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/15 "2016-08-13T10:46:46Z")
Thought of a couple more - Went to school with a guy who was known far and wide as **Slick**. I’d wager most classmates didn’t know his real name. Initial-wise, I know a **JJ** , a **TJ** , a **CJ** (all adults). mmm ---
**Author:** ![yo\_han\_go](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yo_han_go/32/130_2.png) [@yo\_han\_go](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yo_han_go)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/16 "2016-08-13T11:03:18Z")
A used to know Muddy, Chimpy and several As\*\*oles. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/17 "2016-08-13T11:19:38Z")
There was an older Hispanic guy who was one of the shift managers at my very first job years ago. Everybody called him “Chewy”, as in Chewbacca. I don’t know how he got the name, and it wasn’t the name on his nametag, but it’s what everyone, including the store manager, called him, to the point that I honestly can’t even remember his real name anymore. At my current job, there’s a guy on the graveyard shift called “Bizarro”. He got the nickname when he transferred to our store from another location, because there was already another person on graveyard with the same name as him and they’re very different people, so it was decided that he must have been the Bizarro-World version of the other guy. He eventually got a “Bizarro” nametag made for him and it’s now the name that he’s listed under on the schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/18 "2016-08-13T11:21:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There was an older Hispanic guy who was one of the shift managers at my very first job years ago. Everybody called him “Chewy”, as in Chewbacca. I don’t know how he got the name, and it wasn’t the name on his nametag, but it’s what everyone, including the store manager, called him, to the point that I honestly can’t even remember his real name anymore. Spelled Chui in Spanish, it’s a common nick for Jesús. From Jesús you get Chus, from Chus you get Chui. I had a coworker called Punko. He wasn’t a punk, but back in school he was always wearing a bandaid somewhere as well as a few scratches and scabs; his mates decided he looked like a punky during that summer a lot of them descended on our part of Spain looking for fights (apparently their idea of “fun” was trying to provoke fights; that summer was generally very tense, the few fights which actually happened were thoroughly lost by the unwanted visitors, they never came back). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/19 "2016-08-13T11:25:50Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Spelled Chui in Spanish, it’s a common nick for Jesús. From Jesús you get Chus, from Chus you get Chui. I want to say his name was “Ted” or something rather than “Jesus”, but that could definitely explain it as well. I was not aware of that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642/20 "2016-08-13T11:28:27Z")
And he could have had a name such as Eduardo Jesús or Jesús Eduardo, used the Eduardo as the official name (specially if he’d run into a few of those people who freak out when they hear someone is called Jesus), but the nick was from his childhood… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-about-anyone-you-ve-known-who-has-an-odd-or-semi-unusual-nickname/762642.md?page=2)