# What are shortened forms of first names called?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 11, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770 "2003-07-11T18:21:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770/1 "2003-07-11T18:21:11Z")

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E.g. “Sam” for “Samuel” or “Samantha”  
“Mike” for “Michael”

The only guess my co-workers have come up with is “nicknames,” but most of us associate that with “skippy,” “Duke” and the like.

So, is “Sam” a nickname? If not, what is it?

Sua

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770/2 "2003-07-11T18:30:04Z")

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Nickname is acceptable, although that’s a broader term, as you note. I think the word you’re looking for is “diminutive.” (Yes – it’s a noun AND an adjective! ;))

–Cliffy \<-- nickname

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770/3 "2003-07-11T18:33:35Z")

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[Dictionary dot com](http://www.dictionary.reference.com/search?q=nickname) seems to think it’s a nickname. Sounds right to me.

Incidentally, my real username isn’t actually “pravnik”; pravnik is just short for “Obi-Wan”.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770/4 "2003-07-11T19:30:47Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> I think the word you’re looking for is “diminutive.”

Except that that usually referrs to the form of the name with y on the end (in English, at least: Other languages have their own ways of forming diminutives). So, for instance, the diminutives for “Samuel” and “Michael” would be “Sammy” and “Mikey”.

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**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-shortened-forms-of-first-names-called/187770/5 "2003-07-11T21:26:34Z")

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I have an old _Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary_ with a dictionary of first names in the back, and it lists forms like “Mike” and “Sam” as “diminutives” under the entries for Michael and Samuel. (Actually it refers to them as “Dims.”, but I’m extrapolating a little here.)