I am a Brooklyn girl with Southern roots and to prove it, I share with you my nickname, Day-Day. That is right, until I was 18 and had earned the right to respectfully demand adults call me Adiaha (Ah-day-ah-ha), I was called Day-Day by nearly everyone in my life. The only person who called me Adiaha was my mother.**
Having a nickname where I come from is a rite of passage. My brother’s nickname was Ti-Ti, my cousins were/are, Robbie, Nikki, Ray-Ray, Mi-Mi, Danni, and Mikki. I knew a Shorty, Beef (yeah really he was a big fella) Tiger, and Pat.
If you did not have a nickname it was because your parents gave you a name with a maximum of two syllables. More than two and it got shortened. Shaquanna became Quanna. Sometimes the syllables of your name were just changed, i.e., Meta became Mi-Mi. Yet still, you could get a nickname based on your appearance. Skinny girls became Fatty, tall and heavy guys were called Tiny.
For whatever reason, the coolest kids had the coolest nicknames, and you were not really popular unless somebody had a nickname for you. If nobody cared enough to shorten your name, then something was wrong with you. If you didn’t want your name shortened, then there was something wrong with you. If something was wrong with you, nobody wanted to play with you.
I was reminiscing and then realized that my daughters need the all to important nickname. My oldest, Alana, when asked what her nickname should be said her nickname should be LaLa. I nearly fell on the floor with tears streaming down my face and my body convulsed. She looked at me like it wasn’t that funny, but if you know Alana and you know what La is then you know how appropriate LaLa is for her.
My youngest daughter, Asherah, has already been dubbed, She-She, which is just terrible. But in the tradition of having a nickname and fitting-in, Asherah, which is more than two syllables, needs a nickname. Who better to give it than family.
What is your nickname? Don’t be shy or embarrassed, share it with us.
**Please note I do not answer to this nickname anymore.
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You are so right! As a 5th gen bklyn-ite I know and cherish the nick name obsession. But in my family it is not only for multi-sylable names. My daughter, Chloe, is Chlo-chlo and my father, John, was Johnny boy. I always loved the more descriptive nick-names like my grandfather who was skinhead bec. he kept a short hair cut, and his brother who was lefty bec. his left arm is noticeably shorter than his right.
Good post Day-day.
Mine isn’t all that crazy. My name is Alexandra but since that apparently takes too long to say, I became Alex. I’m so used to it that I introduce myself as Alex now.
And, same as you, the only person who calls me by my full name is my mother!
I had always wondered where “Day” came from. Very nice post. My nick names have been either – June Bug, Junie Moon, or as my grandmother used to call me: Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunieeeeeee!
I can’t believe I am about to say this, but for most of my life to my family and on the block I was “Tito”. It was a nickname I grew to hate because non-Latino people (i.e. people not of my block) pronounced it like “Tito Jackson” – that is, “Tee-doe” – and after Eddie Murphy Delirious became popular (there was a bit in there about how Michael Jackson was so sensitive) people were always asking me to get them some tissues.
Starting around 15 I started insisting on being called by my real name, but my family still slips and calls me “Tito” at times, and my older brother will probably always call me “Tee.”
The origin of it b/c my godfather thought I looked like his son, called “Tito” when I was a baby and started calling me that as well.
Love the blog, btw.
My name is Brianna and my best friend in school was Briana. She became Bri, while I kept the full name to keep things simple. I moved a few times before high school, so once I landed there my closest friends called me Bri (which irritates my mother to no end – she will call me Brianna or BK – my initials – or, when I was young, Beaner . . . not a good public nickname, for sure). My husband’s family members all call me Bri, but I was never introduced to them that way. Goes to show that nicknames really are given!
Nice post! I’m going to include it on Tuesday’s carnival.
Nicknames can be mean. I didn’t have one until high school, when I was dubbed “bomar brain,” after the new hand-held calculators that were just coming out (so I’m dating myself!). Remember, this was in the days BEFORE geeks were cool.
I have always tried very hard not to let my kids use nicknames for each other, even though I have given them all nicknames in my blog (for anonymity, not because we actually call them that).
Your daughter’s names are lovely. I understand that nicknames are a cultural thing, but with such lovely names, WHY?
I have to say this is could be a particularly American thing… I’m from London, England and when my son Alexander Joseph Thomas was born, I called my families in Texas and Tennessee and before the blessed mite was a day old, they were all celebrating the birth of little AJ – yuck!
My nickname is Petty, some call me Tina but my family called me Tin-tin… I like Petty sounds good to me. I like the humor in your post! Please keep it up.
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Sometimes, nicknames came from our friends and usually, it is also different from the nicknames made from our families…
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Nicknames for me is sometimes better than our real names…Thanks for the post you have here…
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Most of my friends call Coise.. before I was called France, but I told them it sounds like a boy, so better call Coise instead.. But at home, my family fondly call me Coy-Coy. Isn’t it cute?
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Yes, Coy-Coy is cute!
Thanks for taking time to visit…..
I like my friend calling me in my nickname sounds sweet than my whole name..Keep on sharing this kind of useful post..
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