Chris vs Topher: the other half of diminutive nicknames

It took me a while to figure out Topher was just a less common nickname for Chris, and got to thinking about the "tail" nicknames. Do any Bens also go by Jamin? Did Michelangelo ever say, "Fuck this Mikey shit, just call me Angie"?

michelangelo could be called "lo" like shawty lo

No joke, I knew a Thew (short for Matthew) college.

Most popular "tail" nickname is probably Beth?

(*in college)

Elizabeth gotta be the real stand out example here - Elle, Eliza, Liz, Liza, Lizzie, Beth all options

Going by "Topher" as a "Christopher" is extremely cringe and hard to bear. Imagine a Timothy going by "Moth" or a Jessica going by "Ica." Actually those all sound better than the pretentious slop that is "Topher." Makes me think of "gopher"

Xander

xp Alexander -> Xander, also Sandy.

Anthony -> Tony

Other popular tails:

Drew
Becca
Tricia

Liam is more popular than William now as a birth name, but I wonder how many Williams go by Liam.

xp Also "Ant"

Elizabeth gotta be the real stand out example here - Elle, Eliza, Liz, Liza, Lizzie, Beth all options

A friend's sister goes by Bizzy

I didn't realize Xander was a short and not a variant of Xavier!

Tasha/Tash, although I don't think Tasha Yar was called Natasha

Also Lottie

Rose-mary

Wow, I'm dumb, I've never made the connection between Liam and William.

Bert is a hypocoristic form of a number of various Germanic given names, such as Robert, Albert, Elbert, Herbert, Hilbert, Hubert, Gilbert, Wilbert, Filbert, Fulbert, Norbert, Osbert, Roberto, Roberta, Bertram, Berthold, Bertrand, Bartholomew, Umberto, Humbert, Humberto, Alberto, Alberta, Albertine, Albertina, Cuthbert, Delbert, Dagobert, Rimbert, Egbert, Siegbert, Gualbert, Gerbert, Lambert, Engelbert, Bertie, Uberto, and Colbert.

For Elizabeth, I worked with a Biz and my sister is Betsy.

There is now a UK guy who is grift-adjacent called Moth, and the entire literary class has just learned that this is a nickname for Timothy.

I wonder in a "too many Beths" Elizabeth v. Bethany situation if Bethany gets priority

My trans boy nephew goes by Moth, I never made the connection to Timothy, which is my brother’s (his uncle’s) name.

i've known a couple of Victorias who go by Tor

was zsa zsa gabor originally called pizza pizza gabor, makes u think

A British person I know was married to a Tory (short for Victoria).

Eric, Rick or Rik, no one wants a Fred these days

was zsa zsa gabor originally called pizza pizza gabor, makes u think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7YY3po4xfc

Tory or Tori for Victoria is so normal

I knew a Timothy who tried to get people to call him Moth. It didn't stick

TIL Margaret has loads of strange ones, including Pearl

Daisy, Gretchen and Peggy are all apparently short for Margaret

Daisy is more of a translation

I swear we talk about this every couple of years but it’s a cool fact: there was a trend for rhyming diminutives to form a new nickname, which is how William goes to will goes to bill, Robert goes to rob goes to bob, Richard goes to Rick goes to dick, Margaret goes to Meg goes to peg

In Richard Yates's "Revolutionary Road," the parents refer to their small daughter Jennifer as "Niffer"

Guys named Stephen should go by Phen because it feels wrong saying Steve.

I wonder in a "too many Beths" Elizabeth v. Bethany situation if Bethany gets priority

Elizabethany from the top ropes.

xp Alexander -> Xander, also Sandy.

Being a French Alexandre, this form wouldn’t work since Xandre sounds like Cendre (ash).
It would be cool though !
That makes me think of another example : Dre for Andre

Gus for... Angus? Or Augustus?

Oh and there’s Nono for Arnaud

I don't like it when people call me Pat (or Patty, but really only Americans do this). Trish is the only acceptable form of my name for me, unless you're full-naming me for some reason, which is just about acceptable. But what annoys me the most is when people who know that I hate it do it anyway because they are hilarious and ironic. "Oh hi Pat, ha ha, I mean Trish, see what I did there?" Jesus.

I used to go to school with a Jenny who was an Imogen.

Jeremy can spawn both Jerry and Remy.

sometimes ppl just say "christ" for jesus christ

also: nando for fernando

One I forgot about until yesterday: Nessa

I'm an Andy but I feel no kinship to the Drews of the world

Should I start going by Iel? 🤔

"Niel"
"Neil?"
"No, Niel"
"Nnnnnyyyyyel?"
"Close enough"

sometimes ppl just say "christ" for jesus christ

I humbly propose "Topher on a Toblerone" as alt for "Christ on a Crutch" for the Sunday School crowd.

Zelda can be spun off from Griselda, though Zelda can also stand alone.

Likewise Hilda can come from Brunhilde, Mathilde, etc. or be its own name.

Octavia > Tavia > Tave
Ignacio > Nacho (Nachos the dish invented by chef Ignacio Anaya García)

there's Klaus or Claus as a form of Nicholas

theres a footballer in my town who goes by nicky (short for dominick)

Not a head nickname or a tail nickname: I knew a Christopher who went by "Sto"

Wonder what life would have been like if I had adopted the nickname Glas instaed of Doug? I prefer my full name now, and wish I had liked it as much when I was younger.

Jonathon -> Thon

PS - call me Ee.

it only recently occurred to me that ex-MMA simpleton Chael Sonnen's name is just a rare truncation of Michael

and I don't even have getting constantly punched in the head for 20 years as an excuse!!

And I just discovered that Win Butler of Arcade Fire was born Edwin.