Little Potato. Tiny Tomato. Big Tiny. Baby Lady. Littles. Litty. Tines. Teeny-Weeny. Ween. Neen. Bean. Cuddlebunny. Budgie. Budgit. Littleton. Peedles. Sweetieluffs. Luffy. Coconut...
You get it. The above is just the beginning of a list of nicknames Crabhub and I have for Crabkid. And these don't even include the many that riff on her actual name. Which is Adolfa! (Kidding!)
Nicknaming: some do it to death, others don't seem to do it at all. The innumerable ridiculous and sentimental names I have for Crabkid are very much within my family tradition, especially on my mother's side. In my entire life I hardly recall a moment of being referred to by my real name by anyone in my extended clan. These nicknames reached absurd proportions when it came to my uncle, who called me Norman, and my stepfather, who called me Mitch for most of my life, never mind that neither Norman nor Mitch has any connection with my name whatsoever.
I never minded all those screwy monikers and now I find myself similarly gifted at mangling my daughter's pretty name, choosing endless variations on standard terms of endearment, as well as inventing my own nonsensical and slightly embarrassing creations, which evolve into other creations over time. All of which makes me wonder: what is it that drives some of us to go bananas on the nicknames whereas other people stay sensible and sane in the act of calling a loved one?
Take my husband's family. They don't do this at all. Even in the most conventional sense. My husband's name is Michael and that is what he is called by everyone in his family. Not even one Mike comes his way. His sister's name is Susan and she is similarly referred to by her full name. Nobody in their family spews out a Mike or Sue much less a Budgie, a Coconut, a Tater, a Toops, a Snoops, a Tilly, a Roly, or—for crying out loud!—a totally random Norman! But in my fam a Keeks is just as ordinary as a Tine, which is itself just as standard as a Meems.
Crabhubby has caught on to the nickname thing and himself is pretty good at coming up with new ones for the tot. But I'm the queen of the loopiest and goopiest contortions. Sometimes even I cringe when I hear some of the cutesy concoctions that roll off my tongue when I call my daughter. But I can't help it! She's my little Preshy after all. My Treasure, my Treshy (how can I even spell that?). She's my Special, my Speshy, my Only, Owny, Owny-Love. Ownzy. I don't know what it is, but something about seeing that scrumptious crumpet of delight makes me verbally spastic! Some kind of mother-love mania, maybe?
Or maybe I'm just silly. Either way I can't help it, people. And sometimes these oddities roll off my tongue in the presence of strangers. And they slowly back away from me. As well they should.
Whatever the reason behind my naming insanity, it's funny to think of how long I sweated over choosing the most beautiful name I could think of for my baby when in fact I hardly ever say it. Except when she's in trouble. Which, come to think of it, is often. :)
What about you? Are you nickname types? If so, are you hardcore inventors of random wackiness or do you go a more conventional route?
Related: From Bronx Mowgli to Stormy, get the latest in trendy baby monikers.
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