Both of my sisters share "Elizabeth" as a middle name. (By share, I don't mean they have to pass it back and forth, though that would be kinda neat.)
It dawned on me that Elizabeth may possibly be responsible for more nicknames than any other name: Ellie, Eliza, Lisa, Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Betty, Elsie, and those are off the top of my head.
Whereas, if you're given the name "Todd," that's it. Unless you want to count "Tod" as a nickname. I don't.
Maybe I thought of this because we call our middle child "Shu." Y'know, short for JoSHUa. Whereas our youngest is "Scooter," long for Scott. Perhaps it's because I go by "Jim," which doesn't really make sense as a nickname for James. Jamie? Sure. But Jim? Where does the I stem from?
It's the kind of thing that makes you want to leave off the final E and call me Georg.
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I've often wondered why the name William is often shortened to Bill, as it was for my grandfather, or Bob for Robert, as is the case for Geoff's grandfather.
ReplyDeleteSeeing how pronunciation and slurring can change how a word is perceived, I think 'Jim' evolved along these lines:
ReplyDeleteJames
Jamie
Jimmy
Jim