I grew up in a family where everyone had a nickname, or three. Most of my close family members do not refer to me by my first name. My father calls me Sasha and some of my other relatives call me Sabo….based on my initials (before marriage). My husband and I have also developed a long list of nicknames. Lord help our future children who will have trouble learning their first names because we will call them a different name every hour. I even have dozens of nicknames for my cat, who actually responds to most of them!

I am a big fan of bestowing nicknames on others, but never anything rude. I hate it when I see people get stuck with horrible nicknames that illustrate some shortcoming, like being chubby. I think nicknames should always be fun and personal.

The problem with nicknames is that not all nicknames are meant to be used out in public or in certain company. I’m not referring to just naughty nicknames, but silly ones that aren’t meant for the publics’ ears. Everyone has done the nickname slip. Been in a situation where the nickname was not all that appropriate and belted it out by accident. It’s ok, those people snickering at you? They do the same thing all the time, don’t sweat it!

What are your favorite nicknames?

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