Upper/Upper-Middle Class Nicknames

Oh dear, we are definitely not posh, but my 15 month old calls her big sister RaRa (her name is Rosie) and it's stuck with us all

My sister is also called Rosie, so RaRa is a handy way to identify the relevant Rosie (my half sister and stepdaughter, I'm not just reusing family names within one generation).

Looks like her toddler sisters chattiness has accidentally poshified her 😂

You lived in Australia and you've never heard adults use a nickname? EVERYONE here uses nicknames. Not bunty but a y or ie does usually go on the end.

Not to do with class but the best, permanent, nicknames I've come across are Rug and Haggis.

Rug is really Matthew but there were so many Matthews/Matts in a particular group that he was given the honour of being known as something similar to a mat... a rug! Haggis got his name because he too was one of lots of blokes with the same first name as others in his group of friends. I think he was given Haggis because he once wore a kilt to a party.

Ooh, that's a very good question! I've never actually seen this lady's name written down so I'll try to find out.

I remember a Bindy, Fifa, Boo, Carrie, Tori, LooLoo, Dotty. Also a girl whose nickname was Horace, I really can't remember why.

You've lived in AUSTRALIA for the last 20 years & you're commenting on odd nicknames in the UK?! Though perhaps the origins of lots of Aussie nicknames are as a result of personal attributes to the point that I knew few people there who went by their actual name. Including Blue (had red hair), Eggy Rumble (farted a lot), Crumbles (liked biscuits), Tink (maiden name Bell) ...

I know a Leonora who was Tibby

A Louise who was Winky

An Alexandra who was Bunty

A Vanessa who was Bun

and a Victoria who is Plum

I spose at least the last makes sense - she’s the only one who is proper posh-ish, the others just upper end of prof MC,

anyway, I dunno, but variety in life is good isn’t it

I love a good nickname, regardless of what bizarre class mashup it comes from (tf is upper working class???)

Best one I've ever heard was Tory Meal Deal because the poor lad got sushi and a sparkling water for his lunch one time instead of a sandwich and some crisps. 10 years later and he still goes by TMD, half the people who use it don't even know why.

I’m from a working class background and no nicknames were common- apart from some people whose names were prefaced by ‘mad’ , ‘ mad mick ‘ etc , in hindsight probably those with mental health problems, I think it’s more a middle class thing to have nicknames , occasionally if two people has the same name- one might be ‘Chris’ and ‘tall Chris’ , just to distinguish between two people with the same name and friends

Why is your class relevant to the question?? What a load of waffle 😂 Also wondering what upper working class is…..

I knew a Binkie growing up but her dad was in the RAF

Eminently possible but I'm still too far in to actually ask!

@Flickersy

The Tatty I know was Christened Tatiana.

You need to tell us what the fuck upper working class is!

I know a Minty (Araminta), two Jontys (Jonathan), a Tatty (no idea and I'm too far in to ask), a ZeeZee (Rosie), a Crofty, and a Strickers.

I also know a Rozza (Rosemary) and a Gopher (Hugo).

If you try to make sense of nicknames you'll drive yourself mad.

The only ones I know are working class ones that come from the start of a mans surname.. Like Traff, Jenx, Nix and Smithy 🤣

I worked with a girl who called herself Ratty but was a shortened version of her surname. Her real name was Jacqueline.

There is a big difference between the names OP has mentioned and someone being called by a shortened (or accepted) version of their actual name. I have occasionally met someone who is known by a nickname but around here (not UK) people aren't generally known as Bunty, Minky, Minty etc.

Because the actual names can be so long or so grown up and not child like.

I always thought Jonty was a fairly standard shortening for Jonathan. I know several and that's the case for them all.

very much a middle class background, but was part of a sports/ societies group at uni. Some very strange nicknames allocated over 3 years: Binty, Titsy, Vlad, Kermit, MiMi, Alice. None of these were linked (easily) to their actual name, or in many cases their gender.

I don’t think it’s necessarily a class thing to have nicknames, but the upper classes do have a lot of reused family names going on so it’s a frequent thing. Plus the posh names can be amusing.

I was on a train the other day eavesdropping on the adventures of Jonty, Robbo, Imo, Weezy, Minty, and a whole host of Posh sounding 20-somethings.

But the Essex lads in Gavin and Stacey is a pretty good example of how young men in particular use nicknames. As I recall there were: Smithy, Dirtbox, Fingers, Budgie, Deano…

My sons went to a highly selective grammar school which was as close to a public school you could ever imagine and all the boys called each other by their surnames.
Now as adults my sons still refer to their friends by their surnames.

My very very working class DP and his friends all have daft nicknames im not sure i know half of their actual real names. Off the top of my head i can think of 'dangerous' 'whiskey' 'spammer' 'bomber' 'luton' 'sparkle' 'mullet' 'duke'. I have no idea (or desire to know) how they got them and i think its pretty twatty but they are all decent hardworking men and it makes them happy so who am i to question them 🤷‍♀️

DH and several of his pals are all in their 60's now, and still call one another by the nicknames they gave each other at primary school. I don't think it is particularly unusual to have a nickname, whatever background you come from.