Upper/Upper-Middle Class Nicknames

[Slickly]

I grew up upper-working/lower-middle class, state educated, but we moved in Y5 and I went to a good grammar. I've spent the last 20 years in Australia. My DH is upper-working class, a lot of his uni friends went to prestigious public schools. We have just moved back and have seen a lot of DHs old friends. What is with the nicknames that have nothing to do with actual names, talking of names like Minky, Binky, Bunty, Berrie, Minty, Nixxy etc.
I met a grown woman who introduced herself as something similar to these, others were used on children/teens.
AIBU to think these are so cringeworthy? Why do they do this? Do you call yourself by a random unrelated nickname?
I know some small children who might go by a sweet nickname, but not teens or adults, I find it so odd!!

The aristocracy tend to recycle names within a family so nicknames help distinguish which George/Henry/etc you mean.

Yeah they love this shit...along with red trousers

I don't think it's unusual for nicknames to stick for a lifetime. Nothing to do with class.

Do you call yourself by a random unrelated nickname?

No, but then again I don’t go around describing myself, or my husband, by class.

A posh lady in her eighties that I know has a similarly aged female friend known as 'Titsa'. Never been able to work out what, if anything, it's short for!

You’re right. I have a friend who’s known as Wiggy. Her actually name is Camilla.
Definitely a toff.

🤣🤣🤣 just what I was thinking

Do you live in a Jilly Cooper novel?

This is a thing.

I know a grown woman named panda FFS

I also know a ‘twink’ (really) & a ‘rata’

Although to be fair, I am quite posh and I have friends called Tiggy and Fliss.

It’s because they have the same name as their mother/ aunt/ grandmother.

Also, the real names are often unpronounceable by small children so a pet name gets used instead and then it sticks.

In real life I have a nickname (not Bunny) that everyone uses. I rarely hear/use my real name.

Well, quite. There are your Gazzas (Gary) and your Tels (Terry) and then your Tillies, Maddies, Spennys and so on.

(I put the poor people's names in brackets for the benefit of the toffs who prob never met a Gary in person)

Oh you've reminded me that my grandma was nn something like Trixie or Dixie or something similar. Her actual name wasn't very common either though.
I thought it was something you all did! (She had come from England, we are Australian.)
It was a bit odd on her because she was quite posh as well.

I know a Bunty which has no obvious connection to her given name.

I love posh people’s nick names. At Uni there were plenty… Tottie, Minty, Bunty, Zaza, Kitty, Chuggs, Jonty, Biffy. Durham in the late 90’s was often like being in a Jeeves and Wooster story.

Bunty was a male.

What the shimmering fuck is 'upper working class'? 🤣

It's different when you're a toff!

Point in case: if I were to turn up to work tomorrow sporting a sparkly, shiny hat that'd be "tacky" or "naff".

Join the nobility, it's now called a "coronet", is "tradition", and I even get to don Harry Potter robes to match my fancy hat.

Does it make sense? Not in the slightest. Still a thing, though!

I do know plenty of working class people with silly nicknames, too, though. And I really want a friend named "Bunty" now!

Mind you there some really weird shortening of names in WC circles as well

I always thought Peggy when their name was Margaret

Another was Babs but their name wasn't Barbara but Margery

This thread got me thinking of the Made In Chelsea people where absolutely no one went by their real name.

Someone who’s clearly WC bit has their sights set on a bit of social climbing 😂

I am not English but went accidentally to a weirdly posh English uni and it went 1) girls name shortened to boys (Charlie/Harrie/George/Jo/Al, even a Tommy for Thomasina) 2) random nickname of the panda/zaza/toots/ variety 3) shortening of perfectly nice normal name like Ems, Pen, Char, Wills, Cat/Kate/Kit or even for the impossible to shorten, initials. I got initials or the very short version which EVERYONE called me but then I moved home where that would be called Notions and now I live in a place where everyone is known by their full christened name, no variations deviations shortenations ‘Thomas, William, Elizabeth-Ann, Dominic, get over here’ etc.

Everywhere has their quirks!

At my Uni they used to mostly call each other by their initials.

As a foreigner it always amused me when DH introduced his rugby playing boarish friends as ‘Jonesy’ or ‘Porker’. To answer your question OP I don’t know why but I do find it quite bemusing.