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!!

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.

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.

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.

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 😂

I’ve never heard that one. Two acquaintances, one a teen, and a relative called Jonathan. One is Jonny, one Jon, and the youngest gets his full name.

Jonty is fairly standard for Jonathan for sure.

And don't worry, I don't think a 15 month old nickname counts! 😂

My Mum was pretty poor growing up and she still speaks about ‘Birdie’ and ‘Scotty’.

Yes, nicknames are very upper class. When I was at Uni I knew people called Jay-Z, Dr Dre, Biggie, Chuck D and Ghost Face Killah. And that was just the hockey team.

We were in a posh town recently and a woman walked past talking about picking Cheska, Kitty and Binks up from summer camp. Never felt so working class in my life.

My DH is "big Steve", his mate Steve is "little Steve", there's another Steve called "noodles" as he brought some noodles on their first night out at uni. He also knows a guy called "Stoke" because he's from Stoke, no idea what his actual name is.

Aren't nicknames, by thier very nature, usually unrelated to the actual name?

Otherwise you're looking at a diminutive.

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.

🤣🤣

Nicknames (as in unrelated names) plus shortenings (from first name or surname) whether wanted or not, are really really common in the military

So I think it goes across all classes. And one person can of course have various names from (or for) different parts of their lives. Not for nefarious reasons, just changing habits

Of course, nicknames for nefarious reasons are also common. And not just Raffles

My Dad had five brothers, he and four of his brothers, all working class, had nicknames. When asked why his oldest brother didn't have a nickname my Dad told me it was Currant Bun (number one). He was pulling my leg about that one.

I know a Boo. She is quite posh.

This makes me think of the Aussie cricketer Nathan Lyon, who his teammates call Gazza. There was an Australian rules footy player called Gary Lyon which is where Nathan was swapped for Gary and of course Gary = Gazza.

But I agree, OP, the nicknames of posh English people are very odd. JK Rowling describes them well in the Strike novel, Lethal White.

I know a Jonathan who is called Jonny, he is actually very posh, I also know a Lettie and Pips.

I shared a school bus with the boys’ grammar, and all the boys had nicknames they called each other by. Personally I think it was to do with the fact that at that time they were called by their surnames at school by the teachers and each other at first, and as they got to know each other using their first names seemed too intimate to them but using surnames too formal. I don’t think they did that consciously I just think that’s why they did it. So they were called things like Blue, Windy, Shark, Toad.

My favourite nickname ever which I saw on Twitter was the guy known as Manbat because his name was Wayne Bruce.

I always thought it was a boarding school thing- the poor affection starved kids will do anything to create a bond with their peers (lighthearted).

But I absolutely find it cringe when colleagues or acquaintances expect you to use a nickname- fair enough if you’re mates but being asked to call someone twinky in a meeting is not on. Or at least give a choice- my name is Hortencia but you can call me Biffy if you want.

Ah yes indeed, I was there in the early noughties, same....

I am working class and nicknames (some similar to your description) are very common amongst men where I grew up. Particularly older men. Not sure it’s strictly just for the middle/upper classes. In fact, my brother doesn’t call any of his work colleagues by their actual names, they’ve all got nicknames. It’s stupid, personally 😂

My father and his cousins (very rural working class) renamed themselves as children, and this has continued into their 60/70s. My mother was under the impression for some time that my dad had two brothers, as he used the names interchangeably. I do find it a bit amusing that there is a famous eventer who chooses to compete under her nickname - Piggy French. But honestly, I thought most people had nicknames, across the class divides?

I was going to say this, although I think the usual spelling is Tirzah.

🤔 I wondered too

YABU. Who thinks of class nowadays? 😆 But mainly, all the people I know with nicknames that aren’t abbreviations of their actually names come from a wide variety of backgrounds. There are loads of names like this. People usually get them at school. Some stick and some don’t.

You seem to think they’re affectations but there’s no reason why Bunty is any more an affectation than Dodge. Genuine nicknames that have stuck naturally over the years are fine, whether they’re ‘posh’ or not.

I once worked with a vair posh bloke who was always referred to as Borlase, despite that not being related to either his first or second name. His wife we all called Chummy - never did find out her real name!