23 November 2013

From Whence That Nickname?

When you are asking questions of relatives, do you try and learn the origins of nicknames? I have an uncle named "Babe" and for some reason his name popped into my head while walking. It was fifteen minutes before I remembered his real name: Carl William.

What I wish I knew is where his nickname came from. At this point, I'm lucky that the nickname is even known, as I don't think it's used on any legal documents.

Don't forget to ask about those nicknames. There may be a story there.

3 comments:

  1. I only knew my grandpa by his nickname "Lum". It was many years after his death that I learned it was short for Co lum bus.

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  2. I had an uncle nicknamed Babe too, although we called him by this name. In his case, the nickname started because he was the baby of the family for 4 years until my dad came along. The oldest brother was named Joe, but called Sonny by the family until he died at age 82 last year.

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  3. Was he a baseball player, a slugger maybe?

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