The picture is of my lovely dogs Brick and Rossie. Brick doesn’t need a nickname. He weights over 80kgs as he is a cross between a Rottweiler and Great Dane. Rossie’s nickname is The Thief. For obvious reasons. Sad update: Brick passed away on 2 Jan 2019. Suspected poisoning. RIP Brick.
I really find nicknames fascinating. They can give so much insight into people’s feelings and current trends. Many nicknames are humorous and many are sad. However, all have unique stories and associations. I may be bold enough to even say that while names are given at birth, the nickname captures best what is happening or has happened in your life since birth.
In order to simplify my thinking I have broken all nicknames into two broad categories. Those that we are aware of and those that we aren’t. If I wanted to get more complicated I could add subcategories, namely, those we like and those we don’t. It’s safe to assume, however, that if you are not aware of it then there is little chance of it offending you.
Category 1 – Nicknames we are called that we are aware of
My late grandfather and his brother had very interesting nicknames. My grandfather was referred to as Vanyamanza. In literal translation a “manza” is a bald head. And my grandfather had one. His brother was known as Vamahope. “Hope” means sleepy and the man had a knack for always falling asleep during any period of inactivity. They both wore these names with pride and they became terms of endearment over time.
Easier to relate to are those nicknames that originate from shortened versions of a given name. Examples in this case include my good friend Farai who has spent most of his life being referred to as Fuz. There are many similar examples in all languages e.g. Michael and Mike or Mohammed becoming Mo. Sometimes shortening the name really helps everyone who is not fluent in a particular pronunciation. We all know of someone with a 12 to 15 letter name who doesn’t mind it being shortened, rather than butchered. The ones that have always intrigued me are the ones where the nickname is not linear or easy to decipher.
The first example in this case is my school friend Elliot whom we all referred to by the name Kwam. Kwam was short for Kwame, a popular Ghanaian name. The story here being that Elliot had an older brother named Kwame who was a bit of a school legend. He was athletic and powerful like many West Africans and also had high levels of academic achievement. The younger brother was fairly proud of his association with the older legend.
Second example is my close friend of 25 years Tebogo. For most of our juvenile years we knew Tebogo by the name “Snip”. I can’t for the life of me remember how that name originated although I know there was some association with Snoop Doggy Dog. We only stopped referring to him as Snip because of his explicit request that we revert back to the name his mother has lovingly given him. A 3rd example being a college friend whose name is Luke. We all know him as “Burglar”…and he wears that name with pride. Again, not sure how Luke became Burglar but to this day the name has stuck.
So far the individuals mentioned had some level of acceptance of their nicknames. They were aware of them and for a period of time accepted them. Now let’s deal with those people with nicknames that people hate. First example being South African footballer Reneilwe Letsholonyane. For some reason the fans nicknamed him “Beyoncé”. He has often pleaded in public for fans to stop calling him that.
I also remember a chap from school who was referred to as Zimonya. A “monya” is a muscular well built guy and the chap I refer to was certainly neither of those. I’m sure if weighed he would have come in at a neat 25kg. He was tiny and so this ironic nickname did bother him somewhat. Last example is my friend Lerato who I renamed as Larry in an attempt to shorten her name. Despite my best efforts the name never stuck. It was never loved.
Category 2 – Nicknames we are called behind our backs
We once lived in a small mining community called Mhangura in the western part of Zimbabwe. At its peak it was a wonderful place,surrounded by a vibrant farming community. There was one supermarket in the community that was owned by a Greek family. It was a well run and well stocked store, however, the owner had a reputation for having a fiery temper. He was very short and stocky in physique. He was given the nickname Chidhoma by his staff. This literally translates to the word goblin or in South African culture a tokoloshi. Im not sure if he ever found out about his nickname but I doubt it.
At one company I once worked there was a male director we referred to as Chuck Norris. He was pretty remarkable in that he had so many lapses in judgement, costing the organisation in reputation and materially…but somehow nothing ever stuck. Latest news after I left was that Chuck had actually earned himself a promotion. His ability to withstand his trials and tribulations being stuff of legend. Or the director we referred to as John Wayne. He always shot from the hip, never pretending to try and understand a situation. You get the idea I’m sure.
So where does this leave us? Sometimes I wonder if a nickname exists for me and what exactly it is? Or if I were to give myself a nickname which aspects of my behaviour would stick? If you already have a nickname do you ever think about the origin and whether it is still wanted or relevant? I hope I have given you something to think about next time you meet someone with an interesting nickname too.
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