Nicknames you find annoying

amother

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 11:49 am

What about the name MACHLA? doesn't that mean sickness? not a fan.

And people call their kids tattela, mommala... sometimes they are named for their parents and don't want to call them by their real names... Maybe the same with Bubele if she's named after a grandmother.

Debbie

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 12:27 pm

amother wrote:

My late mum was called Machla and she hated the name,she went by Marilyn.

I have to say that I fail to understand the point of giving a name that you don't want to use,if you don't want to use it don't give it. There are other ways of honouring parents and grandparents.

My father died before my children were born and admittedly I wasn't keen on his name as a first name but I liked it combined with another name,which is what I would have done if we had a boy.

amother

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 2:24 pm

Very few nicknames ending in -ie or -y are good for adults, and I don't much care for them for infants either, except those that are real names in their own right, like Eli which can be short for Elazar or Elchonon but happens to be a real name, or Zvi which is just a very short name and not a nickname at all. Zviki, I can live without. In general I despise the practice of tacking an -ie or -y onto a name and calling that a nickname. If the kid's name is Gavriel, calling him Gavrieli is sickening, not cute. It also makes him sound like an Italian fashion designer. I don't mind truncated names like Chai for Amichai or Shay for Yeshaya in adulthood, but Sammy and Lenny have to grow up and become Sam and Len. These so-called diminutives may be terms of endearment, but they should remain private and not be used in public once the individual reaches the age of reason.

Barbara

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 3:10 pm

Out of curiosity, why do people have such strong opinions on what other people are called, or call their children?

I understand not liking a name. There are plenty of names I don't like, although I try not to express that opinion lest it hurt the feeling of someone who uses that name. But to find names "sickening"? It seems to great an emotional investment in something that has nothing to do with oneself.

Barbara

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 3:16 pm

And FTR, anyone who thinks that she has control over what her kids are called past age 9 is fooling herself.

Itchy and Scratchy become Ichabod and Scarlett. Or Ichabod and Scarlett become Itchy and Scratchy.

Gedalia becomes Jed, Eliana become Lee, and Inyong becomes Jennifer.

And, of course, Clyde becomes Skip (a"h), although I've no clue why.

Or whatever they want.

And its no one else's business.

mommy3b2c

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 3:19 pm

amother wrote:

As far as I know, Eli is not a real name.

amother

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 3:27 pm

Names that I personally feel odd saying are dudu or dudi, or hyman. I am not familiar with what they mean and understand some people use them to name after a realitive but they make me think of other things.

zaq

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 4:01 pm

mommy2b2c wrote:

That is Ali. With an ayin. eli is with an aleph. Short for eliyahu, eliezer, or elimelech

Or elchonon or elyakim or elyachin or any of a dozen other names. Spelling does not matter because when you use a nickname, nobody is spelling it--they are hearing it. So an Eli is an Eli is an Eli except when she's a girl and an Ellie, short for Elisheva or Ellen or Eleanor.

finallyamommy

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 4:02 pm

amother wrote:

Dudu/Dudi is an Israeli diminutive of David.

I think Hyman might be an Anglicization of Chaim, but I'm not sure.

Jeanette

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 4:06 pm

mommy2b2c wrote:

That is Ali. With an ayin. eli is with an aleph. Short for eliyahu, eliezer, or elimelech

The name Eli in the navi is spelled Eli in English.

And pronounced ee-ly

Why is this even something to debate over?

Scrabble123

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 4:33 pm

Barbara wrote:

And FTR, anyone who thinks that she has control over what her kids are called past age 9 is fooling herself.

Lady Godiva

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 8:56 pm

I can't think of a single nickname that bothers me.
I particularly like hearing names with "ootchka" added to the end of the name. Makes me smile.

heidi

Thu, Feb 26 2015, 9:03 pm

Jeanette wrote:

The name Eli in the navi is spelled Eli in English.

And pronounced ee-ly

Why is this even something to debate over?

Bcz. when you are told to pick something up at Eli Hacohen street in Yerushalyim and plug it into waze and spend 15 minutes driving across town and get there and find out that אלי כהן street is nowhere near עלי הכהן street.
That's why.

imasoftov

Fri, Feb 27 2015, 2:01 am

heidi wrote:

At least Rechov Yehuda and Rechov Shalom Yehuda are only a few minutes away from each other ...

imaima

Fri, Feb 27 2015, 2:41 am

heidi wrote:

So obviously you have to know how to spell Eli hakohen in Hebrew. The fact remains that it is spelled the same way as Eli the diminutive in English.