Nickname Usage in an American High School

Abstract

Abstract

In reply to a questionnaire, 114 boys and 149 girls in a suburban, public high school in the northeastern United States reported on their nicknames. Of the boys, 55% reported having nicknames; of the girls, 40%. The largest category for boys was variations or short forms of the surname, as Mort, for Moriarty. The next category was nicknames based upon physical characteristics, as Torch (for red hair) and Shorty. The remaining boys had nicknames of varied origins. For girls, physical characteristics ranked first, last name variations next. Thirteen percent of the boys and six percent of the girls did not know why they received their nicknames. A number of examples of nicknames in the different categories are given.