Quote: (05-03-2012 01:06 PM)WhoZis Wrote:
Quote: (04-30-2012 02:09 PM)ABDada Wrote:
Many years ago I did some research on nicknames in general -- it seems that people with on syllable nicknames tend to be easier to communicate with because it's just one syllable. Think Jeffrey => Jeff, Michael => Mike, etc. It was all anecdotal evidence, but it seemed to be a weird trickery of verbal communication. The Aarons and Garys all confirmed that their nicknames ended up being single syllable ones with nothing to do with their real name.
My nickname is "Case" in some circles, although some of my lady pals call me Papa D, or just D. Case is my second middle name singular syllable (from Casey) and seems to make the Neuromancer literary geek females squirt when they hear someone call me that.
I definitely agree that having a nickname unattributed to your real name can be DHV if people actually use it, but getting there isn't the easiest.
My first and last names are difficult for Americans to say. A few years ago I got tired of correcting people, and anglicized the first name to "Hike". Works OK.
But now some non-English-speaking Colombian friends started calling me "Bam-Bam". I guess because I'm big and loud? Anyway, not too bad, right?
Question is, can I try this one out among Anglos?
Sure. "Bam-Bam" is a weird name, no doubt, but it's intriguing and guarantees you a solid two minutes of conversation on how you got it.