What's in a name?

As an author I collect names. I take names I've heard that are unique, unusual, sometimes down right horrid and put them into a file for future reference. I love having the list on hand to refer to when writing. I'm fascinated by names. Given names, middle names, nicknames, you name it (okay couldn't resist the bad pun.)

One thing that fascinates me is how people come up with nicknames. For instance, I know two men whose given names are Sylvester, but everyone calls them Bill. I have never asked them but, I wonder why that is? I mean, how do you get Bill from Sylvester?

When I worked on the fire department our Chief's given name was John but everyone called him Jack. Again, huh? I know on one of the television shows I watch one of the characters names are John but everyone calls him Jack. How did those names being interchanged begin?

My mother's given name is Myra (Pretty isn't it?) Everyone calls her Toby. *shrugs* I don't know where the nickname came from. One of these days I'm going to ask her though.

My daughter's name is Courtney. My son has called her CourtPint for as long as we can all remember. I call her B, Bebbet, Beebee, or Boo. You'd think my having given her the name I'd have a reason for it. After all, B isn't short for any part of her name so where did it come from? I don't know. She was pretty sick (we almost lost her) when she was first born and she cried alot. I was forever trying to soothe her and calling her baby and the other names just sort of evolved into what I call her today.

Do you know of any nicknames that don't seem to fit the given name? Have you ever been curious as to where the names came from? Do you know the reason's behind calling men named Sylvester, Bill? How does one get Peggy from Margaret?

I did some digging on the whole John/Jack thing and this is what I found: “Jack” has been a nickname for “John” since the days of Middle English around A.D. 1200.
Originally written as “Jacke” (or any other similar spelling variants), it was initially pronounced something like “Jack-eh,” with two syllables, before settling into its snappy one-syllable modern form.

Where it came from is a matter of scholarly debate. The traditional assumption was that it came directly from the French name Jacques, itself a rendering of the Biblical Greek Jacob (or James, in English usage).

Very early on, “Jack” was used as a generic name to refer to any (usually male) peasant or commoner—just like “Jacques” was in France. (This sense is retained in the more recent US slang usage of “Jack” meaning a generic name to call a male stranger, and in generic workman terms like lumberjack and steeplejack. And, it must be said, in generic names for male animals, such as “jackass.”)

But in English, “John” was also used as a generic name in the same way. So “Jack” could just derive from that.

And indeed, there is a solid case for “Jack” being derived from “John.” In the earliest known uses of “Jack,” it is clearly being used as a nickname for “John.” (It’s worth noting that Jack and John sound much more similar in British pronunciations than they do in American; and that “Jan” was a common rendering of “John” in the era.)

Also, it is known for a fact that one diminutive endearment form of “John” around the same time was “Jackin” (also “Jankin” and other forms). By the same token, “Dickin” was a nickname for Richard and “Robin” a nickname for Robert. Those nicknames became shortened through time to “Dick” and “Rob.” It is logical to think “Jackin” followed the same course to “Jack.” (Though language is rarely logical.)

Whatever its source, “Jack” was widely used enough to be treated as a name in its own right as early as the late 1200s.

I'd love to hear what names/name derivatives stump or fascinate you. Have you any answers for me on the Sylvester/Bill thing? The Margaret/Peggy thing? Have you heard any cool names that you think might make a nice addition to my list? Leave me the name in the comment section and I'll be sure to grab it and put it in my file.

Hugz
Donica