What's in a [Knick]Name?

We are big on knicknames in our family.  All of the grandparents have their own non-traditional knicknames (Abba, Chum, Gigi, Pappy, Mimi) and our kids' Aunts/Uncles/Cousins/Friends are known to them almost exclusively by knicknames (Kitty, Uch, Juice, Tete, Kuma, Ninna, BigK, Jojo, Siri, and Dobber).  So it's probably not a surprise that we each have a variety of names that we recognize as our own or answer to when called.

Brandon James

Also known by:

Bud, B, Dadda, Honey, Babe, StuderB, BJ, Kingboy

Brandon got his knickname, 'Kingboy' from his Uncle Dave when he was a little kid.  He is the only grandson on his Dad's side and since he was always getting special treatment, Uncle Dave started calling him Kingboy.  As he grew up, Bud has always been surrounded by women in his life that were happy to step in and enable him offer a helping hand (hehhhe, ahem:  Gigi, Mimi, Me, Taryn, Abba, etc), he was also named Homecoming King, and captain of almost every sports team he's been on - so the 'King' name fits.   And even to this day the name has stuck because Brandon has an insane amount of good luck on his side (as it seems at least) and whenever good fortunate swoops into his life, everyone that knows this knickname just shakes their head and says, "Kingboy strikes again."

Tabitha Irene

Also known by:

Tab, Mum, Mumma, Tabi, Tabers, Irene

I received my knickname as 'Mumma' long before actually becoming a Mom.  Brandon and Jon (his bff) started calling me Mumma when they were in college, I think at first as a joke since they say I like to pretend to be Mother Theresa with all my volunteer projects and ideas.  A little of the knickname can probably also be attributed to the fact that I boss them around all the time.  Now that I am actually a Mom and more than those two smart a$ses are calling me Mumma, it's become the most frequently used name I hear these days.

Greyson Rudy

Also known by:

Grey, Booboo, Buddy, 'my Darling', Sonny Boy

I started calling Greyson, "Booboo" when he was only a few months old.  I was playing with him on the floor and it just sort of came out on its own.  From then, everyone picked else has picked it up. Our entire family calls him Booboo (more than Greyson) including Gemma who can now say on the phone, "Hiya Booboo."  Booboo suits him as a name since he is constantly sporting new bumps and bruises.  I secretly hope his knickname sticks forever and he's walking around as a 16 year old and we're still calling him Booboo :)

Gemma Rose

Also known by:

Gem, Gemmer, Gemmi, Chicken, Gemmi Bear, Little Sweetheart, Rosie, Miss Rose

Gemma's knickname, "Chicken," happened in the same way that Grey's knickname appeared; it just sort of came out of my mouth one day and seemed to stick.  My Mom and I are usually the only ones to call her chicken, unless her little natural mohawk hair is sticking straight up and then Greyson and Daddy like to say, "Gemmi Chicken Hair girl."  Chicken as a knickname for Gemmi is also hilarious because she is the exact opposite of a 'chicken;' the girl is fearless.  She climbs on top of everything and walks right to the edge of stairs and hangs her toes over them.

Bullet & Trixie

Also known by:  Bully, Bull-boy, Bullseye, Bulls and 

Tricky, Tricky-Icky, Trix, Tricky-Icky-Ding-Dong

Having them all written down here and in one place is actually pretty hilarious for me.  It might be a little obnoxious, but we tend to go overboard in the names-of-endearment category.  We actually tend to go overboard in quite a few of categories of life, but it's just how we roll.


Love,
Bud, Tab, Booboo, Gemmer,
Bullseye & Tricky