American Indians used to name their offspring after the
first thing or event witnessed after the child’s birth. This is where we get names such as Running
Deer and Red Moon. Perhaps this is where
the name “Nick” originated; the baby’s dad cut himself shaving. That’s just a guess.
Wading through life, I’ve met a slew of people from various
walks of life, and enjoyed the company of most.
That was ages ago and things have since changed.
Today’s world is different, though, as nearly everyone has
been on television at one point or another, or they have their own television
program as a reality show.
Way back when, we used our given names to get by in life;
now special monikers are used to identify folks, for any number of reasons.
Very, very few of my acquaintances had nicknames. Joe was Joe, Tom was Tom, and Mike was
Mike. Sure those are abbreviated
versions of Joseph, Thomas, and Michael, but they are versions of their “real”
names.
The nicknames to which I am referring are one that are pinned
on a person by either family or friends, and are equally cool as they are
uncool.
Youngsters who are dubbed after their fathers are often
nicknamed “Junior.” This name is not
necessarily offensive unless your dad was Adolph Hitler, in which case you’d
like to change your name to $#!+head.
But, I digress.
Take, for example, Magic Johnson. In case you didn’t know, his first name is
Earvin, not Magic. These type of namings
are evident in much of sports with nicknames such as The Diesel, Bear, Smoke, The
Captain, and The Murderer. That last one
is my personal naming of O.J. Simpson however, that nickname hasn’t caught on.
In school where everyone’s saintly kids are really mean,
nicknames of other kids are issued in the vein of Four Eyes, Geeky, and Freckles. Those names are meant to boost the egos of
the less-intelligent students who will wind-up busing tables or digging ditches
for Four Eyes and Geeky. That is called
Karma.
But the music world is where the coolest nicknames are given
and worn as a badge of honor.
Gatemouth Clarence, Guitar Matt, Blues Harp Lou, are just
few that one can find in the jazz field.
Then there are people nicknamed The King, and The King of Pop – one was
Elvis while the other was Michael Jackson.
“The Queen” belongs to Aretha Franklin, and The Duke belonged to John
Wayne, a non-musician.
Let us not forget the genre of R&B/rap, where people
nicknamed Ice-T, Ice-Cube, and Vanilla Ice, can be located. It seems as though singers with “ice” in
their nicknames are given television show jobs, as per the law. I never did find people named Ice Cream,
Italian Ice, or Ice Cold.
Boxers have their own little planet of names usually
beginning with the name “Sugar.” It
would appear that creativity is in short supply as no one uses the nicknames
Knuckles, K.O., or Eight-Count. Names
like Glass Jaw and Gotta Go should be avoided at all costs.
Now I’m in the market for a really cool nickname for myself
that doesn’t include the word “clown,” “goofy,” or “super fat.”
I’m open to suggestions.
Write to me.
