Behind Peanut, Pumpkin and Pooh-Bear

A couple of years ago, my friend started calling his 3-month-old Matthew “Money” after the Weird Al Yankovic lyric – “I call him ‘Money’ for short.” The name became so engrained in the family’s life that one day when my friend’s wife mentioned planning a party for Matthew, my friend was confused for a moment who Matthew was.

As parents, we all come up with silly little nicknames that bond us to our kids, from the pointless (my husband and I call our 3-year-old by her initials although she already has an insanely short name. Three letters are a mouthful, man!) to the warm and fuzzy (my best friend calls her son Sam, Sam-a-Lam-a-Ding-Dong).

So why do we reach for nicknames after spending nine months choosing the perfect names for our little ones? It’s pretty simple, according to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard and the brain behind www.babynamewizard.com. “Baby nicknames are more for the parents than the babies," she said via e-mail. "We're expressing our emotions through the names. Also, a grown-up name like Sebastian or Victoria can be something you have to grow into. If your baby is being giggly or wiggly, a more giggly-wiggly name may fit the moment better. And the babies like that we're making silly sounds with big smiles on our faces!”

I love hearing how people come up with their nicknames, so I asked some friends to share the stories behind their choices.

• Lori calls her daughter Foofa after Yo Gabba Gabba! since she thinks her newborn resembles the big pink character with her round belly and skinny arms.
• Kierstin’s 2-year-old Josef has been called Jofus since he was born since her older daughter had trouble pronouncing her little brother’s name.
• According to Jamie, “We call Avery ‘No-No-Nonsies’ because we are always telling her no and have been since she was mobile. We used to call Riley ‘Toots’ because she was very gaseous.”
• Nancy calls her daughter, Norah, Chicken, since “When she was a newborn, I would go into her room to get her ... and she would be on her back with her little neck stretched out looking for food ... like a little bird in a nest.”
• After seeing his sons’ sonogram pictures, Jared started calling his boys Little Peanut and Jelly Bean – names that have stuck around even though they’re now toddlers.

Linda Rosenkrantz, co-author of 10 baby-naming books, including The Baby Name Bible and Beyond Ava and Aiden, and creator of www.nameberry.com, noted by e-mail that many names do start in the womb. “We did a blog on nameberry called 'Pre-natal Nicknames'  and got an amazing response of examples from Peanut to Pie to Poppet to Pooh to BOB for Baby on Board – and often these nicknames would carry over into babyhood and sometimes beyond.  One mom referred to the fetus of her second child as Baby B, and wound up naming her Beatrice, with the nickname Bea.  Unfortunately, soap star Indo Rademacher used Peanut (a common one) not only as a prenatal nickname, but put it on the birth certificate.”

In many cases, most nicknames disappear within a couple of years as a child ages or even within weeks when Junior hits a new milestone. But occasionally, a nickname from the heart that truly fits a child’s personality can accompany her well into adulthood. “I don't think there's any serious downside to sticking with these nicknames within the family, though an 18-year-old bruiser named Bryce might not willingly or readily answer to Bunky,” said Rosenkrantz.

In fact, some recognizable names in Hollywood stem from childhood. Remarked Wattenberg, “Miley Cyrus was named Destiny, but the childhood nickname ‘Smiley Miley’ stayed with her. Similarly, actress Busy Philipps, born Elizabeth, was called ‘Busy Lizzy.’ 99.9 percent of the time, though, baby nicknames just fade away into affectionate memories.”

So, do you have a great story behind your child’s nickname? Or do you still have your own nickname that has stuck with you through the years? I’ll admit mine – it’s Chipmunk. How about you?

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting