The PopWatch Confessional (Vol. 47: Your nickname edition)

Kara Wed, May 7, 2008 at 03:13 PM EST

Since birth, I have been known to my dad (and mocking kids in my elementary school days) as Kare-bear. Definitely not the kind of nickname that strikes fear in one's heart.

Andrea Tue, May 6, 2008 at 04:59 PM EST

I once worked at a summer camp where the staff uniform was blinding orange tshirts. One of my male coworkers was large and the shirt didn't fit him right, so I called him Garfield. The camp kids heard and soon everybody called him Garfield. He got me back, though, when he christened me Mad Dog after a convict he saw on a "Walker" episode.

Andrea Tue, May 6, 2008 at 04:59 PM EST

I once worked at a summer camp where the staff uniform was blinding orange tshirts. One of my male coworkers was large and the shirt didn't fit him right, so I called him Garfield. The camp kids heard and soon everybody called him Garfield. He got me back, though, when he christened me Mad Dog after a convict he saw on a "Walker" episode.

Em Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 04:31 PM EST

This one is so mean... when I was in high school I made the mistake of groaning out load about something in class that I didn't like. This jerk in my class compared the sound of my groan to Chewbacca from Star Wars. For the next month I would come into the classroom to a chorus of "Chewy!!!!" from the boys. What jerks they were... oh well... it wasn't too long before they moved on to something else. They were always giving me nicknames; my mom said to take it as a compliment that they picked on me to my face and not behind my back like they did to others. Teenagers are just awful!!! :)

Dixie Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 03:34 PM EST

In my cynical-adolescent days I was known to my middle-school peers as Daria. After I started reinvented myself in high school as a slacker/stoner, my friends rechristened me "Spicoli". Now, though, everyone calls me Gollum, because I refer to my fat, ill-tempered 14-year-old cat as my "precious".

annabelle Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 01:44 PM EST

Hmmm, thought we were being original when we called my friend J-Ro in college. Another friend has been christened Cindy Lou Who.

Katie Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 09:29 AM EST

My uncle has referred to me and my sister as Bert and Ernie since we were kids. No idea why. I call my friend Ambular from Clueless although she hates it. I woke up one morning after a sleep over to find that I had been christened K-Jo and my friend was not K-Lo, in addition to our other nicknames.

Jessica Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 09:25 AM EST

Years after the Tubthumping song came out, my dad decided to shout "Chumbawamba!" or "Chumba!" every time my sister or I would enter a room. Dads are so weird.

Ashley Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 09:18 AM EST

My mom always used to call me "Sweets Deets" then she just shortened it to "Deets". Odd I know.

Tasha Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 08:30 AM EST

my mom gave me the nickname Pokey (from Gumby) when i was younger because i used to dawdle when we were out. she'd say "come on Pokey!" even now (at 23) she still calls me Poker or Poke. she did it when i was meeting my roommates for the first time at university and i must have given her a dirty look. lol.

JenC Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 08:27 AM EST

When I'm in a bad mood, my husband calls me Linda. Why? As The Wedding Singer tells us, "Linda, you a b*tch!"

Celimene Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 05:01 AM EST

When I was younger, I was really serious about ballet and I tended to wear my hair in a rather severe-looking bun even when in school. Hence... Lilith.

Nix Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 12:01 AM EST

For a year I was Jack from Newsies. This was before I realized that, being bookish, grandiloquent, and gay, I was more like David from Newsies.

allison Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 12:00 AM EST

When I was in college, I was 21 and was dating an 18 year (old totally cute freshmen). My friends all called me Stifler's Mom. It's years later, but every now and again, I get cards addressed to Stifler's Mom.

Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:36 PM EST

My students just nick-named me Professor Snape. I just love it.

robin Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 10:28 PM EST

My nickname in high school was Chucky - after the doll.

K Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 09:34 PM EST

And because I'm tall and occasionally make faces, one of my high school friends continues to call me "Totem."

K Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 09:30 PM EST

My mom used to call me Katrink, and so my little sister now calls me Kachink or, if she's being particularly twirpy, Chinky.

x302 Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 08:29 PM EST

My daughter loved David Lee Roth, I took her to see him when she was 2yrs old. She used to call him David Weed, well we started calling my daughter Jack a weed. She thought it was sooo cool. She is now graduating college and still likes to be called Jack a weed - go figure

kelsey Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 07:39 PM EST

A few years ago, my family had a bunch of hamsters. We named the big female Mama and one of her daughters Velma, from Chicago (Mom and I are fans). Man, they had a lot of attitude.

Zenaida Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 07:30 PM EST

My name was too hard to remember for my grade-school kids on the schoolbus I drove, so they shortened it to Zena -- which became Xena: Warrior Busdriver.

rene Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 07:10 PM EST

My dad has called me and my two sisters "huey, dewey and lewie" (donald duck's nephews) since we were like 7. We watched lots of cartoons when we were little. And my uncle calls me "spot" for some reason.

Maeve Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 07:05 PM EST

OMG, I also begged my dad to call me Half Pint! It never took. So I named one of our chickens Half Pint...she got killed by a raccoon.

Dave Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 06:16 PM EST

When I was In high school I had long hair, down to the middle of my back. Well, one day I decided to cut it off, snd got a crew cut. Someone mentioned that I now looked like Curly from the Three Stooges, and the name stuck. It's been 30 years, and I still get called that.

Rodney Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 06:12 PM EST

My nickname in my fraternity was Squiggy for my hair. Thank god it didn't stick. Everyone had a nickname and alot were TV inspired. All the guys named Eric, Brian, Jason, Michael, Scott, David, etc., had the nicknames that stuck because there were so many of them and we needed to differentiate.

Ryan Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 05:34 PM EST

In elementary school, I was always one of multiple Ryans. Therefore, my teachers always referred to me as Ryan C. Eventually one of my classmates, apparently a Saved by the Bell fan, started calling me Ryan C. Slater.

skg Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 05:26 PM EST

When I was a camp counselor at a YMCA camp the summer I graduated from high school, we had two guys named Bob on staff. One was from Canada. For the rest of the summer, we called him "Canadian Bob".

Another guy named Kevin was called Keppy because a mentally challenged camper in the first week call him that.

I lost my glasses and tried to get my peers to call me Mouse-girl, but they picked "Mole" instead because of the squint.

Ah, the memories...

Summer of 1981 - how sweet it was!!

Annabelle Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 05:23 PM EST

I forgot to mention that when my sister gave a toast at my wedding, she referred to my G-Ma as "G-g-g-gg unit!". She had a few to drink...

Annabelle Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 05:21 PM EST

We always called my Grandma "G-Ma", which then got changed to "G-Unit" as the years went on. My grandma isn't as hardcore as 50 Cent, but she's got some street cred.

bluthiness Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 05:10 PM EST

My dad calls me Punky, due to my Punky Brewster adoration as a kid.

suzanne Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:57 PM EST

For many years my husband has attempted to give me the nickname "Boo Boo Kitty" from Laverne and Shirley. I have resisted, yet he still trys. Long before there was Suze (reminds with ooze) orman there was a character on As the World Turns called Suz (pronouned the same way as Orman's name) My friends however only knew the name from Soap Opera Digest and chose to rhyme it with Scuz, which eventurally became my nickname.

Anjeliki Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:55 PM EST

I spent my college years as "Yo, Adrian," because I was from a town called Adrian. Needless to say, Rocky was big in those days.

Rose Tyler Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:29 PM EST

Back when my husband and I were just two friends in a big group of friends he was called Bueller because everything always seemed to work out for him. Also our best bud Danny has always dressed like some incarnation of Doctor Who. It was the fourth doctor(long trench coat, even longer scarf) now it's the tenth(black frames, chucks) so naturally we greet him with "Doctor" in a perfected english accent.

Schottzie Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:25 PM EST

I loved me some Manly too! I especially loved it when he would call Laura "Beth". Only the two of them called each other those names so they were extra special.

Idge Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:23 PM EST

When I was growing up, I loved anything related to Pauly Shore. So much so that I'd try to talk like him. Example: Munchin' on some Grindidge.
The result was my friends calling me Idge.
I really can't believe I'm owning up to that... Lord I'm a lame-o.

tia Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:13 PM EST

I'm sure that there are those that will not get this ref, but my mom's initials were L.I.J. growing up and she was short so they called her Lidget after the Gidget movies. Now it's just Lij (pronounced Lidge). Odd name, but it stuck.

JillyRo Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:13 PM EST

My nephew called his 2 ferrets Cheech and Chong.

JillyRo Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:13 PM EST

My nephew called his 2 ferrets Cheech and Chong.

KN Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:10 PM EST

OK dating myself here....my family has been calling me KIKI since birth (long story why), as in Kiki Dee the (singer of "Don't go Breaking my Heart" for your young'uns). My aunts, uncles, extended family didn't know my real name (still don't) so had to have "Kiki" in brackets on my wedding invite or they would have not known who the heck it was for!!

Ep Sato Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 04:10 PM EST

My Kung fu buddies in college used to call me "Chooch". As in, the Puerto Rican version of "Cheech".

And for years they'd call me "Elvis Presley" whenever I went to Puerto Rico. I never thought my sideburns were that big, but apparently, they were chop-tastic!

Finally, a few years ago my friend called herself Elaine, me Kramer, and our buddy she called Newman. In my case it was because of the hair and shirts, in my buddy's case it's because he looked a little bit like Wayne Knight.

Now we all think he looks like Gilberto Santa Rosa and call him "Gilbertito Jr"

Sorella Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:45 PM EST

Oh Strepsi your Dad and my Mom should get together!! You just reminded me that we call my Mom "Mrs. Roper" as she loves loud, colourful, flowery clothes.

Sorella Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:42 PM EST

No personal nicknames per say, but my sis and I have tendency to call someone "PAT" when we aren't sure if they are a male or female (fans of the SNL skit will get it).

Strepsi Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:41 PM EST

"The Dink"?! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Mandi, your FATHER should write for Popwatch with that level of snark!
We used to call my father "Mr. Roper", because after he made a joke he would mug at us until we laughed.

Cinderella Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:40 PM EST

My first name is Melissa, so some of my friends from high school called me Mel Biv, like the hip-hop group Bel Biv Devoe. I like it.

Dina Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 03:40 PM EST

Couple of my friends call me "Elaine" as in Seinfeld, because I tend to punch people in the arm when I get overly excited like she does.

Emily Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:59 PM EST

Oh, and my old roommate and I call eachother Chocolate Bear and Vanilla bear as well. I'm sure that's a popular one for Scrubs fans with non-white friends.

idigress Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:59 PM EST

As a child I was "pooh" asin Winnie the...my mother and grandmother still refer to me as such even though (a) I will be 37 in 2 weeks (b)my 7 year old daughter finds it to be hilarious and (c) my whole family cheered this when I recently received my master's degree! AWESOME! My friends call me dotcom because I am a pretty techie chick and I tend to be the go to person for anything tech in our world.

Emily Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:57 PM EST

As a product of late-eighties, early-nineties Canadian children's television, my dad nicknamed me "Muffy Mouse", the rhyming puppet mouse from the kid's show "Today's Special", about a manequinn who comes to life in a department store after hours. Lots of bright pant suits. And when Jeff the mannequin was supposed to be totally still, he'd still move a little. I was 4 and I caught that.
Anyways, my father still calls me "Muff", which I'm sure can be misconstrued sexually, so I've never told anyone. I don't know why he nicknamed me after a mouse poet, though. I hate poetry.

Maggs Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:50 PM EST

Thank you for reminding me how much I loved the show Popular. After I watched the clip I cried from laughing so hard! You just made my day.

AA Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:41 PM EST

To Lori and mcbridefan: I think we need to find ourselves a Cissy and a Mr French, so we can bring our "Family Affair" together again!

Crystal Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:39 PM EST

Back when the Spice Girls were all the rage (the first time) I achieved the name Spazzy Spice due to being an extreme klutz. My boss from those days still writes "Dear Spice" in his Christmas cards! Cracks me up, I'll admit.

Snarf Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:24 PM EST

Gerber - when I was 13 before I got braces (twenty-something years ago)I had to get 4 teeth removed. My mouth was so tender I had to eat baby food.

Auriana Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:20 PM EST

In high school we created our own little Star Wars club and gave each other nicknames based on characters. I was Leia. We also had a Luke, Wedge, Exar Kun and Teneniel Djo.

mcbridefan Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:17 PM EST

Hey AA, I was also called Buffy from "Family Affair" --when I was a toddler a lady in the supermarket told my ma that I looked like Buffy (it was the banana curl pigtails that I was sporting) ...and it stuck. Family members, friends, schoolteachers etc all called me Buffy as I was growing up, and my family still does (but since my post-college years I have used my real name with outsiders and in the professional/workplace world.)

Martha Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:09 PM EST

When I was a kid, one of my camp counselors used to sing "Martha My Dear" just about every time he talked to me. Which I thought was great, but the endearment wore off a bit when I found out it was an ode to Paul McCartney's sheep dog. (There weren't many big entertainers named Martha in the 70s and 80s, so I had to take my pop culture references where I could find 'em!)

April Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:07 PM EST

I was called Grape Ape after a cartoon that was on tv whe I was a kid. It got shortened to Ape or Apie in high school.

edubs Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:02 PM EST

my dad calls me scout from "to kill a mockingbird". he even made me have a mushroom cut like her.

mikey Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:02 PM EST

In grade school I was "Moose" after a comic strip character that shared my last name.
High school brought "Alex P. Crockett" since my wardrobe was a combination of Alex Keaton from Family Ties and Sonny Crockett (ahhh 80's sportcoats).
Later I became Eminem due to my initials.
But the one that has stuck throughout the years is courtesy of that damn Life cereal commercial.

Melissa Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 02:00 PM EST

My friend and I call each other Brown Bear (a la Scrubs) all the time. It's always a different variation on it though (in true J.D. and Turk form)-- BB, SCB, Super Chocolate, Choco, BBMcGee, etc.

Lori Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:59 PM EST

When I got my first pair of glasses in 5th grade(which were sort of gold octagons), everyone called me Mrs. Beasely. I'm so old, probably most of you PW'ers don't even get it. Mrs. Beasely was Buffy's optically challenged doll on "Family Affair". Oh never mind.

Janet Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:29 PM EST

My first name is Janet so all through high school would sing, "Ms. Jackson if you're nasty" to me. I had one friend who always called meInterplanet Janet, the galaxy girl, after the Schoolhouse Rock episode.

QueenC Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:28 PM EST

As a young child it was Ruby-Dooby-Doo, as in Scooby.
Later on, I got QueenC from Buffy - it was Cordelia's license plate.

Jessie Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:27 PM EST

My friend in high school started calling me "The Sunnydale".

We were both Buffy Fans, and in high school people would congregate around my desk to chat before and during class. She said people were drawn to me like demons were drawn to Sunnydale.

Cara Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:26 PM EST

My roommates and I have a habit of naming our professors after pop culture characters. Our froggy American Lit teacher is "Professor Umbridge", our cold British Calculus teacher is "Mr. Sark" and our goofy Humanities teacher with the strange-shaped head is "Beaker". I swear, the resemblance is there all three times.

Dinosaur Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:21 PM EST

As a bespectacled 3rd grader, I was "Encyclopedia Brown", thanks to my (at the time) favorite series of books.

Andie Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:17 PM EST

I was rail thin growing up so some people called me "J.J." Not all that original, but I grew up in the 90's so it kinda seemed like it was.

furry_tom Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:09 PM EST

I briefly worked with a guy that had the last name Robertshaw, so I took to calling him Quint (Robert Shaw's character in Jaws). No one's given me a pop culture nickname, although I've always been angling for an LSD related nickname, telling people that I'm named Tim after Timothy Leary.

mscisluv Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 01:07 PM EST

When I went to a summer camp (many moons ago), there was a counselor name Sy, who was white and wanted to be a rapper. I christened him "Pretty Fly for a White Sy," and it stuck all summer.

Dtom Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:56 PM EST

It's not exactly a nickname, but during college, I used to tell girls my name was "Nick Papageorgio," Rusty's fake I.D. name in "Vegas Vacation." Also, we used to call this girl "Nickels" because she looked like she had been beaten in the face with a wet bag of nickels...not pop culture related, I know, but still hilarious (and incredibly mean, in retrospect).

Adrienne Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:52 PM EST

A few friends call me Rocky due to my name being Adrienne. To this day, I refuse to see that movie.

Adrienne Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:52 PM EST

A few friends call me Rocky due to my name being Adrienne. To this day, I refuse to see that movie.

Angela Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:41 PM EST

In true comic book geek style, in high school I was "Elfie" after 'Elfquest'.

mrcr Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:41 PM EST

When I was a kid, my teeth were too big for my face, so I was called Bucky O'Hare

KLC Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:37 PM EST

My Friend and I shortened our names when J-Lo took her nick name. I am K-Co and he is J-BO. That is how he is programed into my cell phone.

Nat X Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:32 PM EST

I was "Raph" for several years after Raphael, the most awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. In late elem. school, early high school, a friend and I were "Wayne and Garth" cuz one was blond, one was brunette, and we thought we were hilarious. But, the most lasting nickname would be Nat X after Chris Rock's character on SNL. I've been Nat X since the first time that character appeared. It's stuck to this day.

Anna Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:23 PM EST

Ive never inspired any good nicknames, but I have friends that fit well in this category. Two of my close friends call each other Kermit and Miss Piggy (they are engaged). Another girlfriend has a roomate she calls Hermione, which makes her Ron, ala HP.

garciamomma Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:22 PM EST

I dated a guy in a band. I am a "healthy" girl (not fat, but er, large in the places most guys appreciate it). I was christened "Peaches", as in "really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree" from the Steve Miller Band song, which was part of their set.

30 years later, there are old friends of mine who only know me by that name.

garciamomma Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:22 PM EST

I dated a guy in a band. I am a "healthy" girl (not fat, but er, large in the places most guys appreciate it). I was christened "Peaches", as in "really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree" from the Steve Miller Band song, which was part of their set.

30 years later, there are old friends of mine who only know me by that name.

Tim Lade Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:20 PM EST

My last name is Lade so I got called Lade Runner one summer when I worked at a camp in New Hampshire.

Lynn Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM EST

My nickname: Lynn Belvedere. Once my friends in 3rd grade found out that the lead character on the T.V. show, "Mr. Belvedere" was named, Mr. Lynn Aloysius Belvedere, everyone thought it would be funny to call me the same name as an old, large, male housekeeper. I'm a girl - it was terrible.

Elizabeth Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 12:05 PM EST

My dad used to call my youngest sister was "Smurfette"; we now refer to her girls as "Hannah" and "Lily" since they're superfans of a little show on Disney.

Lauren Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:56 AM EST

Because my last name is similar to the first name of the Simpsons character, I was called "Smithers" in college.

Also, a coworker shortened my first name to Ren, bringing to mind the movie Footloose.

AA Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:56 AM EST

Buffy, from Family Affair. It was the long blonde hair thing.

EMB Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:54 AM EST

As my first name is Eleanor, my best friend in high school started calling me "Rigby" (after the Beatles song).

mark in nyc Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:49 AM EST

The first day of college I made freinds with two other guys named Mark, so in a drunken state we came up with nicknames for each other. One of the Mark's had just seen Young Guns, and quoting it said "when you have a few friends it is a tribe, don't break the sacred loop....Chavez"
So my name in college and still to this day (graduated in 94) is Chavez (the Lou Diamnd Phillips role)

Sailor Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:38 AM EST

In 6th grade I was called Doogie Lover since NPH and I share the same birthday and I had a mad crush on him.

liz Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:37 AM EST

My friends gave me the nickname L to the izzo after a night of drinks. We heard the Jay-Z song H to the izzo that night. Now it is just Lizzo.

jcarla Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:37 AM EST

When my brother was in high school, him and his friends were calling each other Muppet names (He was 'Swedish Chef') and since I was sometimes a tagalong, I was called 'Robin' after Kermit's nephew.

arryana Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:34 AM EST

while in school, i'd get called winnie because i had long black hair like the winnie from the wonder years.

Applejax Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:28 AM EST

During my middle school years my friends called me Six, saying I resembled the character on "Blossom".

Kelly Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:27 AM EST

My name is Kelly, and since I have long dark brown hair I've been known as "Kapowski" ever since the Saved by the Bell days.

Flick Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 11:18 AM EST

My nickname all throughout college was "Flick" thanks to "A Christmas Story." For most of my college buddies, the name still stands.