In his autobiography, Always the Young Strangers, Carl Sandburg wrote that some “nicknames make a picture like a funny drawing.” They can describe a physical characteristic of an individual which may or may not be a compliment.

 

Nicknames are substitutes for the proper name of an individual. They are usually given to a person and not chosen by the recipient. In ancient times the Vikings had a special ceremony for “fastening a name” onto an individual. It included the giving of gifts.

 

Married couples may give one another nicknames as a form of endearment or an inside joke. Sons  named for their fathers may be called Junior. Some individuals may be called by their initials or their given name many be shortened. Some people go through life with a nickname. Eventually, no one can recall their given name.

 

Many of the members of the Dirty Dozen, a gang of teenagers including Carl and Martin Sandburg, had nicknames. They were William P. “Wiz” Brown, Willis “Bohunk” Calkins, Oscar “Husky” Larson, Charles “Frenchy” Juneau and Edward “Muffa de Grit” Rosenberg. His nickname came from two incidents when the boys were playing. Rosenberg dropped an easy fly ball while playing baseball so he was nicknamed “Muff.” Later he fell on a cinder track while running and renamed himself “Muffa de Grit.” Apparently, he was  good humored about his lack of athletic skill.

 

Sometimes, nicknames come from mispronunciations. Because of his Swedish accent, August Sandburg called his oldest son “Sharly.” Among his friends, Charles was known as “Cully.” The second son, Martin, was always called “Mart.”

 

Nicknames can have negative effects. Galesburg in the late nineteenth century had a variety of nationalities living within its borders. The immigrants from each country had their own nickname. Most of the time the boys would call an Irish Catholic a “mick.” If it was preceded by a swearword, than a fight was about to begin. Bricks and rocks were the weapons of choice.

 

George Fitch even gave Knox College a nickname. He wrote a series of stories for the Saturday Evening Post in 1916 about Siwash College. They were based on his experiences as a student at the school. The name stuck for several generations.

 

Andrew Tanning was Sandburg's tent-mate during the Spanish-American War. Next to the girl whom he would later marry, his rifle was his most loved possession. It had the number “38” embossed on it. Tanning nicknamed himself “Old Thirty Eight”. When coming into the tent, he would announce that “Old Thirty Eight” had arrived. In reply Sandburg would greet “Old Thirty Eight.”

 

Nicknames are all around us today. States and cities have nicknames used as promotional devices. Sports stars are recognized around the world by their nicknames. We give ourselves nicknames when we sign onto a computer.