“What’s In A (Nick) Name?”

I’ve lived in the country almost my entire adult life, which has been wonderful. For some reason, perhaps because there are so few of us and we get to know each other quite well, nicknames are prevalent, and most quite descriptive. I’ve actually known some people their entire lives without knowing their “real” name. It hasn’t mattered to me, or them. We are who (or whom?) we are.

For example, I know several people — mostly farmers and/or duck hunting guides — from the Wolf Lake, Illinois, area. Among them are a Sugar, a Booger and a Razor. I also knew Larry “Big Deer” Rendleman and Gary “Little Deer” Rendleman for years before knowing their full names, although I knew you never saw one without the other. I’ve also known, and still know, Gene “Moose” Schafer since I was a kid, but I didn’t know the “Gene” part for a very long time.

My best friend, Tony, who’s an absolute whiz at creating nicknames (more on this later), had some good friends I met once or twice. I knew their last name was something simple and common, but I couldn’t remember exactly what it was. Eventually I narrowed it down to either “Miller” or “Smith,” which admittedly don’t sound at all alike. So I started referring to them as the “Miller-Smiths,” figuring to cover all my bases. It turns out their real name is Smith, although I still call them the Miller-Smiths. In my defense, they also find this amusing.

But as good as many human nicknames are, pets seem to inspire even more imaginative nicknames. My girlfriend, Amy, has a really cute dog named Ruby. Not surprisingly, I often call her “Boober,” which actually follows logically. However, Amy also calls her “Shoo Shoo,” which neither of us can really explain, although it fits her, somehow.

My own lab/Aussie mix rescue dog came named “Dakin,” which I always thought was really cool and vaguely Australian. When he was young, Tony referred to him as a “baby gherkin” for some reason. As he got bigger, he then became a medium dill spear.

Very small dogs seem to inspire numerous nicknames for some reason, and my 7-pound poodle mix “Peekaboo” is no exception. Among many other names, she’s been called Baby Boo, Peekaboops, Baby Boops, Peeky Boo and Boober Boo, not to be confused with Ruby/Boober.

I have a sweet lab male also, whose name is Shade. This seemed to make sense, considering his dad was named Shadow, and shadows provide shade. When Shade was young and Amy and I were watching him run in the yard, I asked her what nickname she would give him. She thought for a moment, then came up with “Pooper John.” The “pooper” part made perfect sense, since it’s what he was doing at the time, but I have no idea where she came up with the “John” part. But again, somehow it fits.

Yes, pet nicknames are popular, and many couples also have pet names for each other. I call Amy “my little Amy bug,” since she’s quite small (like a bug), and also as cute as a bug’s ear, an expression which you may have heard. We’ve determined the reason she’s short is that she isn’t tall, which is as good an explanation as I’ve heard. She also has a pet name for me, although I won’t be revealing it here. However, I can assure you that Nick was never named better!