Hypocorism

"Pet name" redirects here. For naming of animals, see Pet naming.

A hypocorism (from Greek ὑποκορίζεσθαι hypokorizesthai, "to use child-talk") is a shorter or diminutive form of a word or given name, for example, when used in more intimate situations as a nickname or term of endearment.

Derivation

Hypocorisms are often generated as:

• a reduction (in English) of a longer word to a single syllable, then adding -y or -ie to the end, such as movie ("moving picture"), telly ("television") or Aussie ("Australian"').
• a contracted form of a given name, such as Tony from Anthony, Rosy for Rosemarie or Vicky from Victoria.
• a baby-talk form approximating the name's pronunciation, such as Bess for Elizabeth.
• a given name with a diminutive suffix; in some languages diminutive forms of names are used primarily when referring to children and the meaning can oscillate between tenderness and condescension when used for an adult.
  • -(c)ito/-(c)ita or -(c)ín/-(c)ina in Spanish, such as Juanita from Juana. Extra consonants may be interposed as in Carmelina and Carmencita from Carmen, or merged, as in Carmina.
  • -chen, -lein, -(l)i, -(e)le (usually used with names) in German, such as Hündchen or Hündlein (from 'Hund', meaning dog) or Kalli (from 'Karl', a name) or Häusle or Häusele (from 'Haus', meaning house); a back vowel in the root is normally subjected to umlaut, i.e. shift from u, o, a to ü, ö, ä respectively (e.g. Hund → Hündchen, Arm → Ärmchen, Holz → Hölzchen).
  • a similar form, -etto/-etta, in Interlingua.
  • the usual hypocoristic endings in the Dutch are in both words and personal names alike: -tje, -ke. When the name ends in a t or a d the ending is then a -je (e.g. Bert - Bertje). If the final consonant of a name is m, the ending is then -pje (e.g. Bram - Brampje) -metje (Bram - Brammetje) or -mie (Bram - Brammie). For the other consonants the hypocoristic form is -tje. In the southern parts of the Netherlands the hypocoristic form is often -ke (e.g. Peer - Peerke). Also in the Frisian the usual hypocoristic ending is -ke (e.g. Ype - Ypke). But this form (and others like -ske and -tsje) often makes the name feminine (e.g. Jetse - Jetske) like in Dutch (e.g. Jan - Jantje, Hans - Hansje). There is another productive hypocoristic ending: in the eastern part of the Netherlands (mostly in the province Drenthe), the female form is -chien Examples are Anne - Annechien, Lammert - Lammechien.
  • a parallel construction in Portuguese, with -(z)inho/-(z)inha, as in Aninha from Ana and Joãozinho from João.
  • same in Italian and Italian regional languages, with -ino/-ina and -etto/etta as in Paolino/Paoletto and Paolina/Paoletta from Paolo and Paola. There are also -ello/-ella, as in Donatello/Donatella from Donato and Donata, -uccio/-uccia, as in Guiduccio from Guido and -etto/-etta, ad in Giulietta from Giulia. The forms -uzzo/-uzza, as in Santuzza from Santa, are typical of Sicilian dialect.
  • -ĉj- and -nj- affixes (for males and females respectively) in Esperanto; these replace the last consonant (or consonant cluster) of the root, thus patro → paĉjo (father), patrino → panjo (mother).
  • -chan, -tan, or -pi in Japanese, such as Kana-chan from Kana and Aki-chan from Akihiro. Gemination (doubling) of the consonant or lengthening of the vowel before the -chan to provide two moras is common, such as Settchan from Setsuko and Hii-chan from Hiroki.
• reduplication in various languages, such as John-John or Didi.
• in Cantonese and related dialects, the addition of a word-final very high tone, or changed tone sometimes in combination with the addition of the prefix A before the name. The A syllable is also used in other dialects originating in southern China as a term of endearment or closeness.
• -ulus/-ula in Latin, most famously in the case of the Roman emperor Caligula, whose moniker means "little boot". He received the name from soldiers in reference to the small army sandals (caligae, singular caliga) he wore when he was young. Likewise the name Ursula is derived from ursa (bear) and means "little bear".
• "-eleh/-leh" in Yiddish. An example is Leah - Leahleh.
• a combination of multiple methods from those described above. For example, in Romanian, Ileana becomes Ilenuţa by addition of a diminutive suffix, and Ilenuţa becomes Nuţi by contraction.
• In Anglo-Saxon language hypocoristic forms were made by truncating the name and adding '-a' (genitive '-an'); if that '-a' is preceded by a short vowel and then one consonant, that one consonant was doubled; sometimes assimilation happened, e.g. Cēomma for Cēolmǣr. These hypocoristic names are often the first component of a placename, for example Badby, which is recorded in 944 as Baddanbyrig (dative case) = (at/to) "Badda's fort".

As evident from the above-mentioned examples, hypocorisms frequently demonstrate (indirectly) a phonological linguistic universal (or tendency) for high-pitched sounds to be used for smaller creatures and objects (here as more "cute" or less imposing names). Higher-pitched sounds are associated with smaller creatures because smaller creatures can only make such high frequency sounds given their smaller larynx sizes.

The word "hypocorism" is the noun form in English; "hypocoristic" is the adjective form. Some other languages prefer to use the original Greek word "hypocoristicon" as a noun. The noun "hypocoristicon" seems to be rarely used in English.

Dutch

• Wilhelmus → Willem, Wim, Pim
• Johannes → Johan, Jan, Jannes, Hannes, Hans
• Martinus → Martijn, Martin, Tinus
• Hieronymus → Jeroen

English

English also forms nicknames in a variety of manners.

Shortening, often to the first syllable:

• Abraham → Abe
• Alan → Al
• Albert → Al, Bert
• Alexander, Alexandra → Al, Alec, Alexis, Alex, Eck, Lex, Lexie, Sandy, Xander
• Alfred → Alf, Fred
• Amanda → Amy
• Andrew, Andrea → Drew, Andie, Andy, Drea
• Ann, Anne, Anna → Annie
• Anthony → Tony, Ant
• Arthur → Art
• Bartholomew → Bart
• Barbara → Babs, Barb
• Benjamin, Benedict → Ben, Benjy
• Bradford → Brad
• Carmela → Carmelita → Lita
• Caroline, Carolyn → Carol, Lyn, Carrie, Cary
• Charles → Charlie/Charly, Chas, Chuck
• Christopher → Chris, Criffer, Kit, Topher
• Daltyn → Dalt
• David → Dave
• Deborah → Deb, Debbie
• Dominic, Dominique → Dom, Dommy, Nick, Nikki, Nikky, Nikkie
• Daniel → Dan, Danny
• Edwin, Edward, Edmund → Ed, Eddie, Ned
• Eliza → Lisa, Liza
• Elizabeth → Eliza, Elisa, Betty, Bettie, Lib, Libby, Liz, Lizzie, Lisa, Liza, Beth, Bess, Besse, Bessie, Bessy, Betsy
• Ezekiel → Zeke
• Francis → Frank
• Franklin → Frank
• Fiona → Fi
• Gabriel → Gabe
• Gerald → Gerry
• Gilbert → Bert
• Gregory → Greg
• Henry → Hal, Harry
• Isabella → Izzy, Bella, Bell
• Jacob → Jake, Jakey
• James → Jamie, Jim, Jimbo
• Jeremy → Jerry
• Joanna → Jo, Johanna, Joan, Joann, Joanne, Janet, Janete, Jannete, Janette, Jannette, Jane, Jayne, Jenny, Jeanny, Jeannie, Jeanie, Yoanna
• Joel → Joe
• Jonathan → Jon, Nathan
• John → Jack, Johnny
• Joseph → Joe
• Josephine, Joanna → Jo
• Katherine → Kate, Katy, Kathy, Kat
• Katrina → Kat, Trina
• Kevin → Kev
• Kirkwood → Kirk, Kirkus
• Lawrence → Larry, Laurie
• Lucille → Lucy
• Madeleine, Magdalene, Magdalena → Maddie, Magda, Lena
• Margaret → Maggie, Margie, Marge, Moll
• Martin → Marty
• Mary → Mae, Minnie, Moll
• Matthew → Matt
• Megan → Meg
• Melanie → Mel
• Michael → Mick, Micky, Mike, Mikey
• Nathan, Nathaniel → Nat, Nate
• Nicole → Nikki, Nickie, Nicki, Niki, Nikky, Nici
• Oswald → Oz
• Patricia → Pat, Tricia
• Peter → Pete
• Priscilla → Cilla, Priss, Cilly, Prissy, Prisca, Prill
• Rachel → Rach
• Raymond → Ray
• Robert → Rob, Bert, Bob, Bobert
• Rose → Rosie, Rosy
• Rudolfe, Rudolph → Rudy
• Samuel, Samantha → Sam, Sammy
• Sandra → Sally, Andra
• Sarah → Sara, Sally
• Stephanie → Steph, Annie, Stephy
• Steven → Steve
• Victoria → Tor, Tori, Vick, Vicky, Vickie
• Virginia → Ginger, Ginny
• Vivian → Viv
• Wallace → Wall
• Zachary → Zack, Zach
• Zachariah → Zach
• Zebadiah → Zeb, Zebby

Addition of the diminutive suffix, usually -ie or -y. It is often added to the end of an already shortened name. This suffix connotes smallness or endearment. Although most often applied to the names of children, it is not uncommon for an adult to be referred to by the diminutive, especially by family, friends and close acquaintances:

• Alan → Al → Allie, Ally
• Alexander, Alexandra → Sandy; Lex → Lexi, Lexie; Leck → Leckie
• Amanda → Amy → Mandy
• Anne → Annie → Nan → Nancy
• Arthur → Art → Artie
• Andrew → Andy → Drew
• Barbara → Barb → Barbie
• Barnaby → Barney → Swarley
• Benjamin → Ben → Benny
• Charles → Chuck → Chucky
• Daniel → Dan → Danny
• David → Dave → Davy
• Dennis → Denny'
• Edwin, Edward, Edmund → Ed → Eddie/Eddy, Ned → Neddy
• Elaine → Lainie
• Franklin→ Frank → Frankie
• Gabriel → Gabe → Gaby
• Gerald→ Gerry
• George → Georgie
• Isabella → Izzy
• James → Jamie, Jim →Jimmy
• Jessica → Jess → Jessie
• Joel, Joseph → Joe → Joey
• Jonathan → Jon → Jonnie/Jonny
• Katherine → Kate, Katie
• Kimberly → Kim → Kimmy
• Kenneth → Ken → Kenny
• Lawrence → Larry, Laurie
• Louis → Lou → Louie
• Mary → Moll → Molly
• Michael → Mick → 'Micky, Mike → Mikey
• Nicholas → Nick → Nicky
• Oliver → Ollie
• Oswald → Oz → Ozzy
• Patricia → Pat → Patty
• Peter → Pete → Petey
• Richard → Rick → Ricky
• Robert → Bob → Bobby
• Ronald → Ron → Ronnie
• Rosemary → Rose → Rosie/Rosy
• Stephen → Steve → Stevie
• Susan → Sue → Susie/Suzy
• Thomas → Tom → Tommy
• Timothy → Tim → Timmy
• Tobias → Toby
• Wallace → Wall → Wally
• William → Will, Bill, Willie, Willy, Billy

A short form that differs significantly from the name:

• Ann, Anne, Anna → Nan (from the phrase "Mine Ann")
• Barbara → Babs
• Charles → Chuck → Chaz → Chic
• Christopher, Christine → Kit
• Dorothy → Dot, Dottie
• Edward → Ed → Ned, Ted, Teddy (e.g. Edward "Ted" Kennedy)
• Eleanor, Helen → Nell, Nellie
• Elizabeth → Bess, Bessie, Beth, Betsy, Betty, Liz, Lizzie
• Gerald → Gerry
• Henry → Hal, Hank, Harry
• James → Jim → Jimbo, Jimmy
• John → Jack
• Katherine → Katy → Kitty
• Margaret → Meg, Maggie, Madge, Peg, Peggy
• Mary → Molly → Polly
• Philippa → Pippa, Pip or Pippy
• Richard → Rick → Dick
• Robert → Bob; also Rob → Robin, Dobbin
• Sarah → Sally
• Theodore → Ted, Teddy
• Virginia → Ginger, Ginny

Esperanto

Esperanto forms nicknames by suffixing -njo (for females) and -ĉjo (for males) to the first letter(s) of the basic name.

• Elizabeto → Elinjo
• Mario → Manjo
• Sofio → Sonjo
• fratino → franjo
• onklino → onjo
• patrino → panjo
• Aleksandro → Aleĉjo
• Johano → Joĉjo
• Petro → Peĉjo
• frato → fraĉjo
• onklo → oĉjo
• patro → paĉjo

French

Informal French has a number of diminutive nicknames, although not as systematically as in English.

In French, for both male and female names, hypocorisms are most commonly formed by dropping the last syllable:

• Catherine → Cathy
• Christelle → Chris
• Christophe → Chris
• Frédéric, Frédérique → Fred
• Grégory, Grégoire → Greg
• Jean-Michel → Jean-Mi
• Joannie → Jo
• Marie-Charlotte → Macha
• Marie-Josée → Marie-Jo
• Maxime → Max
• Michaël → Mic
• Philippe → Phil
• Stéphane → Steph
• Stéphanie → Steph

Dropping the first syllable is also attested:

• Christophe → Tophe

Sometimes, only central syllables are kept:

• Augustin → Gus
• Emmanuel → Manu
• Emmanuelle → Manu

Another method commonly used is doubling one syllable of the name:

• André → Dédé
• Annie → Nini
• Augustin → Tintin
• Christine → Kikine
• Christophe → Totophe
• Joseph → Jojo
• Julie → Juju
• Louis → Loulou
• all female names ending in -tine → Titine

For male names, the ending -ot is attested, although its use is rather dated:

• Charles → Charlot
• Jean → Jeannot
• Jules → Julot
• Pierre → Pierrot

It was also sometimes (but rarely) used for females:

• Marguerite → Margot

The ending -et for males was used around the Renaissance, and is now obsolete:

• Henri → Henriquet
• Jacques → Jacquet

For female names, the ending -ette was used in the first half of the 20th century, and even often given as the official name:

• Anne → Annette
• Jeanne → Jeannette
• Marie → Mariette
• Paule → Paulette

Some names in -ette are not actual hypocorisms, but the only existing femalized form of a male name:

• Antoine (male) → Antoinette (female)
• Pierre (male) → Pierrette (female)
• Nicolas (male) → Nicolette (female) (rare and dated) → Colette

The ending -on is rarer, often dated or obsolete, used for both genders:

• Antoinette → Toinon
• Françoise → Fanchon
• Henri → Riton
• Marie → Marion
• Louis → Louison
• Louise → Louison

The ending -ou is also rare:

• Anne → Nanou

A special case is the ending in -ick/ -ic, which is the French writing for the hypocoristic form in Breton "-ig", used for both genders. The "-ig" form in Breton means "Little ...". This diminutive, in its French form of "ick" or "ic", became in vogue for official names in the second half of the 20th century:

• Annick (original in Breton: Annaig), from Anne
• Soizic (original: Soazig), from Frañsoaz, the Breton writing for the French "Françoise"
• Loïc, probably from the French Louis
• Yannick (original: Yannig), from Yann, meaning "John" in Breton

In Breton, the diminutive form "...ig" can be given to any kind of names, nouns or adjectives, (un tammig, a few), while in French it relates only to Christian names.

The name Soazig shows more than the ending "ig". Often in Breton a hypocoristic form of a Christian name can be made by putting away the first syllable. "Frañsoaz" becomes a familiar "Soaz" then, given to a child, the name is "Soazig", but not as an official name. This is also a difference between French and Breton: the diminutive ending "...ig" in Breton is only used as a temporary form for young children, while "...ick" is official and permanent in French names, and has lost his sense of a diminutive.

For words, French often produces hypocorisms either by truncating a word after the letter o, or by chopping off the end of the word and adding an o: McDo from McDonalds; gynéco from gynécologue; dico from dictionnaire; dodo (childish word for sleep, from dormir, to sleep); écolo from écologiste; coco from communiste; catho from catholique; psycho from psychologie.

The ending -oche (with or without an intervening consonant or phoneme to make it easier to pronounce) is also sometimes used: cinoche (cinéma), MacDoche (McDonalds), fastoche (easy-peezy, from facile, easy). Words or names may also be shortened or abbreviated without an O: fixs from fixations, 'ski bindings'; Jean-Phi from Jean-Philippe; amphi from amphithéatre (large classroom or lecture hall); ciné (another informal word for cinéma). These words are familiar/informal versions of the underlying words.

The connotation of familiarity (my friend Jean-Phi, as opposed to my new work colleague Jean-Philippe; cinoche, the place I often go for entertainment, as opposed to cinéma, the neutral word for a movie theater) is what makes them hypocorisms.

German

Hypocorisms of first names are commonly based on truncation, only keeping the first (Max) or last (Hans) syllable(s), sometimes in contracted form as these examples show. Often the ending -i is added to these truncated nameforms. The name might also undergo a sound shift (Sepp). Further diminutives can be added with the suffixes -lein or -chen, e. g. Gretchen as a diminutive for Grete.

• Anna, Anne → Anni
• Anton → Toni
• Georg → Schorsch (mostly Bavarian and Swiss German)
• Ignaz → Nazi (Bavarian; out of use for somewhat obvious reasons)
• Johannes → Hannes → Hans → Hansi
• Josef, Joseph → Sepp (Bavarian), Jupp (Rhinelandic)
• Karl → Kalle, Kalli
• Margarete → Grete
• Maximilian → Max
• Susanne, Susanna, Susann → Susi
• Therese, Theresia → Resi (mostly Bavarian)
• Ulrich → Uli (Ueli in Swiss German)
• Wilhelm → Willi

Sometimes female names may have the ending -el instead of -i, or any other shortening, especially in southern Germany:

• Barbara → Babsi → Bärbel
• Ursula → Uschi, Ulla, Ursel
• Christina, Christine → Trina, Trine (northern Germany), Tina, Tine → Christel

An ending for nicknames, sometimes considererd “typical german” is -z:

• Friedrich → Fritz (but compare the much softer Fidi from northern Germany)
• Heinrich → Heini, Heinz, Hinz
• Konrad → Kunz

Hungarian

Hypocorisms of first names are commonly based on truncation, only keeping the first (Kat-; Jul-) syllable, sometimes in contracted form as these examples show. Often the ending -i is added to these truncated nameforms (Kati, Laci, Julcsi, Ági, Feri). Further diminutives can be added with the suffixes -csi or -ka, e. g. Julcsi and Lacika as a diminutive respectively for Júlia and László. The shorter forms are often can be given as first names in their own right (Tóni, Lili, Béni etc.)

• Anna (Anne) → Ani(ka)
• György (George) → Gyuri
• János (John) → Jancsi
• József (Joseph) → Józsi
• Károly (Charles) → Karcsi
• Margit (Margaret) → Manyi, Manci
• Zsuzsa (Susan) → Zsuzsi
• Teréz (Theresa) → Trézsi (obsolete)
• Vilmos (William) → Vili

Italian

Some diminutive forms can be further modified by abbreviation depending on the region. Some diminutive can be abbreviation of more than one name (ex. Pippo can be Giuseppe or Filippo, Lele can be diminutive of pretty much all the names which end in "ele": Gabriele, Raffaele, Emanuele).

As catholic tradition until 1945 a child was forced to be named after a saint or a byblical persona, therefore some people have an Anglosaxon Hypocorism which derives from a very obsolete italian name ex. Calogero, Gerardo or Virginio become Jerry, Genoveffa becomes Jenny, Anastasia becomes Stacy and Maria Grazia becomes Grace.

• Agatino → Tino
• Alessandro, Alessandra → Sandro, Sandra, Ale, Alex
• Angelo → Angelino → Lino
• Antonio → Antonino → Tonino (Southern Italy), Totò (Naples)
• Calogero → Gerry
• Domenico → Mimmo
• Filippo → Pippo, Filli, Fili
• Gaetano → Nino (Campania), Tano (Sicily)
• Giovanni → Giovannino → Nino, Giuann (Southern Italy), Gianni, Zani (Venice), Nanni (Rome)
• Giuseppe → Peppe → Peppino → Pino, Pippo, Puccio, Pucci (Southern Italy), Pinin (Piedmont), Geppo, Geppetto, Beppe, Bepi
• Grazia → Graziella
• Guglielmo → Guglielmino → Mino, Guglia
• Luigi → Luigino → Gino, Gigi, Gigetto (Rome)
• Matteo → Teo
• Pasquale → Pasqualino → Lino
• Raffaele → Raffalino → Lino, Lello, Lele
• Salvatore → Turi, Turiddu, Uccio (Sicily), Totò (Palermo), Salvo (Catania), Totore, Rino (Naples), Tore (Sardinia)
• Vincenzo → Enzo

Polish

In Polish there are multiple affixes used to create the diminutive. Some of them are -ka, -sia, -cia, -unia, -enka, -śka, -lka for feminine nouns and -ek, -uś, -ciek, -czek, -uń, -eńki, -lki for masculine (among others). Some of the stems change, particularly to more archaic forms of the name (e.g. Andrzej → Jędrek). Some masculine names take an -o suffix that is considered as a archaic form, present in Polish language since the pagan times. Masculine names occasionally take an -a suffix, which is a more archaic Slavic form as in Russian (e.g. Michał → Misza). Here is a list of common names with some of them:

• Agnieszka → Aga, Agniesia, Agusia
• Aleksandra → Ola, Oleńka, Olusia, Olka
• Aleksander → Olek, Alek, Oluś
• Andrzej → Andrzejek, Jędrek, Jędruś
• Anna → Ania, Anka, Anusia, Andzia
• Antoni → Antek, Antoś, Tosiek
• Antonina → Tosia, Tola, Tośka
• Arkadiusz → Arek, Aruś, Areczek
• Barbara → Basia, Baśka
• Bartłomiej → Bartek, Bartuś
• Bartosz → Bartek, Bartuś
• Dariusz → Darek, Dareczek
• Edward → Edek, Edzio
• Elżbieta → Ela, Elżunia
• Emilia → Emilka
• Ewa → Ewka, Ewusia, Ewcia, Ewunia
• Genowefa → Gienia, Gienka

• Grzegorz → Grzesiek, Grześ, Grzesio
• Hanna → Hania, Hanka
• Henryka → Henia, Heńka
• Henryk → Henio, Heniek
• Iwona → Iwonka
• Jakub → Kuba, Kubuś
• Jarosław → Jarek, Jaruś, Jareczek
• Jan → Jaś, Janek, Jasiek
• Janusz → Januszek
• Jerzy → Jurek, Jerzyk, Juruś
• Joanna → Joasia, Asia, Aśka, Joaśka
• Julia → Julka, Julcia
• Katarzyna → Kasia, Kaśka, Kasieńka, Kasiunia
• Kazimierz → Kazek, Kazio, Kazik
• Krzysztof → Krzysiek, Krzyś, Krzysio
• Lech → Leszek, Lechu, Lesio (Leszek may also appear as a given name)
• Lechosław → Lech, Lechu, Leszek, Lesio (Leszek may also appear as a given name)
• Maciej → Maciek, Maciuś, Maćko
• Małgorzata → Małgosia, Małgośka, Gośka, Gosia, Gosieńka

• Maria → Marysia, Maryśka, Mania, Marysieńka, Majka
• Marek → Maruś, Mareczek
• Michał → Michalek, Michaś, Misiek, Misza
• Mirosław → Mirek, Mireczek, Mirko, Miruś
• Paweł → Pawełek, Pawcio
• Piotr → Piotrek, Piotruś
• Roman → Romek, Romeczek, Romuś
• Ryszard → Rysiek, Rysio
• Sławomir → Sławek
• Tadeusz → Tadek, Tadzio, Tadzik
• Tomasz → Tomek, Tomuś, Tomcio, Tomaszek, Tomeczek
• Władysław → Władek, Władzio
• Włodzimierz → Włodek
• Witold → Witek
• Wojciech → Wojtek, Wojtuś
• Zofia → Zosia, Zośka
• Zbigniew → Zbyszek, Zbyszko

Portuguese

In Portuguese, abbreviations of the name are common, such as suffixes for diminutive and aumentative. For males, the suffix -inho (diminutive) and the suffix -ão (aumentative) are the most used. In several parts of Brazil, -inho is informally replaced by -im, in diminutive words. The same occur with hypocorisms as, for example, "Luisim" instead of "Luisinho". For females, -inha (diminutive) is the most used in Portuguese, while aumentative is uncommon. In composed names, some mixed forms can occur, such as José Carlos being called "Zeca", or Maria Luísa being callled "Malu".

The phenomenon also occurs with addresses other than personal names; for example, Madre (mother) and Padre (father) become Madrinha (godmother) and Padrinho (godfather).

Male examples

• Antônio → Tonho, Tonhão, Toninho
• Bruno → Bruninho
• Carlos → Carlão, Carlinhos
• Eduardo → Du, Edu, Dudu, Duda
• Felipe → Felipão, Lipe
• Francisco → Chico
• Ivan → Ivanzinho
• João → Joãozinho
• João Carlos → Juca, Jucão, Juquinha
• José → Zé, Zézinho
• José Carlos → Zeca, Zequinha
• Luís → Luisão, Luisinho
• Manuel → Mané
• Marcos → Marcão, Marquinhos
• Mateus → Mateusinho
• Pedro → Pedrão, Pedrinho, Pedroca
• Rodrigo → Digão, Diguinho, Rodrigão, Rodriguinho
• Sebastião → Tião
• Tiago → Tiagão, Tiaguinho
• Vitor → Vitão, Vitinho
• Wagner → Wagão, Waguinho

Female examples

• Ana → Aninha
• Aparecida → Cida, Cidinha
• Carla → Carlinha
• Carolina → Carol
• Célia → Celinha
• Cláudia → Claudinha
• Joana → Jô
• Júlia → Ju, Juju
• Juliana → Ju, Juju
• Letícia → Lê, Lelê
• Lúcia → Lu, Lulu, Lucinha
• Luciana → Lu, Lulu
• Marcela → Marcelinha
• Maria Eduarda → Duda
• Maria Luísa → Malu
• Renata → Rê, Renatinha
• Teresa → Terezinha

Romanian

• Adrian → Adi
• Alexandru → Ale, Alex, Alecu, Sandu
• Ana → Anița, Anica
• Anton → Toni
• Andreea → Deea
• Cătălin(a) → Cătă
• Claudiu → Clau, Diu, Diuţu
• Constantin → Costică, Titi
• Cristian → Cristi
• Daniel → Dan, Dani,Dănuţ
• Dorina → Dori, Dana
• Elena → Ema, Lena, Lenuţa
• Eugen → Jenică; Eugenia → Jeni
• Fernanda → Anda
• Florentina → Ina, "Flori"
• Gabriel → Gabi
• Georgeta → Geta
• Georgina → Gina
• Gheorghe → Georgică, Gică, Gigi, Guţă, Ghio
• Horaţiu → Hori
• Ileana → Nuţi
• Ion, Ioan → Ionel, Ionuţ, Nelu, Neluțu, Nuțu
• Marilena → Mari
• Maria → Mărioara, Mimi, Mioara
• Mihaela → Mela, Ela, Eluța, Mica
• Monica → Moni
• Nicolae → Nicu, Nicuşor, Nae, "Niki"
• Octavian → Tavi
• Ovidiu → Ovi
• Petre → Petrică, Petruţ, Petrişor
• Raluca → Ralu, Uca
• Ştefan → Fane, Fănel, Fănică, Ştefănel
• Tiberiu/Tibor → Tibi
• Teodor → Teo
• Valentin → Vali
• Vasile → Lică, Vasilică, "Sile"
• Viorel → Relu
• Victoria → Victorița, Vica
• Vlad → Vlăduţ, Duțu

Russian

Russian has a wide variety of diminutive forms for names, to the point that for non-Russian speakers it can be difficult to connect a nickname to the original. Diminutive forms for nouns are usually distinguished with an -ик (-ik), -ок (-ok), -ёк (-yok) (masculine gender), -чк-/-шк- (-chk-/-shk-) and -оньк-/-еньк- (-on’k-/-en’k-) suffixes. Names can be somewhat more arbitrary, but still follow a loose pattern. A list of common names and their diminutive forms:

• Aleksey → Alyosha, Alyoshen'ka, Alyoshka, Lyosha, Lyoshka, Lyoha
• Aleksandr and Aleksandra → Sasha, Sashen'ka, Sashechka, Sashka, Sanya, San'ka, Shura, Shurka, Shurik, Shurochka
• Anastasiya → Nastas'ya, Nastya, Nasten'ka, Nastyushka, Nastyona, Nast'ka, Natasha, Asya, Stasya
• Andrey → Andryusha, Andryuha, Dyusha, Dyukha, Dron
• Anna → Anya, Anyuta, Anyutka, Anechka, Annushka, Nyuta, Nyura, Nyurka, Nyusha
• Artyom → Tyoma,Tyomych
• Boris → Borya, Boren'ka, Boryusha, Bor'ka
• Dmitry → Dima, Dimka, Dimochka, Dimulia, Dimon, Dimych, Mitya, Miten'ka, Mitёnka, Mityusha, Mit'ka
• Elena → Lena, Lenka, Lenochka, Lenochek, Elenchyk, Lenyusya; Alyona, Alyonooshka
• Galina → Galya, Galka, Galechka
• Gennady → Gena, Gesha, Genka, Genych, Genchik, Genochka
• Georgiy → Zhora, Gosha, Goga, Yury
• Gleb → Glebka
• Grigoriy → Grisha, Grinya
• Igor → Igoryok, Igoryochek, Gosha, Garik
• Irina → Ira, Irochka, Irunya, Irisha, Irishka, Irka, Irinka, Irusya
• Ivan → Vanya, Ivanushka, Vanechka, Van'ka, Vanyusha
• Kirill → Kiryusha, Kirya
• Konstantin → Kostya, Kosten'ka, Kostik, Kost'ka
• Kseniya and Oksana → Oksanka, Ksana, Sana, Ksyuha, Ksyusha
• Leonid → Lyonya, Lyonechka, Lyon'ka
• Lev → Lyova, Lyovochka, Lyovka
• Mariya → Masha, Manya, Mashen'ka, Mashechka, Mashka, Marusya
• Mikhail → Misha, Mishen'ka, Mischechka, Mishanya, Mishka, Mishutka, Miha
• Nadezhda → Nadya, Nad'ka, Naden'ka, Nadyusha
• Nataliya → Natasha, Nata, Natashen'ka, Natusen'ka, Natusik, Natashka
• Nikolay → Kolya, Kolen'ka, Nikolen'ka, Nikolasha, Kol'ka, Kolyan
• Oleg → Olezhka, Olezha, Olezhek, Olegushka, Lega, Lyoka
• Olga → Olya, Olen'ka, Olechka
• Pavel → Pasha, Pashka, Pashen'ka, Pavlik
• Pyotr → Petya, Pet'ka, Peten'ka, Petrusha, Petyunya
• Radimir → Radya, Mira
• Roman → Roma, Romka, Romochka, Romych
• Sergey → Seryozha, Seryoga, Seryozhen'ka, Seryozhka, Seriy
• Stepan → Styopa, Styopan'ka, Stepan'chik, Styopushka, Styopka
• Stanislav→ Stasya, Stasik, Stasen'ka
• Sofiya → Sonya, Sonechka, Sofa, Sofochka
• Svetlana → Sveta, Svetochka, Svetyushka, Svetka
• Svyatoslav and Vyacheslav → Slava, Slavik, Slavochka
• Tatyana → Tanya, Tanechka, Tanyusha, Tan'ushka, Tan'ka, Tan'chik
• Vadim → Vadik, Vadimka, Vadya, Vadisha, Vadyusha
• Valery and Valeria → Valera, Lera, Lerusha, Valerka
• Viacheslav → Slava, Slavik, Slavian, Slavutich
• Viktor → Vitya, Viten'ka, Vit'ka
• Vitaly → Vitalik
• Viktoriya → Vika, Vikulechka, Vik
• Vladimir → Volodya, Vova, Vovochka, Voloden'ka, Vovka, Volod'ka, Vovan
• Yaroslav → Yarik, Yaroshka, Slava, Slavik, Slavochka
• Yefim → Fima, Fimochka
• Yekaterina → Katerina, Katya, Katechka, Katen'ka, Katyukha, Katyusha, Kat'ka
• Yevgeny and Yevgenia → Zhenya, Zhenechka, Zhen'ka, Zheka, Zhenyok
• Yuriy → Yura, Yurka

Some names can also be modified with a -ka ending to add a further level of familiarity, but are not normally used for adults who are not family members.

Serbian

• Aleksandar → Aca, Sale, Saša
• Aleksandra → Sandra, Saša, Saška
• Ana → Anica
• Dragana → Gaga
• Gordana → Goga, Goca
• Katarina → Kaća, Kata
• Lena → Lenče, Lenka
• Ljiljana → Ljilja
• Ljubomir → Ljuba
• Jelena → Jela, Jeca
• Jovan → Joca, Jovica
• Marija → Mara
• Mirjana → Mira, Mirka
• Slobodan → Sloba, Boba
• Snežana → Sneža
• Vladimir → Vlada, Vlatko
• Zvonimir → Zvonko
• Zoran → Zoki, Kiza

Slovene

In Slovene, diminutives are very common. In many cases they have almost completely replaced their originals (such is the case of Špela for Elizabeta, Branko for Branislav, or Alenka, Majda, and Magda for Magdalena). Especially among female names, the etymological link of the diminutive with the original name has been lost and the diminutive is perceived by most speakers to be a separate name (such is the case for Mojca, deriving from Marija, or Maja and Alenka deriving from Magdalena). In other cases, especially among male names, this link has been kept, but frequently boys are given diminutives as their given names (such as Miha instead of Mihael, Ivo instead of Ivan, or Nejc instead of Jernej etc.)

• Albert → Bert, Berti, Berto
• Aleksander → Sandi, Saša, Sašo, Aleks, Sanja
• Aleksandra → Sandra, Saša
• Aleksej → Aleš
• Alojzij, Alojz → Lojze, Lojz
• Amalija → Malija, Malči
• Ana → Anica, Anka, Ančka, Anita, Anja
• Andrej → Drejc, Drejko
• Angela → Angelca, Angelika
• Anton → Tone, Toni (regional)
• Antonija → Tončka
• Avguštin → Guštin (regional)
• Benjamin → Beno
• Bogoslav → Bogo
• Božidar → Božo, Boško
• Branislav → Branko
• Cecilija → Cilija, Cilka
• Dana → Danica
• Dimitrij → Mito, Mitja
• Edvard → Edo, Edi
• Egidij → Tilen, Ilj, Tilj, Tiljan (regional), Tiljo (regional)
• Elizabeta → Špela, Beti, Betka
• Ferdinand → Ferdo
• France, Franc, Frančišek → Fran, Frane, Franci, Franček, Franek (regional), Feri (regional)
• Frančiška → Francka
• Gregor, Gregorij → Grega
• Henrik → Hinko, Hari, Henko, Henček, Riko, Riki
• Ignacij, Ignac → Nace
• Ivan → Ivo, Vane, Vanko
• Ivana → Ivanka, Vanka
• Jakob → Jaka
• Janez → Janko, Jani, Jan, Anzej, Anžej
• Jernej → Nejc, Nejček, Nejo, Nejko
• Jožef, Josip → Jože, Joško, Pepi (regional), Juš
• Jožefa → Pepca, Jožica
• Jurij → Jure, Juro (regional)
• Karel → Karlo, Karol, Čarli
• Katarina → Katja, Katra
• Leopold → Polde
• Lucija → Lučka
• Magdalena → Maja, Alenka, Alenčica, Majda, Magda
• Margareta → Meta, Metka
• Marija → Mojca, Mara, Marica, Marička, Marina, Mojcej (regional)
• Martin → Tine
• Martina → Tina
• Matej, Matjaž → Matija, Matic, Tjaž
• Mihael → Miha
• Nikolaj → Niko, Nik, Miki (regional)
• Pavel → Pavle
• Peter → Pero
• Rudolf → Rudi
• Sebastijan, Sebastjan → Boštjan
• Stanislav → Stanko, Slavko
• Stanislava → Slavka
• Štefanija → Štefka
• Terezija → Zinka
• Urša → Urša, Uršika
• Valentin → Tine
• Valentina → Tina
• Vincenc → Cene

Spanish

See also: Spanish naming customs and Philippine name

Spanish forms diminutives by adding one of several diminutive suffixes. -ito/a, -cito/a, -ecito/a, -ico/a, -cico/a -illo/a, -cillo/a, -uelo/a, -zuelo/a, -ete/a, -ín, -iño/a:

• Juana → Juanita → Ju
• Jorge → Jorgito → Jor
• Antonio → Antoñín, Antoñito, Antoñete, Antoñillo, Toño

It is common for a person to be known by 2 first names: José Luis, María Teresa, Juan Carlos etc. Combining the 2 names into one is another common way to form a hypocorism:

• María Teresa → Maritere, Mayte, Maité, Marité
• María Luisa → Marisa
• María del Carmen → Mayca, Mame, Mamen
• María Isabel → Maribel, Marisa
• Luz María → Luzma
• María Fernanda → Marifer, Mafer

• María Salvadora → Marisa
• Juan Carlos → Juanca
• Juan Esteban → Juanes
• Juan Manuel → Juanma
• Juan Miguel → Juanmi
• Juan Pablo → Juanpi

Many Spanish nicknames, however, are or can seem very unlike the original name. Notice, however, that the -ch- [tʃ] sound is common in these diminutives:

• Alberto → Berto, Beto
• Alfonso → Fon, Fonso, Fonsi, Poncho
• Anastasio → Tasio, Tacho
• Aniceto → Cheto
• Antonio → Toño
• Beatriz → Bea, Beti
• Carlos → Cacho
• Concepción → Concha, Conchita, Conchi
• Consuelo → Chelo
• Diego → Yago
• Dolores → Lola
• Eduardo → Edu, Lalo
• Enrique → Quique, Rico
• Ernesto → Neto
• Feliciano → Chano
• Felipe → Feli, Pipe

• Federico → Quico, Kiko
• Fernanda → Fer, Nanda
• Fernando → Fer, Nando, Fercho
• Francisco → Fran, Paco, Curro, Pancho, Pacho, Quico
• Graciela → Chela, Gra
• Guadalupe → Lupe, Lupita
• Guillermo → Guille, Guillo, Memo, Picho
• Ignacia → Nacha
• Ignacio → Nacho
• Isabel → Isa, Chavela, Chabela, Chábel, Chava
• Jesús → Chuy, Chus, Chucho, Suso, Jesusín
• Jorge → Coque
• José → Pepe, Chepe
• José María → Chema, Josema
• Juan → Juancho, Juani
• Laura → Lala, Lau, Yaya

• Lidia → Yiya
• Luis → Lucho, Güicho
• Luisa → Lucha
• Manuel → Manu, Manolo, Lolo
• María Fernanda → Máfer, Marifer
• María José → Coté, Marijose, Majo
• Marisela → Chabela, Chela
• Maximina → Chimina
• Mercedes → Meche
• Miguel → Migue
• Ramón → Moncho, Monchi, Ramoncito
• Refugio, María del Refugio → Cuca
• Roberto → Rober, Berto, Beto
• Rosario → Chayo, Charo
• Santiago → Santi, Chago
• Sergio → Checo
• Silvia → Chiva
• Soledad → Sole, Lola
• Vicente → Vicen, Chente

Also, several names (especially female) may have their endings cut off and the vowel -"i" added at the end in the formation of pet names:

• Beatriz → Beti
• Javier → Javi (m.), Javy
• Leticia → Leti
• Pilar, María del Pilar → Pili
• Susana → Susi

Speakers of Philippine languages follow the same system.

Swedish

Male hypocorisms are often based on the first syllable of the name (shortening it if it's long), plus the ending -"e". Hypocorisms are almost always two-syllabic with a grave accent.

• Anders → Adde, Ante
• Andreas → Adde, Ante
• Bengt → Bengan, Benke
• Bo → Bosse
• Daniel → Danne
• Filip → Fille
• Frans → Frasse
• Fredrik → Fredde
• Gustav → Gurra
• Hans → Hasse
• Henrik → Henke
• Henning → Henke
• Jan → Janne

• Joakim → Jocke
• John → Jonte
• Jonatan → Jonte
• Karl → Kalle
• Krister → Krille
• Kristian → Krille
• Kristoffer → Krille, Stoffe
• Lars → Lasse
• Leif → Leffe
• Magnus → Mange
• Mikael → Micke
• Oskar → Orre
• Per → Pelle, Perra

• Pontus → Putte
• Roland → Rolle
• Sebastian → Sebbe, Basse
• Sigvard → Sigge
• Stefan → Steffe
• Sven → Svempa, Svenne
• Tobias → Tobbe
• Tomas → Tompa
• Torbjörn → Tobbe
• Torsten → Totta
• Ulf → Uffe
• Viktor → Vicke
• Vilhelm → Ville

These forms may be quite old: the oldest possible attestation may be the name Sibbi on the Rök Runestone dating to about 800 AD.

See also

• Diminutive
• Nickname
• Term of endearment