My friend Erica over at Scottsville, ask me a question about my name. I started to leave my answer in the comments, but decided that there might be others wondering where my name came from and how it was pronounced. So, why not post about it!!!
My given name is Michele. I have had every kind of nickname that can go with it too. "'chele," "Meesh," "Shelly." My nephew even called me "Shelf" for a while. The other day at the daycare where I work, my hubby Kevin was there too. There is a little one and a half year old girl who is learning to talk and doing a good job of it. Her favorite game is saying every one's name. Of course they never sound just right and we enjoy laughing with her. I asked her to say "Michele." It unfortunately came out sounding like "hell." (I might just have to change my name!) The kicker is that when she tried to say my hub's name, it came out sounding like "heaven." Something so very wrong with that...
Anyway, the question of the day was about my nickname "Mich." I was given the name by my best friend in high school. Although I have a feeling the name "Michelle/ Michele" will be very popular in the next few years, due to our currant first lady, when I was a kid it was one of the most common names. I remember always having to go by my last name too in grade school, because I was never the only Michele in class. Sometimes there would even be more than two. My friend in school decided that there were too many Michele's and Shelly's, so she decided to call me something different. "Mich." It stuck. My sister and dad even started using it at times. (My mom believes that if she wanted you to be called by a nickname she would have named you that.) When my husband discovered it in college, he started using it too. I don't use it all the time, but those near and dear to my heart use it often.
It sounds like "Mitch," just without the "t." I've been answering to it for almost 25 years now, so I think I'll keep it.
What about you? Do you have a nickname that just kind of stuck? I would love to hear about it.
Oh, and by the way my name is spelled with one "l." It is not a typo. But that is another story in itself...
14 comments:
Mich,
Well recently as about 6 years ago, I started going by the name of Kat. My real name is Kathleen which sounds so proper and grown up. Like something from the Victorian era. I only used it when I was working in the corporate business world. I grew up with the name Kathy and hated it. My only variation during school was I spelled it with an i instead of a y. Just seemed all cheerleaderish for me. I was never the cheerleader type and always loved every one else's name.
However when I am introduced to new people I tell them I am Kathy but they can call me Kat for short. It is a whole lot easier and when I used to say Kat, people would call me Pat instead.
I love your nickname and that is exactly why I suspected it was Mich and not Michelle or Michele.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Good! That's how I was pronouncing it my head. Ha! I had a feeling it might be short for Michele. I am one of those Moms like yours about the nickname thing, only when I had Lily, I decided to go ahead and name her Lilian, so I broke my own rule because we call her Lily.
I never had any nicknames. My Mom tried when I was very little to shorten my name once, and that was the only time, because I didn't like it at all. I was probably only 3 or 4 at the time. :)
Just gretchen. Occasionally, Gretch, by my hubby. And more rare still: Greta. By my grum. But usually...Gretchen
Very cool. I love hearing about names and the stories behind them.
Well, my parents named me Faith Elaine, but called me Elaine because my sister's name is Joy. It's messed me up my entire life. There's also a great parallel in the story as well...
the lifelong struggle between my "faith" and my "elaine". I'll let you chew on that one for awhile.
Mitch, without the "t"...
peace~elaine
My name is actually Christina. But I have never been called that. Christy has always been the name that people called me. Unless, of course, you include mom, momma, mommy, hun, babe, and hey you! :)
My first and last name is Angela Kaye. When my sister was little she tried to say my whole name and it came out Ninny Kaye. That stuck for a long time. Thankfully it eventually went away. In 5th grade (lived overseas) my classmates gave out nicknames that my teacher laughed and even encouraged. Unfortunately mine was "Bloated". All the boys in my class where very small, hadn't hit their growth spurt yet, and I towered over them. I was NOT fat (then) but the felt
Bloated best described me. Now my husband calls me Bear. I also answer to Ang.
OK, I meant to say my first and MIDDLE name is Angela Kaye. Why can't I learn to proofread?????
Woop Woop! You go girl!
I'm so glad to know how to "say" your name now. I would always say it three times when I got a comment from you, and it would sound something like this, "Oh, I got a comment from Mitch, Mish, Mick". ha ha ha Like it was my duty to say it all three ways cuz only ONE of them was the right way. I figured your name was Michele. =0)
My nickname was "Yucca". Everyone from my highschool days knows me as that. It's cuz my sister couldn't say "Erica" when I was born and it came out "Ucca" which slowly morphed to "Yucca" and it stuck.
Nobody calls me that anymore - except those old highschool friends when I run into them. =0)
Thanks for the shout-outs, "MiCH!"
That is sweet. My nickname is "Nan", but since Nan at momstheword was at our church first, people don't call me Nan at church. It gets too confusing.
We have 6 Debbie's at our church. For a church of about 120, that's a lot of Debbie's. Two left and two more replaced them within 2 to 3 years.
"Mich" is so cute. I'm glad you kept it.
Have a great weekend.
Hi Mich,
I like your nickname. I thought it is funny, because I am a lot like your mother about names/nicknames. I like nicknames for my children as long as they do not replace the name I gave my children. We named our third son Jonathan Patrick, on close relative immediately called him JP, as did Bill’s close friend, whose name is Patrick. I was unhappy, to say the least, and said that if I wanted to name him JP I would have, and that I did not want anyone calling him JP. I knew if I did not put a stop to it, JP would become his name. ☺
One of my sisters calls me Hope-A-Lela-Dear.
♥Hope
Now I want to hear the one "L" instead of two stories.
well from one Michelle (two els please for me)...to another.....I love Mich.
I have never had a nickname for Michelle....but pretty sure people call me many names. *wink
Question.....do people near you say
Mee-shell (accent on first syllable)
or
Mih-shell (accent on second syllable)
???
But Mom calls me "Amb."
Glad she didn't put that on the birth certificate.
Love ya...Mich.
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