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Is there a name for the tabloid media practice of part-initializing, part-abbreviating people's names?

E.g. Jennifer Lopez -> J-Lo, Robert Pattinson -> R-Patz and so on.

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    Annoying, is what I call it. May 13, 2011 at 14:08
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    My favorite truncation of this type is the one for the New York Knicks' all-star center (now retired) Patrick Ewing: P-Ew.
    – Sven Yargs
    Feb 20, 2013 at 4:38

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I would say it's a diminutive, or a nickname (although nickname implies somewhat more familiarity to my ears, it is used in the news as such: “Jennifer Lopez, known by her nickname J-Lo”).

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I think you could probably just call these nicknames — they are highly stylized nicknames, but nicknames nonetheless.

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