Word for changing or shortening or abbreviating a given name

Question

I came to this website when I was looking for a particular word - but did not use a thesaurus because I could not think of a good synonym.

Instead I searched for

Word for changing or shortening or abbreviating a given name

After amending the original search to try to get what I am seeking & so far what is here is the nearest but I KNOW there is a word for exactly that which I seek.

THIS is getting to be a long entry and unlikely to attract any, let alone many readers.

I am writing in England and am 66 years old - the word 'fanny' in my era is slang for the most intimate part of a woman's body, yet means other things in other versions of English, and is indeed used as a woman's nickname in England on some occasions. So what I am after is something about renaming akin to a nickname - I had hoped it will come back to me but it has not yet!

All this was prompted by the sight of a product supplied in a can - I am not sure where from - that contains what I know as tuna fish but is called 'Fanny' and therefore if it were seen in a British provision store might produce a smirk or embarrassed giggles because some, such as me, would consider it rude - I have said too much.

My wife could not help, she compared it to 'Betty' as an alternative to Elizabeth - but I do not think that is quite the same - as Betty - to me seems - a definite abbreviation of Elizabeth.

I may have posted this in the wrong place - I am happy for it to be repositioned perhaps with a more accurate subject line - BUT I just want to recall that blessed word and improve my grammar!

I imagine my sentence might be -

In the family she is known as Fanny because that is how we have XXXXXXXXXXX her formal name of Ermintrude/Glorianna/(or whatever)

Answer 1

hypocorism: (also known as a pet name or calling name), 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.

James --> Jimmy
Charles --> Charlie

Answer 2

You are probably looking for a word diminutive which is a noun:

A diminutive word is a "cute" version of a regular word, "Maggie" is the diminutive of "Margaret." ^{per vocabulary.com}

So your "have XXXXXXXXXXX her formal name" = "have formed a diminutive of her formal name."

Answer 3

You named it yourself, nickname is the term you're looking for.

nickname

(n.) a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret Random House

(v.) to give a nickname to American Heritage® Dictionary

Answer 4

Wikipedia suggests the following verbs: abbreviate, modify, contract, and shorten. Alternatively, the verb truncate could be used, which means to chop the head or the tail of something.

Abbreviation or modification

A nickname can be a shortened or modified variation on a person's real name.

• Contractions of longer names: Margaret to Greta.

• Initials using the first letters of a person's first and last name.

• Dropping letters: With many nicknames, one or more letters, usually R, are dropped: Fanny from Frances, Walt from Walter.

• Phonetic spelling : Sometimes a nickname is created through the phonetic spelling of a name: Len from Leonard

But perhaps the OP is thinking of the expression pet name, which isn't the name you give to a pet but to a dear friend, or a member of the family. It usually has no bearing with the owner's given or first name (once called Christian name).

Oxford Dictionaries tells us is:

pet name
A name that is used instead of someone’s usual first name to express fondness or familiarity

• And ‘Pinky’ is a name (more of a pet name, really) that both men and women choose or are given.

Answer 5

The hypocoristic form of a name is, as mentioned above, a diminutive form of a name (James becomes Jim or Jimmie, Elizabeth becomes Liz, Beth, or Bettie, Robert becomes Bob or Rob or Bobbie...) but can also refer to a pet name (which may not derive directly from the given name). A sobriquet is a nickname or pet name and requires no direct lineage to the given name (I have a friend named Howard but everyone calls him Skip). I know this is a LATE post but... just throwing it out there.