Nicknames

I've always thought it was interesting how nicknames come about and evolve. I've discovered that you can't really pick a nickname, they just kind of happen. My friend Amber always wanted a nickname and was always making them up for everyone else, but they never stuck for her. But, she definitely has a talent for coming up with names for other people. I think she gets it from her dad, who rarely calls people the same thing twice.
She has come up with some rather interesting ones over the years, but my very favorite (because it is so random and not even close to the original name) is that she calls her sister William. Her real name is Claire. It all started because Amber would always say, "What you talkin about, Willis?" to her all the time. So, that got shortened to Willis, then Will, then William, and sometimes, Wilhelm.
There's always a logical sequence if you get an explanation, but you can't always see the connection right off between the nickname and the real name.
I always thought it was pecular when nicknames were longer than the original name too. Because I thought the reason for a nickname was to shorten the name. But, it's amazing the things that stick. In high school, my friends all called me Malaria (thanks to Amber). That's a whole 2 syllables extra added to my name. But, it stuck, so my nickname was a disease.
When we named Britton, I kind of thought that we would call him Britt a lot. But, we never do. Maybe because it sounds like a girl or maybe because it just doesn't fit him. I don't know. We've never called him anything but Britton.
But, with Haley, we hardly ever call her by her name. From the beginning, I called her Haley Bug which over time has evolved to "Bug", "Bugs", "HayBug", etc. And we call her "Hay" or "HayHay" all the time too.
It's just funny how somethings just seem to fit and so they stick.