England Female Nicknames - International Institute

Diminutives
During the 18th century the old pet names for Elizabeth such as Bess, Betty and Liz became established as given names in their own right and they start to be seen in parish registers as official names from about 1750. There seem to be more diminutives for girls, but for some male names there are many diminutives perhaps reflecting the fact that there were a lot of men having certain popular names. North Americans, in particular, may not know the common nicknames used for proper names in England, or may assume that the usage is the same as in North America. Boys’ names, in particular, are frequently abbreviated in the records and these forms have been included as well. Alan Bardsley’s First Name Variants should be consulted for a much more extensive selection. He lists over 230 for Elizabeth alone!

Chart: Some Common English Girls’ Nicknames &amp; Alternate Forms

Note: A girl could be christened with a nickname instead.

Feminized Versions
Many girls’ names are feminized versions of boys’ ones. English examples include Hectorina, Jane, Janet, Joan (these three from John), Michaela, Paula, Petra, Patricia, Roberta. From northern Europe come Hansine (Hans), Johanna (Johann/John), Larsine (Lars), Nielsine (Niels), Rasmine (Rasmus) and Wilhelmina (Wilhelm/William) and there are dozens more. ________________________________________

Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English - Understanding Names in Genealogy offered by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com] &lt;br&gt;

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