Best Bud/Worst Bud

Our four boys have nicknames for each other:
The middle two call each other Best Bud or Bestie for short. They say it with a certain amount of sarcasm, as if they're not really best buddies. But they are. They call and text each other almost every day, even though they live 250 miles away from each other.
It soon became apparent that they needed a nickname for the oldest brother, so naturally he became Worst Bud or Worstie. Note that his nickname is delivered with affection. Honest.
The youngest brother became Little Boonie Bud which comes from Boone which is what he goes by even though his real name is Byron. Got that? His brothers also call him Big Blinga. I'm pretty sure that one is delivered sarcastically.

#1, age 26: Austin/Worst Bud









#2, age 24: Nolan/Best Bud (to Carlin)/El Gato (don't ask)








#3, age 23: Carlin/Best Bud (to Nolan)








#4, age 21: Byron/Boone/Little Boonie Bud/Big Blinga










With 4 boys only 5 years apart, it's hard for people to remember who's who. And I don't expect anyone to keep them straight. So over the years, I started to refer to them by numbers. In person, I still call them by their name, not number, although I can't claim to always get the right name at the right time. And they call each other by name or nickname, not number. It's only when I'm talking about them to students or colleagues or friends (or readers like you) that I use numbers. It just seems easier for everyone.

People seem to have a hard time remembering which name goes with which kids because 1) they're close in age, therefore close in size growing up, 2) they look alike, and 3) they all have tricky names. Austin, Nolan, Carlin and Byron all end with the same last syllable. I can blame this on my husband's family. His mom had 6 (!) kids, named Kevin, Galen, Maren, Loryn, Quentin, and Curtin, which all end with the same -n syllable. Yes, Curt's real name is Curtin. It came from a great-grandfather, Samuel Curtin Davidson. Anyway, Curtin married Megan (mine was the only spouse's name that fit the pattern) and we decided to continue the tradition. I like the tradition, but I know it made it hard for people to keep them straight. Grandma used a famous amalgamated name Au-No-Ca-Byron (pronounced AnnikaByron) when she couldn't get the right name quick enough.

It's funny that they're all so close to each other because they're really quite different. Growing up, they fought plenty, but they also played together plenty and because they were so close in age, they often had the same circle of friends. When the youngest one was turning 21 last year, the people he most wanted to spend it with were his brothers. So they all 4 came from their respective cities and met in Seattle to go to a Mariners game to celebrate Little Boonie Bud turning 21.

Commonwealthy Names

New Zealand is definitely a former British colony. There is an especially strong Scottish influence. As such, we've noticed different naming trends here compared to the US.

Curt works with a lot of men named Colin and Graham and Nigel. In addition, there seems to be a lot of Simons and Frasers. There's also plenty of people named Hamish and Angus, young and old. I'm afraid Hamish and Angus aren't very common names in the States. In fact, if you named your baby Hamish or Angus, your poor kid would probably be the laughing stock of the school.

Female names in New Zealand are not as distinctive except for Phillippa (or Pippa) which is common. As far as I can tell, most NZ female names are relatively similar to US female names. There's Emily and Jenny and Katie, etc. But there doesn't seem to be very many females named Tiffany or Jordan or Ashley, and there's few males named Justin or Taylor or Dakota.

Some British-sounding last names are: Doherty, Lawry, and Haworth. But I don't notice as much difference between NZ last names and US last names.

So far, all my observations have been concerning the "white" or Pakeha population. But NZ has a high number of immigrants and their names are becoming more prevalent. There's plenty of Chinese names and Indian names (the subcontinent, not Native-Americans) and a noticeable dearth of Spanish/Mexican names which I was accustomed to in the US.

There are also heaps of Maori names and Pacific Islander names that roll off your tongue lyrically. I had Maori students named Rangi, Teina, Arama, and Parai. There's beautiful Maori place names too like Papakura and Timaru and Rangitoto. Some Pacific Islanders' names can be really long and confusing for me. There's a man at church whose last name is Taule'ale'ausumai. The others at church can pronounce it, but I can't yet. Other islanders' names are easier for me such as Sapolu and Lolohea.

Of course, I'm not really pronouncing any of these names "right" whether they're Pakeha or Maori, because I say them all with an American accent instead of a Kiwi accent. But that's a whole 'nother topic.

All Black teams

New Zealand's high-profile rugby team is called the All Blacks, which has spawned many creative derivatives:
Tall Blacks - the NZ basketball team
Small Blacks - kids' fan club for the All Blacks
Wheel Blacks - NZ wheelchair rugby team (I'm not kidding)
All Whites - NZ soccer team
Black Caps - cricket team
Black Cups - barristas (making lattes, vs Australia's coffeeroos)
Black Sticks - hockey team
Black Sox - softball team
Black Cocks - badminton team
Black Magic - sailboat (America's Cup)
Black Ferns - women's rugby team
Silver Ferns - women's netball team
White Ferns - women's cricket team
White Sox - women's softball team

I have a few ideas for more team names:
• Naming the NZ Karate team would be easy - Black Belts.
• The curling team could be the Black Brooms. (if there is a curling team)
• Perhaps the polo team could be the Black Mallets or the Black Ponies.
• How about a team called Black Balls? Surely there's a "ball" team out there needing a name ... bowling maybe?
• I think the national swimming team should be referred to collectively as Black Water. That sounds ominous, don't you think? Maybe it would even help them beat those dastardly Aussies.
• The possibilities are endless. There could be Black Wickets (croquet) and Black Racquets (tennis) and maybe even the Black Holes (golf).
• While we're at it, the postal service could be the Black Mail and the store selling All Blacks memorabilia could be called the Black Market.
• Hasn't there ever been an All Black named Jack who they called Black Jack? Or one named Smith who was called Black Smith?
• Of course, for all I know, some of these names may already exist.

You probably noticed that most of the women's teams prefer to soften their image compared to the blackness of all those black teams. They go for silver teams and white teams and fern teams. (The fern is a national symbol) What I want to know is why the women's cricket team isn't the White Caps like the men's Black Caps? It seems appropriate since NZ is surrounded by so much water.

Overall, I heartily approve of New Zealand's clever team names. They're so much more creative than Team Canada or the Dream Team.

I have one confession, though. I have to admit that I do like one of Australia's team names. They call their soccer team the Socceroos. Cute.