ARE NICKNAMES BECOMING LESS COMMON?  I hope not.  But I asked AI, and it said yes.  (And so did this.).

When I was growing up, many of the adults on the street had nicknames.  Mr. Hudkins was “Cracker.”  Nobody ever called him by his given name “Carl.”  Mr. Martin was “Tricky” and never called “Aubrey.”  And Mrs. Litton was “Kick.”  My generation, by contrast, mostly had the standard diminutives for their given names–like “Tommy,” “Danny,” and “Ricky.”  The only exception I can think of was “Jamie James,” whose real given name was Raymond.  Even the standard diminutives are apparently less common now.

I didn’t know that “Cracker” was considered an ethnic slur until I moved to Chicago for college.  My Texas-born boyfriend (later spouse) nearly fell off his chair laughing when I told him about Cracker.  He suggested that I avoid calling anyone that lest they take offense.  Of course, it would never have occurred to me to do so.  Only Cracker was Cracker.