Most Aussies do, especially in the Mallee.
There would hardly be a person without one, some people I knew up there I didn’t know their real names.
There was Ferret, Blue (he had red hair), Shorty, Fly, Buggs, Dotty, Stretch, ‘Dick’ (short for Richard) and Teddy (short for Edward).
Macca — anyone with a Mc in their surname.
I was called Lizzie at school. When I was little, my dad called me “Grizzle Lizzle”; well, I don’t think I grizzle that much.
Names are important or when people have babies they wouldn’t be poring over name books or scouring the internet for the perfect name for their child.
Did you play that game What’s the time, Mr Wolf?
Our version was that a person would stand away at the end of the lawn, facing the other way (being the wolf) and count out “one o’clock, two o’clock”, and we could take steps with the amount the letters in our name, to sneak up behind the wolf.
Your letters would keep you safe but when you ran out of letters you were fair game for the wolf, and he would yell out, “It’s dinner time”, and chase us around and tag us, while everyone was shrieking in the yard.
It was fun and I would use my full name, Elizabeth, because it had more letters and I was safe for longer in the game. So, I loved my long name then.
Names are used everywhere. People used to say “In the name of the king I decree…”, like in Cinderella when all single ladies had to go to the ball — in the name of the king.
In the name of the government...
Don’t give our work place a bad name by...
Don’t give our town a bad name by leaving rubbish everywhere...
Where your school uniform properly so you don’t give the school a bad name.
In the old days, students had to wear hats on public transport, so my mum told me.
Names in the Bible were very important. They hold our personal identity, and our family history and our culture.
Sometimes people have the same name for generations: Thomas Brown and Thomas Brown Jr or Charles the third, Charles the fourth and so on.
I like names with strong meanings.
Many people in the Bible would have their names altered, some churches still give confirmation names.
Anyhow, this guy in the Bible named Abram had his name altered to Abraham by God in Genesis 17:5 to signify a promise that he would be a father of many people and generations.
Simon, a fisherman, was renamed Peter, which means ‘rock’ and symbolised Peter’s future role in starting many churches, being like the Pope in his time. Peter was a nickname in those days.
But there is a name above all names and nicknames, and that name is Jesus.
It has power, it has healing, it has comfort, it has protection. Just saying “In the name of Jesus be healed”, people have been healed.
Crying out “Help me, Jesus”, people have had their lives changed.
‘In the Name of Jesus’ is higher and more powerful than any man’s authority.
Asking Jesus into your heart is the most important thing you can do.
I don’t know if he had a nickname. Perhaps, as he was a carpenter on Earth, we would call him a chippy or a tradie.
Try the name of Jesus.
The name above all names!
Liz Spicer
Kyabram P-12 College chaplain
18°C