Military Nicknames

cthia wrote:

saber964 wrote:[qote="cthia"]I'd hazard a guess based on the fact that most of the military nicknames that we are all accustomed to are mostly American. In the US military, nicknames are a norm. "Maggot" being my favorite from day one in bootcamp. In a monarchy amongst titles and protocols, I wouldn't think disrespectful nicknames would catch on. Heck, nicknames for the ships were sorta frowned upon and had to be enjoyed in secret, like the Nasty Kitty.

-Shannon "Sleeping Beauty" Foraker (until unsafely awakened by the Committee of Public Safety)

-Sonja "Unsociable" Hemphill

Anyways, let's not forget that Honor wore lots of hats and bore lots of titles, even in the nickname arena. She was a baseborn bitch to some. And the "boogeyman" to the Havenites.

A lot of ships have unofficial nicknames, some affectionate and others not so much. Some of the nicknames were officially recognized.

USS Enterprise both unofficially and official as Big E
USS New Jersey Big J or somewhat derisively Jersey Girl
USS Missouri Mighty Mo
USS Constellation Connie and Constipation
USS Cowpens Mighty Moo
USS Valley Forge Valley Girl
USS Wichita Wicked Witch
USS Pensacola Sweet Pea
USS Intrepid Evil Eye

Fox2 wrote:USS Lexington (CC-1/CV-2) Lady Lex
USS Saratoga (CC-2/CV-3) Sara
USS Langley (CV-1/AV-3) Covered Wagon
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) The Big Stick

USS Hopper (DDG-70) is named for "Amazing Grace" Hopper. Don't know if USS Hopper answers to that or not.

Thanks for the info guys. I was not aware of any of them and they are really interesting. But they are all American ships so it doesn't surprise me that they had nicknames. Are there any British warships who bore nicknames?

I googled it and found this site.

The nicknamed British warships seem to more malapropism than anything else.

I wonder if the nicknames were used to confound the enemy?[/quote]

HMS Repulse and HMS Renown Refit and Repair
HMS Agincourt Gin Palace
HMS Queen Elizabeth Queen Bess
HMS Belerophon Billy Ruffian
Some more USN ship nicknames
USS Wisconsin Whiskey
USS Franklin Big Ben
USS Canopus Can of Piss or Can of Puss

CmdrAthenaAprilist wrote:

cthia wrote:I'd hazard a guess based on the fact that most of the military nicknames that we are all accustomed to are mostly American. In the US military, nicknames are a norm. "Maggot" being my favorite from day one in bootcamp. In a monarchy amongst titles and protocols, I wouldn't think disrespectful nicknames would catch on. Heck, nicknames for the ships were sorta frowned upon and had to be enjoyed in secret, like the Nasty Kitty.

-Shannon "Sleeping Beauty" Foraker (until unsafely awakened by the Committee of Public Safety)

-Sonja "Unsociable" Hemphill

Anyways, let's not forget that Honor wore lots of hats and bore lots of titles, even in the nickname arena. She was a baseborn bitch to some. And the "boogeyman" to the Havenites.

Actually, I checked out Wikipedia on the subject and while there are a lot of American names on the list, you can find them in just about anyone's military. The British, Manticore's closest analogue, seemed quite fond of them ("The Great Auk" Auchinleck, "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne). And to reply to a following post as well, we hear of several ships in the Honorverse besides the Nasty Kitty that got nicknames; there was even semi-official discussion about the subject on the Charles Ward. I was more interested in commanders' nicknames.

His men called The Duke of Wellington "Nosey".
The Duke of Marlborough was called "Corporal John" as a term of endearment.
General Robert Crauford "Black Bob" ... supposed to refer to his habit of heavily cursing when losing his temper, his nature as a strict disciplinarian and even to his noticeably dark and heavy facial stubble.

On a more Naval note, The Spanish called Francis Drake "The Dragon"

Timely or what?

Prince Charles' nickname for Meghan Markle is "Tungsten" after the rare metal because she's "tough and unbending just like the very strong metal."

See, Lord Skimper's observation may be even more spot on. Not only is a darker shade of Monarchy possible with Meghan, so too is the possibility that the Soul of Steel may be descendant and forged from shavings off of her very tough mettle/metal.

saber964 wrote:HMS Repulse and HMS Renown Refit and Repair
HMS Agincourt Gin Palace
HMS Queen Elizabeth Queen Bess
HMS Belerophon Billy Ruffian
Some more USN ship nicknames
USS Wisconsin Whiskey
USS Franklin Big Ben
USS Canopus Can of Piss or Can of Puss

Castles of Steel mentions a battleship name rejected because of the likely nicknames.

Castles of Steel wrote:King George V blocked another Churchill battleship name proposal the following year. The First Lord had suggested Pitt to honor the two great prime ministers, father and son. The king rejected the name on an intuition derived from his own many years as a naval officer. Sailors, he knew, tended to find obscene or scatological nicknames for warships; Pitt was too easy and would have an inevitable result."

cthia wrote: Not only is a darker shade of Monarchy possible with Meghan, so too is the possibility that the Soul of Steel may be descendant and forged from shavings off of her very tough mettle/metal.

Romantic idea, but it was my understanding that the titles were bestowed to set themselves apart from the next wave of colonists that they needed to bring in. No one of the original colonists came to Manticore with a ready made title.
Also the queen isn't described as much darker than Meghan?

edgeworthy wrote:

CmdrAthenaAprilist wrote:I'd hazard a guess based on the fact that most of the military nicknames that we are all accustomed to are mostly American. In the US military, nicknames are a norm. "Maggot" being my favorite from day one in bootcamp. In a monarchy amongst titles and protocols, I wouldn't think disrespectful nicknames would catch on. Heck, nicknames for the ships were sorta frowned upon and had to be enjoyed in secret, like the Nasty Kitty.

-Shannon "Sleeping Beauty" Foraker (until unsafely awakened by the Committee of Public Safety)

-Sonja "Unsociable" Hemphill

Anyways, let's not forget that Honor wore lots of hats and bore lots of titles, even in the nickname arena. She was a baseborn bitch to some. And the "boogeyman" to the Havenites.

Actually, I checked out Wikipedia on the subject and while there are a lot of American names on the list, you can find them in just about anyone's military. The British, Manticore's closest analogue, seemed quite fond of them ("The Great Auk" Auchinleck, "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne). And to reply to a following post as well, we hear of several ships in the Honorverse besides the Nasty Kitty that got nicknames; there was even semi-official discussion about the subject on the Charles Ward. I was more interested in commanders' nicknames.

His men called The Duke of Wellington "Nosey".
The Duke of Marlborough was called "Corporal John" as a term of endearment.
General Robert Crauford "Black Bob" ... supposed to refer to his habit of heavily cursing when losing his temper, his nature as a strict disciplinarian and even to his noticeably dark and heavy facial stubble.

On a more Naval note, The Spanish called Francis Drake "The Dragon"[/quote]

There are different types of nicknames. Ones bestowed by enemies tend to be admiring...why bother coming up with a name for an idiot?

Ship names are more formalized than those for people. Usually for your leader, someone pops up with a name. And in today's military a lot of people pick their own nicknames (pilots in particular) but some come from the call signs they use.

cthia wrote: I'd hazard a guess based on the fact that most of the military nicknames that we are all accustomed to are mostly American. In the US military, nicknames are a norm. "Maggot" being my favorite from day one in bootcamp. In a monarchy amongst titles and protocols, I wouldn't think disrespectful nicknames would catch on. Heck, nicknames for the ships were sorta frowned upon and had to be enjoyed in secret, like the Nasty Kitty.

-Shannon "Sleeping Beauty" Foraker (until unsafely awakened by the Committee of Public Safety)

-Sonja "Unsociable" Hemphill

Anyways, let's not forget that Honor wore lots of hats and bore lots of titles, even in the nickname arena. She was a baseborn bitch to some. And the "boogeyman" to the Havenites.

CmdrAthenaAprilist wrote:Actually, I checked out Wikipedia on the subject and while there are a lot of American names on the list, you can find them in just about anyone's military. The British, Manticore's closest analogue, seemed quite fond of them ("The Great Auk" Auchinleck, "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne). And to reply to a following post as well, we hear of several ships in the Honorverse besides the Nasty Kitty that got nicknames; there was even semi-official discussion about the subject on the Charles Ward. I was more interested in commanders' nicknames.

edgeworthy wrote:His men called The Duke of Wellington "Nosey".
The Duke of Marlborough was called "Corporal John" as a term of endearment.
General Robert Crauford "Black Bob" ... supposed to refer to his habit of heavily cursing when losing his temper, his nature as a strict disciplinarian and even to his noticeably dark and heavy facial stubble.

On a more Naval note, The Spanish called Francis Drake "The Dragon"

ldwechsler wrote:There are different types of nicknames. Ones bestowed by enemies tend to be admiring...why bother coming up with a name for an idiot?

Ship names are more formalized than those for people. Usually for your leader, someone pops up with a name. And in today's military a lot of people pick their own nicknames (pilots in particular) but some come from the call signs they use.

On the other had, there were numerous Iraqi leaders that had been given uncomplimentary nicknames prior to the invasion; topped by Saddam Hussein as "the Butcher of Baghdad".

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote: I'd hazard a guess based on the fact that most of the military nicknames that we are all accustomed to are mostly American. In the US military, nicknames are a norm. "Maggot" being my favorite from day one in bootcamp. In a monarchy amongst titles and protocols, I wouldn't think disrespectful nicknames would catch on. Heck, nicknames for the ships were sorta frowned upon and had to be enjoyed in secret, like the Nasty Kitty.

-Shannon "Sleeping Beauty" Foraker (until unsafely awakened by the Committee of Public Safety)

-Sonja "Unsociable" Hemphill

Anyways, let's not forget that Honor wore lots of hats and bore lots of titles, even in the nickname arena. She was a baseborn bitch to some. And the "boogeyman" to the Havenites.

CmdrAthenaAprilist wrote:Actually, I checked out Wikipedia on the subject and while there are a lot of American names on the list, you can find them in just about anyone's military. The British, Manticore's closest analogue, seemed quite fond of them ("The Great Auk" Auchinleck, "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne). And to reply to a following post as well, we hear of several ships in the Honorverse besides the Nasty Kitty that got nicknames; there was even semi-official discussion about the subject on the Charles Ward. I was more interested in commanders' nicknames.

edgeworthy wrote:His men called The Duke of Wellington "Nosey".
The Duke of Marlborough was called "Corporal John" as a term of endearment.
General Robert Crauford "Black Bob" ... supposed to refer to his habit of heavily cursing when losing his temper, his nature as a strict disciplinarian and even to his noticeably dark and heavy facial stubble.

On a more Naval note, The Spanish called Francis Drake "The Dragon"

ldwechsler wrote:There are different types of nicknames. Ones bestowed by enemies tend to be admiring...why bother coming up with a name for an idiot?

Ship names are more formalized than those for people. Usually for your leader, someone pops up with a name. And in today's military a lot of people pick their own nicknames (pilots in particular) but some come from the call signs they use.

On the other had, there were numerous Iraqi leaders that had been given uncomplimentary nicknames prior to the invasion; topped by Saddam Hussein as "the Butcher of Baghdad".

Google Bagdad Bob aka Comical Ali the Iraqi Minister of Information. Or the unknown Luckiest man in Iraq.

Not to forget aircraft that have had nicknames either.

The Mossie (or Mozzie) should be obvious, but maybe not so much the Stringbag or the Wimpy.

WLBjork wrote:Not to forget aircraft that have had nicknames either.

The Mossie (or Mozzie) should be obvious, but maybe not so much the Stringbag or the Wimpy.

De Havilland Mosquito

Fairly Swordfish

Vickers Wellington


Which one is the correct nickname of the P-40?

Kitty Hawk
Tomahawk
Warhawk