Nickname lists
Nicknames for real people rather than invented characters. Every list here is written by hand and split into sections, so you can go straight to the cute ones, the funny ones or the ones in another language.
1 nickname list, 102 hand picked nicknames ·
Written and checked by 
Wren Calloway
How do you pick a nickname that actually sticks?
Pick one that is true about the person rather than true about everyone. A habit, a hobby or a shortened version of their own name will outlast any generic sweet word, because nobody else fits it. Then say it out loud a few times before you use it in front of anyone.
A nickname is a small piece of private language. It marks out the way two people speak to each other when nobody else is listening, which is why a name borrowed straight from a list so often feels flat on the first attempt and right on the third, after it has been shortened, stretched or mispronounced into something of your own.
Why these lists are split into sections
Nobody wants two hundred names in one column. Every page in this group is broken into named sections, one for each way of choosing: the tone you want, the language you want it in, the thing he or she actually does all day, and the letters already sitting in their own name. Reading one section and ignoring the rest is the intended way to use them.
A tool sits under the list, not above it
The generators elsewhere on this site answer a different question. When you are naming twelve villagers, a tool is the right answer. When you are naming one person you love, a hand written list is, so on these pages the list comes first and the generator sits underneath as a way of breaking a tie. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Common questions
How long should a nickname be?
One or two syllables for anything you plan to say every day, because that is the length that survives being called across a room. Longer ones work as a joke precisely because nobody would shorten them, which is why Sir Snores a Lot is funny and Sir would not be. Most couples keep one short name and one long one.
What if he does not like the nickname?
Retire it and try one from a different section. Watch what he does rather than what he says: a name he accepts comes back to you, gets used in front of his friends, and eventually gets shortened again. A name he tolerates simply never reappears, and that silence is the answer.
Is it strange to use a nickname in another language?
No, and it is one of the most common things couples do. What matters is using a word native speakers actually use rather than a dictionary translation of an English pet name. Every foreign entry on these lists says what it means, roughly how it is said, and which countries really use it.
Can you make a nickname out of somebody's real name?
Yes, and it is usually the version that lasts, because the raw material already belongs to them. Clip the name to one or two syllables, add a soft ending, take the end of the name instead of the start, or read the initials out loud as a word. Each of those rules has worked examples on the list.
Do you have a nickname generator as well as these lists?
Every list page carries one, sitting underneath the lists rather than above them. It builds soft two word pet names and it is there to break a tie when two names from the lists are level, which is a smaller job than the lists do. The character and team name tools live in the other group.
Are these lists safe to read at work or with family around?
Yes. Everything on these pages is written for a general audience: nothing suggestive, nothing that mocks anybody's body, and nothing that would be awkward said out loud in front of his parents. The teasing entries all point at a habit, which is the kind of joke a person can laugh at.