No, actually, "Feeney" is a nickname I was given when I married my second and present husband, Sparky (we'll get to his nickname in a minute)

His nephew, Tony, (also mine since we're married) decided that I remind him of Shirley Feeney from Laverne and Shirley. That was almost eighteen years ago and I have been "Aunt Feeney" ever since. By the way, I look nothing like her. It stems from my being a New Yorker originally. Maybe the accent?

Nicknames are neat. Some are, anyway. What the dictionary says is a nickname is nothing less than compliment to it's owner. A name given to a person to indicate humor, familiararity, or the character of the person.

Sparky's name was originally his father's name. He (the father) acquired it years ago when he worked as a polisher and buffer. Since Sparky is named after his father he acquired the nickname too, Sparky, Jr.

I have had other names too. As a young girl my two brothers called me "Thuze". I have no idea why. That's way too many years ago to remember. My brother, Bruce, had the nickname of "Baby Huey". My sister, Peggy's name is Margaret. Where do they get "Peggy" from Margaret? My other brother, Ralph, is just Ralph, no nickname that I know of. But I still love ya, Ralph!

Some first names are just shortened such as "Bob" for Robert, "Bill" for William, "Chris" for Christine or Christopher, etc.

I have compiled a short list of some famous people with nicknames, and the reason for them if known. They are as follows:

Dwight D. Eisenhower- "Ike"-"Ugly Ike" is what the other kids in school,through high school called him as a boy

Carlos Ray Norris "Chuck Norris"-named while in the Air Force

Joe Namath "Broadway Joe"-named for his fast and free lifestyle

John Luther Jones "Casey Jones"-named for the town he lived in Cayce, Kentucky

Martha Jane Canary "Calamity Jane"-origin unknown

Caius Caesar Germanicus "Caligula"-wore military boots as a child (Caligula=little boots)

Milton Berle "Mr. Television"-for his extremely successful tv show Texaco Star Theater

Clerow Wilson-"Flip"-he got his nickname while in the Air Force because of his quick wit. He flipped people out with his stories

John Birks Gillespie-"Dizzy"-jazz musician-he earned his nickname for his comical stage antics

That's about all I have for now. Except that I would like to thank my husband for putting up with all the hours I spend on my Webtv. (It is now a few years later, 2003, and now I'm on a computer.) I will be adding things to this page (this is my first attempt.) In the meantime, why not check out some of my family's sites?

And if you enjoyed my pages, please take time to sign my guestbook and let me know what you think.

Here are a few more names I've just added 7-20-99

Johann Sebastian Bach-"The Old Wig"-in his lifetime, his music was considered so boring and out of date that even his family called him this

Humphrey Bogart-"Whiskey Straight"-because of the obvious

Claudette Colbert-"The Fretting Frog"-because she always worried so much about how she looked during filming

Davy Crockett-"The Munchausen of the West"-because no one who knew him believed his outrageous stories of his adventures in the wild

Christopher Columbus-"The Admiral of the Mosquitoes"-nicknamed by his crew because instead of gold and silver they always found insect infested islands

Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson-"The Fighting Pimps"-because they both owned saloons, gambling places and brothels

Billy Graham-"The Preaching Windmill"-because when he started, he would always fling his arms around while he talked

Sam Houston-"The Father of Texas"-this he's known as today, but when he was alive the indians called him "Big Drunk"

Spiro T. Agnew-"Spiro T. Eggplant"-named this by his enemies

Abraham Lincoln-""Honest Abe"-not from politics, but from efforts as a judge and referee at cockfights

Richard Nixon-"Gloomy Gus" by fellow students...he spent so much time studying he also earned the name "Iron Butt" and in Congress..."Tricky Dick"

These last names I've just added are courtesy of my friend, Emma. Check out her great homepages!EMMA'S FUN STUFF

A Proud Member Of

Women Of Strength & Inner Beauty

Free search engine submission and placement services!