www.talkcyprus.org

[depurple]

In Cyprus many had a Nick Name given to them: Either when they did something silly or it was given to them by others and even given as a bet between friends:
There are times if you dont use their Nick Names you wont find the person you are looking for:
Do Turkish Cypriot have them as well? Erolz ?Mete? Let me know?

In Lapithos it was very common: We had many Nick Names: Here are some:
Katoropetaktis: Urine Thrower:
Mavo Zambis: Black Calf Muscles:
Mastrapas: Tin Potty:
Montgomery: Becasue he looked like him:
Germanos: Because he lived in Germany:
Australezzos: My Grandfather because he lived Down Under:
Do you guys know any more names?

ALSO: One more question:
Why do many in Cyprus take their fathers First name and not his Surname????
By doing this they looses who their anchestors where:
It doesn't make sence to me:
cheers
PS In Australia My Nick Name is Geronimo:
Because I had long hair and wore a head band like a Red Indian:
People used to say to me HOW!
And I would say; "I know HOW but I dont know WHEN!"

[moonskin]

Quote: In Cyprus many had a Nick Name given to them: Either when they did something silly or it was given to them by others and even given as a bet between friends:
There are times if you dont use their Nick Names you wont find the person you are looking for:
Do Turkish Cypriot have them as well? Erolz ?Mete? Let me know?

Sure. Generally those nicks emphesize something funny about the person they are given for. Although it is not so funny nick, the name of the carpenter we used to go was "sakalli" which means "the man with beard". Well, he had long beard. Sometimes those nicks become so common that people name their stores after them.

Quote: In Lapithos it was very common: We had many Nick Names: Here are some:
Katoropetaktis: Urine Thrower:
Mavo Zambis: Black Calf Muscles:
Mastrapas: Tin Potty:
Montgomery: Becasue he looked like him:
Germanos: Because he lived in Germany:
Australezzos: My Grandfather because he lived Down Under:
Do you guys know any more names?

Yes, this kind of nicks are very common with Turkish Cypriots too.

Quote: ALSO: One more question:
Why do many in Cyprus take their fathers First name and not his Surname????


Not anymore. This used to be the case until a law for surnames was in place. My father's old documents has my grandpa's first name as surname. There was just no concept of surname at that time. This was how it used to be until someone made the law and asked everybody to choose one surname.

Cheers!

[thebrix]

depurple wrote:
ALSO: One more question:
Why do many in Cyprus take their fathers First name and not his Surname????
By doing this they looses who their anchestors where:
It doesn't make sence to me:


It was a common system. It still exists in Iceland (the next generation has father's first name as surname plus -son or -dottír) and it used to exist in Scotland (same rule except that the father's first name was prefixed by Mac- or Nin-). Quite possibly it still exists in some form in other countries.

The Icelandic phone book is odd as a result - the search box accepts nicknames, email addresses, URLs and postcodes as well as first (effectively only) names and postal addresses!

BTW Iceland is well worth going to. As well as the landscape being like Mars the language is as well - it is certainly like nothing else on Earth :D

[Khan]

I rather oddly have two surnames, one for England and one for Cyprus. The one in England is my grandfathers first name (that is the name my father took because they emigrated here before the surname law), and the one in Cyprus is our family name under the surname law (which my grandfather took when he migrated back). It is not easy being a Cypriot. :)

[thebrix]

Khan wrote: I rather oddly have two surnames, one for England and one for Cyprus. The one in England is my grandfathers first name (that is the name my father took because they emigrated here before the surname law), and the one in Cyprus is our family name under the surname law (which my grandfather took when he migrated back). It is not easy being a Cypriot. :)

Hmmm - I remember erolz showing me his Turkish Cypriot ID card which, I believe, put in black and white the same issue ... a "non-identificatory identity card" I suppose ;)

[Bananiot]

Remember the two shilling coin depurple? We used to call it "chifte", from a Turkish word meaning double.

[Cyprus rules!]

Yeah it's true Nick names are used a lot in Cyprus. My one Grandad was called, papou 'Tipto' because he was one of the first Greek Cypriot's to move to Tipton in the Midlands, My other Grandad is known as 'Karaolis' (Snail I believe) because he has very curly hair, or had as the case may be... :wink: :lol: My great grandfather's nickname was something like, 'Checkeros' (although I'll have to check with my dad on that one, I believe it may have come from the Turkish word for Sugar, and it was slightly 'Greekified'...although again I'll have to check!). It was, I believe given to him by his Turkish Cypriot friends, and subsequently used by everyone else, because he was so sweet!! I've also noticed that names tend to get 'shortened' or a different version of it is used (If that makes sense...), like for example, my Grandmother goes by the name of yiayia Nitsa, when her name is actually Helen, or in Greek Eleni, I think it comes from 'Elenitsa', like the song! :lol: Also my other Grandmother, who's name is Anastasia, is called by some people, including my Grandad, 'Tassou', also my Mother, who's name is Chrystalla/ Chrystella (English version), is called by some, again ,mainly by my Grandad, 'Tallou'...I really have no idea where those Nick names come from...maybe it's a mountain thing (My Mum's family originate from a village in the Troodos Mountains). The annoying thing is, that because I share the same name as my Grandmother, Anastasia (although I go by the name 'Natasa' or in English 'Natassa', which apparently is a, ehem, 'shortened' version, something my friends can't get their heads round!) My Grandfather has started called me Tassou as well!! Something I find kinda annoying as I'm not too fond of the name, as you can imagine :shock: :lol: , and now just to get on my nerves, my dads started doing it also!!! He thinks it's hilarious!! :roll: :lol: :lol:

[Bananiot]

Your grandfather's name would be Shekeros, rather than Checkeros.

[bg_turk]

I'd hate to spoil this. But giving nicknames is no unique Cypriot thing. In BG some of my friends are called Ivan the Frog, Hristo the Lighter, Mityo the Gun, Ahmed the Hawk, , etc ... though I personally prefer to refer to them by their real names.

[moonskin]

bg_turk wrote: I'd hate to spoil this. But giving nicknames is no unique Cypriot thing. In BG some of my friends are called Ivan the Frog, Hristo the Lighter, Mityo the Gun, Ahmed the Hawk, , etc ... though I personally prefer to refer to them by their real names.

Why would you spoil it BGT? Noone is claiming that nick names is a unique Cypriot tradition. But don't you worry my friend, we have lots of traditions unique to Cypriots and Cypriots alone!

[Dhavlos]

Can i point out that the 'nicknames' seem different (this is just from what i can see here)....ie, in bulgaria it seems, the people are given their name then 'the ...'

eg 'Ivan the frog'

whereas in cyprus, the nickname is one word, and usually does not ahve any link to the persons name.

eg 'Katoropetaktis'

in other words...slightly different systems for making nicknames.

Also, concerning the 'standardisation of names' ....my yiayias family now have about 3 different names, depending on which sibling you are! lol....all differnet variations of the same name: hambi, charalambous, haralambous, haralambros etc etc...

[100%cypriot]

Dhavlos any idea what Lela is short for ?

[100%cypriot]

My Deceased mother in laws name was Andrula but everyone called her Dula

[100%cypriot]

Yes we do have nicknames
Memo - Mehmet
Ibo - Ibrahim

[depurple]

My aunties husband was called:
Gouroushis? Don't know what it means?
Tarabouloukis? Teddy Bear I think?
Londoons: After the wrestler Jim London:
Fatellis?
Pandeshis?
Tsigaras: Cigarettes
Trihinas: Covered in Hair:
Gatharosporos: Donkey Seed: My cousin married there son:
Petereloaous: Owned the service station:
Americanos: Lived in America:
Plousis: His grandfather was rich:
O Kirios: Always dressed up rich BUT didn't have a dime on him:
O Yepas: The Vulture: Because he was always looking at something to take for free:
Koufoyannis: Deaf Yannis: Couldn't hear the first time: