The Charm of Nicknames

The word 'nickname' is first recorded in 15th century as 'an eke name' ('eke' meaning 'also' in Old English) and was used to refer to an additional name given to express attitude of familiarity, affection or ridicule (D. Crystal, 'The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language'). It is not surprising that people have names but it may be a little mind-boggling that all the US States and many business areas have their nicknames too, e.g. 'Silicon Valley' in Calfornia, 'Motown' for Detroit, 'Emerald Isle' for Ireland, 'Red Planet' for Mars etc. There are even nicknames based on nicknames such as 'Costa Geriatrica' used to refer to coastal town in southern England where many retired elderly people live. Among 'nicknamed' objects there are flags ('Jolly Roger') and newspapers ('Thunderer' for 'The Times' of London).