I'm the specialist in giving nicknames to the people I love...
In my family, everyone called me Kinou. How did I get this nickname? I had an older brother, so he was probably the one who gave me that way… My childhood friend, whose parents lived in the house next to my grandparents’, was called Marie-Christine, her nickname was Tinou. Suffice to say that when we were together, there was a lot of laughter and misunderstandings.
I have memories of a high school friend who already had a nickname when I met him, Zouzou! Nothing to do with his first name, Hervé. Even today, even if we have lost touch with each other for a few decades, I still think of him, and always with his nickname.
Another memory of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, my sister of heart! I was raised in Sedan with, still there, a family of six children. One of them, the Loise, is still there… Where does his nickname come from? Simply from LOISON, her maiden name. It was her husband who called her that, I continue! The latter had also given me a funny nickname « the Food ». What for? I don’t remember! If, in addition, you say it with an Ardennes accent tinged with Belgian, it’s even more affectionate…
And then, I was a mother. There, even today, each of my children has his « little name », Bibiche, Bicquet and Nénette.
The eldest still calls her little sister by her nickname… Another step, the status of grandmother! The two grandchildren who live next door to me are Poupette and Doudou, my two granddaughters from Martinique are my Louloutes.
During my last professional position, I was the oldest assistant. I very quickly got closer to a young woman, who has just celebrated her 40th birthday… and whom I call my Louloute. For her part, she calls me Cricri. It’s the only one I allowed: I don’t like this diminutive at all !
Louloute is the only one who is allowed…
Finally, the last one I « renamed » is Cocotte. Cocotte, such a sweet and affectionate word! She is not such a cocotte that some women are denigrated. No, she’s none of those things, but she has this beauty and presence that inspires me. She has this side of the cocotte, this farmyard animal that protects her young and is very attentive to it. In a word, it is reassuring…
After a little research on the nicknames I give, it appears that Nénette, in everyday language, is the equivalent of the « head » where intelligence sits, contrary to the definition of the slang « woman of little virtue ». I only remember the first definition that resembles it well! Cocotte is a bit like the definition of Nénette in the context of « woman of little virtue », but, here again, I retain another definition « a term of affection that one gives to a little girl or a beloved woman when one addresses her ».
For Poupette, I reversed the roles. For those who know the movie La Boum, it’s the grandmother’s nickname ! This term Poupette is etymological related to the doll and this Poupette was my first grandchild, a real little doll !
For me, giving a nickname to a person, close, very close, not so close, is to bring them into your intimacy. It is to ensure that it is always there, even if time separates us, even if life distances us from each other. This is to assure him of his deep affection.
I'm getting older and I'm not sure there's room for other nicknames to hand out, except for the next grandchildren to come... My emotional circle is there, well defined, no need for more...
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