"Tristan" now feminine given name

[Jonathan Lighter]

In the late '70s I also knew a "Marla" whose preferred nickname was "Mickey."

  JL

"Joanne M. Despres" <jdespres at MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Joanne M. Despres"
Subject: Re: "Tristan" now feminine given name
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, plenty of female names end up being cut back to male
names in their nickname form. For example, I've heard women
named "Georgette" referred to as "George." There's also "Sam" for
"Samantha," "Bert" for "Bertha" or "Roberta," "Marty" for "Martha,"
"Jo" for "Joanne," etc., etc.

Joanne

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



---------------------------------

 What are the most popular cars? Find out at Yahoo! Autos

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org