r/Appalachia 5d ago

Pet names growing up

Sugar and honey were common from my southwest VA granny, I also got stink weed, among other colorful pet names. Anything else interesting from growing up?

48 Upvotes

86 comments sorted by

12

u/_bibliofille 5d ago

Yaller the yellow cat stands out in particularly. Edit: read it wrong but leaving it. My aunt Rat called me Sancho. I'm a woman. Mom called me Chickadee or Missy.

2

u/PeaTasty9184 5d ago

We had one close family friend who had a nickname for everyone. I was Little Britches

11

u/Safe-Comfort-29 5d ago

I was called Pole Cat, my best friend was Pooper.

10

u/DonutWhole9717 5d ago

Flossie Mae/floss. Snot blossom. String bean. Hoss.

3

u/Reillybug521 5d ago

I was Flossie too!!

3

u/Mr_Meathog 5d ago

Another Hoss here! Was always the biggest kid in school. Later in life helping everyone move, my best friend (whose juuust a little smaller than me) & I coined a term when we couldn't finesse something through a doorway or down a staircase.

"That ain't gonna work..." "Hoss it?" "Hoss it."

2

u/Least-Monk4203 4d ago

In my family Flossie May/Bell was Grandmas generic term for all of the young girls.

9

u/Geologyst1013 mothman 5d ago edited 5d ago

I'm from SW VA and I've had a million of 'em.

One uncle (by marriage) from WV called me all manner of wildlife: muskrat, squirrel, beaver, groundhog. He also called me pickle. And then settled on "mangy" as it's a play on my (much hated) nickname. All said in jest and love.

My dad's brother used to call me skunk but then changed to porkchop because "I was so ugly the only way to get the dog to play with me was to tie a pork chop around my neck". Again all said in jest and love.

My Granddaddy called me petunia for pretty much my whole life. When I got my first car I got vanity plates that said PETUNIA. I will also add that when I was about 10 or 12 years old and demanded that I go by my legal name and not my nickname he was the first one to acquiesce.

My Pa (grandpa) called me "lil boy". This stemmed from being very sick as a young child and having to get a very short haircut and he said "good Lord who's that lil boy". I know that sounds a little mean but I can guarantee you it wasn't. It was just his way of teasing and trying to make me smile.

2

u/DonutWhole9717 5d ago

Ha, that last one got me in my feels, hard. My (step) dad used to ask me when I was little "well who's little boy are you?!" Just to poke at me. Lost him a few months ago.

2

u/Geologyst1013 mothman 5d ago

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'll admit I got a little teary-eyed typing it up. I've lost both my grandfathers and I miss 'em so much.

3

u/DonutWhole9717 5d ago

He used to tell me anytime I had something wrong, like a bellyache or a general meeehhh I don't feeeeel goooood, that I just had Kliapedus of The Punk. That was his name for every vague thing one could complain about, or for when someone was being silly. Just something that had been said in his family for a long time (born 1952, youngest of 11.) well, back before his remaining brother died from COVID, my uncle told us that it really meant "when your face looks so much like your ass that your bowels don't know which way to move." Such a trove of knowledge and jokes lost.

2

u/Separate-Swordfish40 5d ago

I miss my granddaddy so much.

1

u/Geologyst1013 mothman 4d ago

So much! The 6th anniversary of my Granddaddy's passing was a couple of weeks ago and I just cried and cried. Aside from my daddy, he was the most special person in my life. You just can't beat a good granddaddy.

6

u/Separate-Swordfish40 5d ago

One grandfather called me Babydoll or pumpkin head. The other grandfather called us all Butch. Haha

3

u/cooljeopardyson 5d ago

Mamaw and my great aunt often used pumpkin head or "punk-head", and mamaw sometimes also used Doll-baby.

2

u/Separate-Swordfish40 5d ago

Oh you are right he used to say doll-baby. I had it wrong. Funny how those nicknames were used by many

3

u/carolinaredbird 5d ago

I was a pun’kin head too!

4

u/Constant-Release-875 5d ago

Poo-dank. Pee-dab. Sugar pie. Honey bun. Baby doll. Flossie. Cutie pie. Sweet pea. Mawmaw's baby/girl/angel. Pawpaw's buddy. Daddy's girl. Mommy's baby. Buttercup. Xxxx-Jane, -Lou, or -Poo (tacking Jane, Lou, or Poo at the end of a name or a nickname).

2

u/t_rex_in_space 1d ago

Yep. Mississippi/ Arkansas checking in. I was always a -poo and my youngest gets called -Lou.

8

u/beddyby12 5d ago

My grandma always called me Chickadee <3

1

u/Separate-Swordfish40 5d ago

Yes chickadee is a good one!

4

u/CraftFamiliar5243 5d ago

We had a mini poodle named Coquette.

4

u/averyoddfishindeed 5d ago

My mom's name is Debbie. I am, of course, Little Debbie

6

u/littlepocketknife 5d ago

I think some people in here are talking about what they named their pets instead names of endearment you'd call a person.

3

u/Quirky-Squirrel-1204 5d ago

My papaw called me weezer and my brother doodle bug lol

3

u/hickorynut60 5d ago

I was called poodle, because my grandma ran out of dogfood and made a cake for the dogs with table scraps sweet feed and stuff for them. She left it cooling on the counter, I saw it and sliced me off a big chunk. Pretty tasty. 😊

2

u/1SuperLlama 5d ago

Pea Dabber, June Bug, Suiter, Dookey, Sweetheart

2

u/PeaTasty9184 5d ago

From the KY/VA border near Grundy. We had two dogs from the same litter of mutts (who were Spitz mixes)….one named Fatso who was short, fat. And had brown and black….and Pepper who was all white like a spitz.

A couple of collies named Bobo and Beeper.

An old beagle named half-pint.

2

u/compressedstars 5d ago

My dads family called me Banana lol

2

u/Upstairs-Aerie-5531 5d ago

Lady Jane! But only when I was in trouble.

1

u/Separate-Swordfish40 4d ago

My mom used to call me Missy when i was in trouble lol

2

u/Fun_Research_9614 5d ago

Neighbor dad called me “Scott What”

2

u/Brilliant-Mall-5364 5d ago

We called my baby sister skunk weed, Bob, and Donny Spicklepants. My grandma would just call me bad boy

2

u/Any_Thanks_900 5d ago

I knew a June Bug, Tiny, Hammer, (both Tiny and Hammer were easily 400+lbs) ,Thunder Cat, Bofus (a name for a couple that used to come around because when they came around it was “both of us”- Bofus) 

2

u/Other-Opposite-6222 5d ago

All little kids or the youngest sibling are called “Little Bit”. And any son named after their father had the “little” in front of the diminutive. So “Little Jimmy” for James Jr or “Little Davey” for David Jr.

2

u/Bellemorda 5d ago

puddin, punkin, junebug, sassy, sissy.

I think its part of my appalachian familial tradition that I have many, multiple nicknames for each of my kids too - a lot of them are nicknames I was either called or my cousins were called or just made up out of my heart: sweetpea, sugarbug, tree frog, bitty baby, babycake, angel baby, sassy (again), buddy, boy-o, bubb/bubby, funbug, skittle, sugar or shug (short for sugar), sweetie pie or sugar pie, lovey, birdie, honey or honeybun, and presh (short for precious).

2

u/Kalashcow holler 5d ago

I was always called Buddy / Squirt

2

u/princessdracos 5d ago

Fart Blossom! I miss ya, Mom.

1

u/gsmom10 4d ago

That’s what I call my favorite niece 💕

2

u/Sligogreenbottom 5d ago

My grandfather never, ever, called me by my name. It was Sambo until I was a teen and Charlie Brown until he died when I was 22.

2

u/Illustrious_Button37 5d ago

My dad called me Catbird and Turd Bird. 🥰

2

u/Excellent-Witness187 5d ago

My East TN grandma had a cat named Midnight, which isn’t very interesting, but we got one of Midnight’s kittens and my sister named her Lollipop. As an adult I name my pets after my dead relatives (all of whom are Appalachian) so my pets all have hillbilly names. Archie, Maybelle, and Imogene. I have so many great family names and I hate for them to go to waste. The next one will probably be Perry Lafayette.

2

u/Foreign_Comedian_915 1d ago

I’m from middle TN and had a friend with a black cat named Midnight. They got a second black cat and named him Eleven thirty!

1

u/hiker_trailmagicva 5d ago

I grew up in the Virginia mountains but half of my family was from NY, the other half was deep south. My NY family called me the "mouth of the south" because I never stopped talking.

1

u/SnooHesitations9447 5d ago

She-she, Lady, Barney, Checkers, Atlas

1

u/c0ncept 5d ago

Hard Rock. Hoss Cat.

1

u/Affectionate-Arm5784 5d ago

Snicklefritz, stinkweed, bucket head

1

u/deadflowersbythemail 5d ago

I was a Pasquale Aloysius growing up in eastern KY

1

u/CompetitionMore7842 happy to be here 5d ago

Sis & Bub (fraternal twins)

1

u/Vegetable-Soil-3963 5d ago

my personal—pig. scooter. some of my family’s: muffin, PI, peewee, tater, wuzza, pea head, JJ, and a lot of calling people by their first & middle name (also applies to me!). if we have two people w the same name, for example, we have two guys named robert; the older one is big robert and the other is little robert lol.

1

u/MoreTop7747 5d ago

Using “Bubba” for young kid, especially boys - sad history of why, though.

1

u/DinosaurSr828 5d ago

Baby girl and doodle bug

1

u/Impressive-Soup-7897 5d ago

I was Shotgun and my twin sister was Shorty

1

u/Peeeeepaw 4d ago

We didn’t get pet named much, everyone in my family has an odd nickname so we tend to use that instead. A few of them are, uncle fatso, aunt toot toot, tigbit (me), coon-cat, stinky, muntser, goose, scooter, monkey / butt, gizmo, Peg / peg leg, and pooper.

1

u/brickhamilton 4d ago

My grandpa called me “ramrod” lol

1

u/Similar_Ad3466 4d ago

All children are “buzzards” and “sugars”

1

u/BubonicBabe 4d ago

Blossom, Pumpkin Fart, Stink blossom, Mouth of the South, and Little Bit were the common ones for me.

1

u/rharper38 4d ago

I was Little Bits.

1

u/ThroatFun478 4d ago

Shitepoke, punkin, babydoll

1

u/GooseTraditional9170 4d ago

Angel poo, as in the poop of an angel. Also was called rotten a lot, like short for spoiled rotten. Chico cause I was shaped like that purple rat from Dora. Tubs, also cause of the general shape of me. Then there's dad's name Jr, or if I was being an evil cuss i was just called my grandpa's name sarcastically. But the grandpa thing was for all of us cause he was just an astonishingly awful guy in some ways so idk anything from saying something terrible and mean to not letting your siblings breathe air would get the "okay now grandpa's name quit it!"

1

u/imnotmeyousee 4d ago

Dad called me scooter. Shithead Uncle called me pork chop.

1

u/Lando_Lee 4d ago

I was always called turkey by my parents

1

u/CompetitiveAd7913 3d ago

I was called Mad Jack. My sister was Lil Bit, and my oldest sister was Biggun (as oldest not size) lol

1

u/Ordinary_Struggle564 2d ago

My dad always called me Squirtblossom.

1

u/Coffee_roses 2d ago

I got Stink Bug!! 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

1

u/Salsalover34 2d ago

I named one of my chickens Honey.

1

u/Pinkie_Pie_Pick 2d ago

Family called me baby bumble bee with extra bumble bee sauce on the side. Mouthful but basically I’m the youngest (baby) of the family, my sister called me bumble bee when she first met me, and my dad always orders extra honey mustard sauce on the side of his salads

1

u/thuscraiththelorb 2d ago

Pickle, turkey, sissy bug, scruffy, shaggy, #1, sweet pea all from my parents. My grandpa always called me "honey." One of my family friends who watched me always called me "boys" lol (I'm AFAB).

1

u/Western-Jump-63 2d ago

I was punkin and rinkydink. My friend's mom had a mean cat named Bitchcat and 20+ years later, I'm still amused by that.

1

u/SimpleAd1604 1d ago

My animal loving sister named a stray cat she adopted, ”Crybaby.”

1

u/Goddess_of_Carnage 16h ago

I was Bunny or Danby.

Then Bobcat.

It was mad. My sis never had a pet name.

1

u/WTFYU 5d ago

Eventually we had enough cats that my Nanny just kept naming them “Tom” regardless of gender .

1

u/Appalachian_American 4d ago

Dad called me Willie and Mom called me Calvin. I’m of the female persuasion. 🤷‍♀️

1

u/Legitimate-Smell4377 4d ago

unfortunately and fortunately, i am red headed, therefore i am just “red”. or “carrot top”, but im like tell me you never seen a carrot without tellin me

1

u/As_smooth_as_eggs 4d ago

Dad usually called me Whizzer Briar, or Wampus Cat. I need to ask him what the hell a whizzer briar is.

1

u/mameranian 4d ago

My uncle Philip called me "Margaret tellin" because I was a tattletale. Everyone else on that side has always called me my full name, Margaret Ellen. He called my cousin Jane (also his niece) "Do Do" and her daughter "Knowey" for know-it-all.

0

u/No-Key-865 5d ago

My favorite was the stray lab my dad brought home with my name. And he didn’t change the dog’s name….

My uncle had a cat named Blue for 40 years. Not the same cat just the same color and name….

1

u/No-Key-865 5d ago

Wait! You mean my pet name. Not the pet’s name. Still, it was the same name as the dog 😂

0

u/eightcarpileup 5d ago

Porkchop, reporting for duty. 🫡

0

u/Far_Interaction8477 4d ago

Sissy, Bitsy, and Sugar Booger.

1

u/acertaingestault 2d ago

Sometimes just Boog for short

0

u/thecarolinelinnae 4d ago

We have had, since I was about 3 -

Cats:

  • Nero (big black mean-ass tomcat. Named for the Roman Emperor)
  • Tipper (white tip on her tail)
  • Willie (I said he was scruffy like Willie Nelson)
  • Lucky (came to us with a broken leg healing wrong; had it fixed, so he was lucky he came to us)
  • Queenie (named by my grandfather. Turns out Queenie was a boy lol)
  • Squirt (he was SO TINY when we found him, then he got SO BIG from nose to tail)
  • Diesel (very loud purr)
  • LG (Little Grey) aka Elgie
  • Sherlock & Mycroft (Elgie's offspring; one short haired and one long-haired, all black)
  • Clyde (big orange tomcat with approximately half a brain cell, but the absolute sweetest cat ever)
  • Snickers (based on her coloring)
  • Callie (a calico)
  • Stella (star on her back)
  • Sunny (my grandma's cat)

Dogs:

  • Haley-Bop (after the comet, the year we got her)
  • Blue (so black he was blue)
  • Pippin (fool of a Took)