Meta Wednesday: Names, Nicknames, and Titles

[jakia]

Old folklore says that to name something is to give it power.  

Let's talk to day about the importance of names, nicknames, and even titles in the Gleeverse, and see what we find!

As always, feel free to discuss anything else your heart desires--this is just a starting point.

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[jakia]

Got an idea for a topic we haven't covered yet that you'd like to dedicate a week to? Share it here!

Name Meanings:

[jakia]

Finn -- "fair" (Irish in origin)

Rachel -- "ewe" (or, a female sheep. Like the kind you slaughter)

Quinn -- one letter off from queen, "counsel", has connotations for intelligence

Puck -- Puck is a fairy or mischievous spirit, name used in Shakespeare, means "unsettled"; Noah, however, is biblical and means "rest; comfort"

Mercedes -- "Mercy"

Tina -- "Follower" (specifically of Christ, but still. TINA!)

Artie -- usually short for Arthur, but Artie itself means "follower of Athena" ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, while Arthur means "bear; eagle; stone" but also sometimes is used as reference to King Arthur of legend.

Kurt -- usually short for Curtis, in German it means "polite; well-bred; wise." In Turkish, however, it means "wolf."

Santana -- saintlike (ironic for Satan, right?); also references St. Anne (Annie, are you okay?)

Brittany -- land of Brittons. Also used in references to a 2nd century Roman goddess by the same name.

Sam -- "His Name is God" often short for Samuel. Alternatively, "God's Heart" or "Name of God"

Blaine -- "yellow" (color theory go go go!)

Sugar -- "sweet"

Rory -- "red king"

Joe -- often short for Joseph, "God will increase"

Go go go!

EDIT

[jakia]

AUGH I FORGOT MIKE CHANG HOW COULD I?

Mike -- often short for Michael. "Who is Like God"

Nicknames (part one)

[jakia]

Taken from the Glee Wiki:

Finn -- Frankenteen, (Santana, Sue, Dakota Stanley)
Double-Stuffed-Fatty-Gassy-McGravy-Pants, Bacon-Wrapped-Bug-Eyed Hypocrite, Finnocence, Pastry Bag, Doorknob, Tubs, The Knuckle-Dragger, Soft Serve, Pillsbury Dough Turd, Orca, Lumps The Clown, Grimace, Hamburglar, Fetus Face (Santana)
Hudson, Herman Munster, Cottage Cheese, Sugar Ray, Granny Panties, Teen Solomon Grundy, Hudson Hog, Frumps (Sue)
White Boy, Justin Timberlake (Mercedes)
Finessa (Puck)
Finny D (Puck, himself)
F-Rod, Finny, Cheater, Mr. Popular, Brad, The One, The Love of My Life, My Devastatingly Handsome Future Husband-to-be (Rachel)
Gigantor (Artie)
Mediocre Quarterback, Mediocre Glee Club Lead (Jacob Ben Israel)

Rachel--A-Rach, Babe, Janet, Kim Kardashian, Beacon of Light, Big Gold Star, Miss Hudson-Berry, Needy Girl Drunk (Finn)
Yentl (Dakota Stanley, Santana)
RuPaul, Man Hands, That Thing, Sweetie, Stubbles, Treasure Trail, Rachel what's-her-name (Quinn)
Britney, Eva Peron, Hot Mama, Miss Bossy Pants, Babe, That Skinny Garanimal-Wearing-Ass-Kisser (Mercedes)
Benedict Arnold, Princess, Juliet (Kurt)
Barbra Streisand (Suzy Pepper)
Dwarf, Diane Warren, Midget, Hobbit, Gayberry, Selfish-Self-centered-Lame-ass Wannabe Diva From Hell (Santana)
Michele, Young Lady, Mrs. Focker (Sue Sylvester)
Boy Hips (Lauren)
My Hot Little Jewish American Princess (Puck)
Rachelah, Baby Girl (Hiram Berry)
Young Barbra Streisand (Sebastian)

Kurt-- Lady (Azimio, Sue)
Lance Bass (Puck)
Lady Hummel (Jacob Ben Israel, Santana)
New Kid, Dummy, The Person I Love, The Love Of My Life (Blaine)
My Best Gay, Glinda, Gaylinda (Rachel)
Fancy, Homo, Ladyboy (Karofsky)
The Queen Freak (Azimio)
(Sweet) Porcelain, Kiddo, Gay Kid, Yasser, Eddie Munster, Gelfling, Tickle-Me-Dough-Face, Lady Face, Lady Trousers, Son of Burt 'Baboon Heart' Hummel, Porcelina, He/She (Sue)
My Happy Happy Unicorn (Brittany)
The Mayor of Gaytown (Mercedes)
Lady Lips, Teen Gay, Grandma, Prancy Smurf, Wonder Twin, Pretty Pony, Richard Simmons, Gay Winklevii Twin (Santana)
Lady Fabulous (Tina)
Old Betty White (Sebastian Smythe)
The Pasty Faced Ghost Boy (Jesse St. James)
Gay Hutch (Burt)

Quinn -- Gramma with stretch marks, Blonde and Awesome and So Smart (Santana Lopez)
Juicy Lucy (Lauren)
The Dummy (Becky)
Quinnie (Mother, Father)
Babe, MILF (Puck)
Q (Sue, Santana)
A Little Bird, That Lady, Sister, The Younger Me (Sue)
Lucy Caboosey (old classmates, herself)
Barbie, Pretty Blonde Cheerleader (Rachel)
Missy (Coach Beiste)
Blondie, High School Hussy, Little Miss Peroxide (Kendra Giardi)
Mama (Terri Del Monico)
Pretty Blonde with the White Girl Ass (Mercedes)
Tubbers, Stretchmarks, slut (Santana)
The Ghost of Grace Kelly (Jesse St. James)
The Queen Of The Chastity Ball (David Karofsky)
The Angry Girl Drunk, The Most Beautiful Girl I've Ever Seen In My Life (Finn)
The Prettiest, Nicest, Best Smelling Girl I've Ever Seen (Joe)

Puck -- Puck(Everyone)
Puckzilla, The Lion King Puck-fasa, Big Daddy, Puckasaurus, Puckster, Puckerone, Puck-gellen, Pucky Puck, A Sex Shark, Finn Hudson, Lola (while dressed as a woman) (Himself)
Sad Sack, Nerd(Lauren)
My Man (Santana)
Egghead, The Biggest French Whore Of Them All, The Guy I Fell in Love With (Quinn)
The Girl with the Mowhawk (Azimio)
My Prince, A Hot Piece Of Booty (Becky)
A Lima Loser (Quinn, Rick)
Nancy(Rick)

Re: Nicknames (part one)

[likeasouffle]

Kurt's nicknames are overwhelmingly about being gay and/or feminine. If we remove all of those, we're left with:

New Kid, Dummy, The Person I Love, The Love Of My Life (Blaine)
(Sweet) Porcelain, Kiddo, Yasser, Eddie Munster, Gelfling, Tickle-Me-Dough-Face, Son of Burt 'Baboon Heart' Hummel (Sue)
Grandma, Wonder Twin (Santana)
Old Betty White (Sebastian Smythe)
The Pasty Faced Ghost Boy (Jesse St. James)

So, lots about being pale and/or babyfaced. (I left in Grandma and Old Betty White because I think they refer more to a "grandma" attitude than anything about femininity.)

I feel like some are missing from this list. For example Burt has called him things like Buddy and Kiddo.

So basically what I get out of this is that if people are going to make fun of Kurt, they're going to call him gay, feminine, pale, babyfaced, and grandma-like. (Except Blaine who called him a dummy, lol.)

Re: Nicknames (part one)

[out_there]

(Except Blaine who called him a dummy, lol.)

I kind of love that. It's such a ridiculous primary/elementary school level of teasing. It's so silly, and yet I can totally buy Blaine doing it.

Mind you, I did love the "Lance Bass" reference.

Nicknames (part two)

[jakia]

Mercedes -- Baby (Sam, Shane)
Jackée, Whoopi, Brassy Hag, Wheezy (Sue)
Wheezy, Honey, Miss Blame-It-On-The-World (Santana)
Aretha (Santana, Sue)
'Cedes (Santana, Artie)
Stealth-Attack Jones (Coach Beiste)
Ms. Jones, My Client (Lauren)
Sugar, Mama, My Girl, The Black Girl From The Glee Club Whose Name I Can't Remember Right Now (Puck)
Lazy B-O-N-E-S, Laziest Person Alive (Jesse)
Effie (Dakota Stanley, Santana, Kurt and Puck)
Happy Girl Drunk (Finn)
Little Oprah (Roz Washington)
Beyoncé, Ain't No Kelly Rowland (herself)

Tina -- Asian, Tina Cohen-Loser, Cohen-Chang, Asian Number One (Sue)
Blue Eyes (Rachel)
Self-Hating Asian (Mike)
Miss Cohen-Chang (Principal Figgins)
Girl Chang(Santana)
Tina Blohen-Wang(Sebastian)
The Girlfriend (Mike Chang Sr.)
Happy Girl Drunk (Finn)
Asian Horror Movie (Roz Washington)

Artie -- Wheels, Legs, Stumbles(Sue)
Bluetooth, Stubbles McCripple Pants, The Four-Eyed Loser, A Stupid Boy, The Smoothest Criminal I Know (Santana)
The Kid in the Wheelchair (Mike Chang)
Hottie (Becky)
A Modern-day Tiny Tim, Teenage Disabled Kid (Don Barowski)
Wheelchair Kid, Young Jedi in a Wheelchair, Professor X, Chief (Puck)
Roller Boy (April Rhodes)
George Jefferson, Artie-Claus (himself)

Santana -- Sweetie, Honey (Brittany)
Sweet cheeks (Holly Holliday)
The Stick Figure (Mercedes)
Auntie Tana, Rachel Berry, Snix, Auntie Snix (herself)
Satan (Mercedes, Kurt)
Boobs McGee, Jugs The Clown, Tweedle-Fake Boobs, Sweater Meat, Lady Ta-Ta, Boobs Magoo (Sue)
Sandbags (Sue, Becky)
Weepy Hysterical Drunk (Finn)
Garbage Face (Her Abuela (Grandmother))
Salsa Caliente (Roz Washington)
Teen Lesbians (with Brittany) (Principal Figgins)
The Girl With The Lips (Rory)

Brittany -- Britt(Santana, Kurt, Finn)
Britt-Britt, Baby, Sheer genius (Santana)
Rain Man with boobs (Finn)
Tweedle-Dumb (Sue Sylvester)
Britney Spears, Mike Chang(herself)
Madam President (Jacob Ben Israel, Principal Figgins)
Girl Who Turns Into A Stripper Drunk (Finn)
Hatrack (Roz Washington)
Sexy Teen Trollop, Miss Pierce, Teen Lesbians (with Santana) (Principal Figgins)

Mike -- Fleet-Footed-Dance Ninja, Situasian, Mikey (Tina)
Changster, The Dancing Asian (Sue)
Other Asian (Sue, Tina)
The Quiet Skinny Asian Guy
The Mike Chang Dance Dance Revolution (himself)
Boy Chang(Santana)

Re: Nicknames (part two)

[out_there]

It's interesting how wide ranging Santana's nicknames are. Most of the characters nicknames are about one big characteristic (Mercedes being black, Artie in a wheelchair, Kurt being fabulous gay, Tina being asian, Mike being asian) and that characteristic is commented on by multiple characters.

Santana's is actually less focused. Even all of the boobs jokes only come from Sue, but there's a range. And interestingly, very few are about her racial heritage like the other non-white characters are nicknamed.

Nicknames (part three)

[jakia]

Sam -- Big Mouth, Biebster (Puck)
Lady Lips (Azimio)
Ken, The New Kid (Rachel)
Macaulay Culkin Stunt Double, That Girl, Bee Sting, Kentucky-Fried Stripper (Sue)
The Full Blonde Bieber, Trouty (himself)
Biebs, Salamander Lips, Sammy Evans, Guppy Lips, Guppy Face, Grouper Mouth, Froggy Lips, Lisa Rinna (Santana)
The Cutest Guy At School (Quinn)
An Epitome of a Leader (Mike)
Sammy (Stacy)
Trouty Mouth (Santana, Jacob, Mike, himself)
Hobo McBieber, Big-Lipped Blondie (Jacob)
White Chocolate (Stripper name)

Blaine -- Blaine Warbler(Rachel, Kurt, Brittany)
Billy Crystal, My Cutie, Honey, The Alpha Gay, My Brave Handsome Bushy Haired Boyfriend, The Man Without The Product, Borat, Silly (Kurt)
Killer, Sex on a Stick, Gay Cyclops (Sebastian Smythe)
Other Gay, Young Burt Reynolds (Sue)
Buttboy, Ladyboy (David Karofsky)
Wonder Twin, Pretty Pony, Gay Winklevii Twin (Santana)
Modern Day Eggs Benedict (Puck)
My Extra Special Guest (Sugar)
Blainey, Squirt, Little Brother (Cooper)
The New Kid With The Bad 'Fro, Mr. Broccolihead (Brittany)

Sugar -- Richie Bitch (Santana Lopez)
Rojo Caliente (Roz Washington)

Rory -- Ireland, Pixie Boy, Great Gazoo Kid, potato eating poser,pet Irish (Santana)
Rory Leprechaun (Brittany)
Leprechaun (Brittany, Santana)
Irish(Hockey Team, Artie)
Flanagan (Artie)

Joe -- Teen Jesus (Quinn, Sam, Brittany)
Tarantula Head (Sam)
The New Girl (Brittany)
Jar-Jar Binks (Sue)

Re: Nicknames (part three)

[likeasouffle]

LOL Blaine has so many nicknames about his hair! If we remove all the hair related ones, and all the gay related ones, we get:

Blaine Warbler (Rachel, Kurt, Brittany)
Billy Crystal, My Cutie, Honey, Silly (Kurt)
Killer, Sex on a Stick (Sebastian Smythe)
Young Burt Reynolds (Sue)
Wonder Twin, Pretty Pony (Santana)
Modern Day Eggs Benedict (Puck)
My Extra Special Guest (Sugar)
Blainey, Squirt, Little Brother (Cooper)

Blaine has so many positive nicknames. Even when characters are trying to do something mean (like Sue pigeonholing his personality with Young Burt Reynolds, or Santana sneering at his spotlight hogging with Pretty Pony) they still end up saying kind of complimentary things.