Sam– nickname dilemma?

Posted on 3 Sep ’08 by pk

I believe we have settled on a first name for our little “about-to-be-adopted” boy…

Samuel

The middle/Korean name will be determined by my Dad. Per our family tradition, the eldest head of the family is responsible to define the name that the children will take — it’s kinda of like a prefix that has some generation identifiers.

But I have a minor dilemma…

While I like the name Samuel and Sam, I’m all about the nickname. Ashleigh likes to call him Sammie or Sammy, and that’s cool. But what I really wanted to call him was Sam-bo.

However, Eric informs me that “sambo” is a potentially racial slur/stereotype for people of very dark skin (African, Carribean, Asian, etc).

I guess it would be better all the way around if I *didn’t* call him something that would more than likely offend someone. As Eric put it, “it’s cute, but you might get a few looks yelling “Hey, Sambo!” at Six Flags.”

I think he’s right.

So… what kinds of cool nicknames would you give to a kid named Samuel?

—————

“So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son.
She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the LORD for him.’” [1
Samuel 1:20, NIV]

It is an English, French, and German name of Hebrew origin. Samuel’s meaning is God has heard; asked of God. Derived from the elements ‘shama’ meaning to hear ; ‘el’ meaning God, powerful ; ‘shaul meel’ meaning asked
of God. Shemuel (Hebrew) and Shmuel (Hebrew) are original forms of
Samuel. The name could be of the Hebrew Shemuel or Shmuel, from the elements ‘shama’ and ‘el’, or else as a contraction of the Hebrew ‘shaul meel’.

[from: babynamespedia.com]

What Others Are Saying

  1. mandy 3 Sep ’08 at 5:59 pm

    My Dad’s name is Samuel, but it’s his family tradition to call boys by their middle names. His middle name is Otis. =/

    Here are some of the nicknames my Dad has:
    Saminal Aminal
    Samalama Ding Dong
    Samalicious
    Travelin’ Sam
    Sir Samuel
    Sam I Am
    Sammy Whammy
    Sammy Boy
    Sammy Man
    Sammich
    Samanella
    Samurai
    Samson
    Papa….that last one is what my daughter’s call him.

    mandys last blog post..Kem’s bday

  2. mandy 3 Sep ’08 at 1:59 pm

    My Dad’s name is Samuel, but it’s his family tradition to call boys by their middle names. His middle name is Otis. =/

    Here are some of the nicknames my Dad has:
    Saminal Aminal
    Samalama Ding Dong
    Samalicious
    Travelin’ Sam
    Sir Samuel
    Sam I Am
    Sammy Whammy
    Sammy Boy
    Sammy Man
    Sammich
    Samanella
    Samurai
    Samson
    Papa….that last one is what my daughter’s call him.

    mandys last blog post..Kem’s bday

  3. transitionpete 3 Sep ’08 at 6:07 pm

    @mandy: i like the list… and for some *odd* reason, I’m really drawn to “Samurai“!!! wink-wink nudge-nudge!

  4. transitionpete 3 Sep ’08 at 2:07 pm

    @mandy: i like the list… and for some *odd* reason, I’m really drawn to “Samurai“!!! wink-wink nudge-nudge!

  5. mandy 3 Sep ’08 at 6:22 pm

    I knew you would be… ;)

    mandys last blog post..Kem’s bday

  6. mandy 3 Sep ’08 at 2:22 pm

    I knew you would be… ;)

    mandys last blog post..Kem’s bday

  7. Urwelcome 29 Apr ’09 at 11:17 pm

    Ok, I'm totally gonna call mandy out for being a dirty, nickname stealing theif.
    Wanna know where Mandy got all those awesome sam nicknames?!

    How about this website where some really strange people are obesessed with their dog sam.
    http://www.gaylasgarden.com/pets/nicknames.htm

    not cool Mandy, not cool

  8. Urwelcome 30 Apr ’09 at 5:17 am

    Ok, I'm totally gonna call mandy out for being a dirty, nickname stealing theif.
    Wanna know where Mandy got all those awesome sam nicknames?!

    How about this website where some really strange people are obesessed with their dog sam.
    http://www.gaylasgarden.com/pets/nicknames.htm

    not cool Mandy, not cool

  9. andrew 10 Feb ’11 at 6:21 pm

    Green eggs and ham

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