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Short Version of Names

What are these names short for? For example, Dan is short for Daniel.
According to tradition. Many of these short names are also names in their own right. Don't be a dunce.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 18, 2019
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First submittedDecember 5, 2012
Times taken85,195
Average score66.7%
Rating3.93
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Short Name
Full Version
Jim
James
Joe
Joseph
Bob
Robert
Tina
Christina
Jake
Jacob
Dick
Richard
Chuck
Charles
Bill
William
Short Name
Full Version
Jack
John
Hank
Henry
Betsy
Elizabeth
Drew
Andrew
Tony
Anthony
Babs
Barbara
Becky
Rebecca
Gene
Eugene
Short Name
Full Version
Larry
Laurence
Kate
Catherine
Peggy
Margaret
Nora
Eleanor
Patty
Patricia
Sasha
Alexander
Vicky
Victoria
Bella
Isabella
+5
Level 25
Dec 9, 2014
I can't be the only person who tried bellatrix for bella.
+1
Level 37
Nov 18, 2017
I've never heard of Bellatrix. What language is that? I have of Beatrix, which is often shortened to Bea or Trixie.
+2
Level 37
Dec 21, 2018
Bellatrix Lestrange, from Harry Potter
+4
Level 89
Dec 26, 2019
It's the feminine form of bellator, which is Latin for warrior.
+2
Level 55
Feb 19, 2015
It might be more accurate to title this "nicknames" or "diminutive names", because not all of these names are short versions of their full names (Sasha is diminutive of, but not short for, Alexander, same for Jack to John).
+2
Level 42
Apr 22, 2015
I've never heard of Nora as a shortened version of Eleanor; Ellie, Nellie or Ella are however common.
+2
Level 75
Oct 20, 2017
My cousin's wife was named Eleanor and her family called her "Tatta". Don't ask me why.
+2
Level 68
May 11, 2015
I think Nora can also be short for Lenore or Lenora.
+1
Level 42
Jun 13, 2015
Agreed.
+3
Level 66
Dec 26, 2019
But those are short for Eleonor aswell. You cant put all the variants of nicknames here
+2
Level 26
Jul 3, 2015
If you know lots of senior citizens, this quiz should be fairly easy.
+1
Level 45
Sep 15, 2015
How the hell does one get Sasha from Alexander??? XD
+2
Level 34
Sep 21, 2015
Blame the Russians
+3
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
Richard to dick or margaret to madge seem just as weird to me. I assume it went from alexander to xander to sasha
+1
Level 71
Dec 29, 2019
You try saying Alexander after drinking a bottle of vodka ......
+3
Level 44
Jan 8, 2016
Did anyone else try Jackson? I think it should be accepted.
+1
Level 52
Jan 21, 2016
agreed
+1
Level 55
Jan 14, 2016
Jack is often short for Jackson. Can Jackson be an acceptable answer?
+1
Level 28
Nov 7, 2016
I know someone called Alexander, who has a sister called Sasha. They have the same name.
+1
Level 30
Nov 22, 2016
I always thought that Sasha was short for Natasha but I never would have guessed Alexander
+1
Level 75
Jan 8, 2017
I tried Anastasia - didn't realize I was close geographically at least.
+1
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
I came up with sergei :D
+2
Level 37
Feb 3, 2017
That's the idiosyncracy of some cultures. Chris for Christina in one and Tina for the same in another. Just as some will call a Leroy

"Lee" while others will say "Roy". But the quaintest cultures I find, are the ones that will give you two names, say: "Joseph Alexander" then proceed to always call you Alexander (or a variation thereof) and forever more ignore your first name, Joseph.

+2
Level 75
Jun 3, 2017
Sometimes that occurs when sons are named after their fathers, and they go by their middle names to avoid confusion (as in the case of my nephew,) or sometimes they just detest their first names, (as in the case of my brother.)
+1
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
then you would have to call catholic people like 20 names. Just because a person has more than one name before their last name does not main all of them are their first name. Only if they they are joined into one, like Jean-Luc, or MarySue
+1
Level 42
Jun 2, 2017
How is Jake for Jacob below 70%
+1
Level 63
Jun 2, 2017
You should accept Patrick for Patty as I have seen plenty of Patricks go by Patty.
+3
Level 71
Jun 3, 2017
I think you would have to be very friendly with a Patrick to call him Patty.......... or quick on your feet.
+2
Level 39
Jun 3, 2017
Ha!
+1
Level 75
Jun 3, 2017
I've often seen Pat for Patrick, but never Patty - at least in my region of the US.
+1
Level 59
Nov 21, 2018
Patty Duke from that TV show in the 80s (I think).
+3
Level 65
Jul 13, 2018
"Patty" is short for Patricia.

"Paddy" is short for Patrick.

+1
Level 45
Jun 3, 2017
Came pretty easy for me. I actually know a Russian boy named Alexander who goes by Sasha, so that one came easy for me.
+1
Level 75
Jun 3, 2017
Margaret has lots of nicknames. A few of them include Meg, Peg, Peggy, Maggie, Margie, Marge, Margot, Magpie, Ret, Retta, Gretta, Rita, Mimi, Pearl, and believe it or not, Daisy, which is the English translation of the flower from French, marguerite, and Spanish, margarita. (Which begs the question, was Jimmy Buffet getting wasted on daisies?)
+1
Level 39
Jun 3, 2017
Probably
+3
Level 88
Dec 26, 2019
I would never have guessed Peggy was short for Margaret. How does that even happen?
+1
Level 40
Jun 3, 2017
I think "Charlie" should have been sufficient for Chuck, but liked the quiz other than that.
+2
Level 22
Sep 8, 2017
Got 22/23 with almost 4 minutes to spare and then it took me almost 2 whole minutes to think what Nora was short for
+1
Level 44
Mar 18, 2018
too me forever to get Babs lol
+1
Level 63
Dec 20, 2017
never in my life have i heard someone named Elizabeth be called "Betsy." they were always called "Liz" or "Lizzy" or "Beth," but never once did i hear "Betsy." i also totally thought "Madge" was short for "Marjorie."
+2
Level 37
Dec 20, 2017
Same here. Also, I know five girls/women called "Sasha", and in each instance, their given name is Natasha. Knew Sasha as Alexander only because of some movie I saw (don't remember its name now) where the characters were Russian, and one of the males named Alexander was nicknamed "Sasha". Still, Natasha was my first choice here.
+5
Level 44
Mar 18, 2018
I got it because Sasha is a common shortened name in Russia for Alexander. ;)
+4
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
I never heard any natasha being called sasha. If you indeed have heard that personally I think that is a recently made up thing, because I dont think it is traditionaly the case. I know Natasha as Nat or Tash or Tasha (or as a real abbreviation and not making a name Natash)
+4
Level 82
Feb 16, 2019
I have.
+2
Level 59
Dec 27, 2019
I think using "Betsy" as a nickname for "Elizabeth" is out of fashion nowadays. I am 64 and grew up with several girls who were called "Betsy" as a nickname for "Elizabeth."
+1
Level 45
Mar 18, 2018
Jim, James????????? It's Jimmy, and theres no short name for james
+2
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
Jamie? No idea if that is tradionally the case or short for something else, but I think james are sometimes called jamie
+1
Level 41
Mar 23, 2018
I had a great aunt named Christine that everyone called Tina.
+1
Level 76
Apr 9, 2018
I think Babs should be short for "Barbra," the most famous example of Babs as a nickname. However, Barbara should still be accepted as an answer.
+1
Level 70
Aug 7, 2018
Leonora for Nora, and Arabella for Bella should be accepted
+1
Level 66
Nov 18, 2018
Alexander "Sasha" the great.

Isn't Sasha a girl's name???

+1
Level 82
Feb 16, 2019
No not necessarily.
+2
Level 66
Aug 22, 2019
Sasha baron-cohen? No not a girl. It comes from the slavic "abbreviations" of both Alexander and alexandra, though generally in my experience, when someone is from a slavic country and is called sasha it is a guy. (And also when a guy is called sasha, most likely has roots in a slavic country)

I personally thought that Uk/Us (and western europe?) just borrowed the name and applied it to girls. I wasnt aware sasha was originally also the nickname for alexandra. But it makes sense obviously.

I guess "our" (English/other germanic languages) made Sander and Sandra from Alexander and Alexandra. And ofcourse Alex and Xander, And I guess Lex (and Alexia but that seems so forcefully made up imo)

+1
Level 75
Nov 21, 2018
I have to say most american "short names" make about as much sense as their most recent presidential selection. I mean Dick from Richard and Jack from John?? Really?! Also calling Elizabeth "Betsy" is the perfect way to make one of the most elegant names sound like a venereal disease.
+1
Level 59
Nov 21, 2018
Many of these forms are really old. You'd have your "proper" name and the name you'd use for friends and family. Over time, the less formal names entered common usage.
+1
Level 75
Dec 26, 2019
Look up Betsey Balcombe, an English girl b. in 1802, who befriended Napoleon during his exile. Betsey as a nickname for Elizabeth wasn't invented by Americans. Neither was Dick for Richard nor Jack for John. Those go back to medieval times in England.
+1
Level 59
Nov 21, 2018
Chas is also a variation on Charles.
+1
Level 89
Dec 8, 2018
I didn't know this was a Russian quiz.
+1
Level 89
Dec 8, 2018
Ted is a good one, short for Theodore or Edward.

The 3 Kennedy brother politicians had nicknames which add inexplicable consonants to the given name.

Bobby=Robert

Jack=John

Teddy=Edward

+1
Level 85
Dec 12, 2018
How about Nancy. It comes from Anne.
+1
Level 38
Jan 13, 2019
I'm dumb. Got stuck on Jacob.
+1
Level 68
Mar 20, 2019
I tried Isabel, Isabelle, Isobel, Isobelle but none of them were accepted so I thought I was on the wrong track.
+1
Level 34
Apr 5, 2019
I tried Charlie for Chuck. That should be accepted because even though it is also short for Charles it is still a name on it's own.
+2
Level 74
Apr 6, 2019
Short name "Jack", full version "John", whaaaat?
+1
Level 37
Apr 25, 2019
Lilylee; "John" is the shortened English version of the German "Johan" (or Johannes) which, when shortened in German or Dutch, becomes "Jan". I have no idea how "Jack" evolved from John.
+1
Level 70
Apr 6, 2019
What does "by tradition" mean? Who's tradition? Which tradition? This quiz badly needs a source/reference.
+4
Level ∞
Apr 6, 2019
ISO9000 standard shortening of English language names as approved by the UN.
+1
Level 70
Apr 9, 2019
Link?
+5
Level ∞
Oct 18, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/2fcpre6
+1
Level 80
Oct 23, 2019
Followed that link as I had a hunch it would make me laugh, whatever it was...
+2
Level 75
Dec 20, 2019
You want a source for official common nicknames? geez...
+1
Level 67
Apr 18, 2019
Sandy would be another one for Alexander.
+2
Level 43
Jun 23, 2019
Sascha Zverev tennis fans
+1
Level 39
Jul 13, 2019
Hank is also shot for Hankin which is a form of John.
+1
Level 78
Oct 18, 2019
How is the entire cast of Hank of the Hill here
+1
Level 90
Oct 18, 2019
Nora is also short for Honora or Honoria
+1
Level 83
Oct 19, 2019
How about accepting Elinor as a variant spelling of Eleanor? It is certainly not unheard of (for example, Jane Austen used that spelling for one off her heroines).
+1
Level 75
Oct 19, 2019
Maybe accept Jackson for Jack?
+1
Level 78
Oct 24, 2019
Tina might as well be the short of Martina or Valentina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_(given_name)
+1
Level 67
Dec 26, 2019
The only Babs I know is actually named Babette. All the Barbaras I know are called Barb' or Barbie (mainly for teasing). Would it be possible to also accept Babette?
+2
Level 81
Dec 26, 2019
Babette is a nickname or diminutive name itself.
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2019
My mother is named Barbara, and we all call her Babs. She can't stand it...but that has not stopped us.
+1
Level 51
Dec 26, 2019
Me : *literally fails*

37% of people : oH yEa SaShA mEaNs AlExAnDeR

+1
Level 63
Dec 26, 2019
You should accept Katelyn for Kate as well.
+1
Level 49
Dec 26, 2019
great quiz
+1
Level 72
Dec 26, 2019
Tina could also be Martina as in Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.
+1
Level 75
Dec 26, 2019
I know women named Faustina, Bettina, and Martina, all of whom use the nickname Tina. Who says it can only refer to Christina?
+2
Level 82
Dec 26, 2019
Many of these names could be short for multiple names. But I think in each case the answer given is the most common one.
+1
Level 29
Dec 27, 2019
So "Jack" is short for "John"? :-P Thst's not the easiest thing to understand when you are not from america... ;)
+1
Level 59
Dec 27, 2019
Jake is short for Jason.
+1
Level 45
Dec 28, 2019
Some of these just don't make sense. Jack is short for John when they're both 4 letter words. Peggy is short for Margaret, where did that come from? Where did Betsy for Elizabeth come from? There's others too that just confuse me.
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2019
Agreed that some don't make sense when you look at them, but they're definitely all correct. The term "short for" is not always literal. People often use it in place of "nickname for." "Jack," for example, is a term of familiarity that was historically used to indicate a personal relationship with someone named John, as in the famous "Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy...you're no Jack Kennedy" remark. On paper and to strangers, he's John. But if you know him well, he's Jack.
+1
Level 39
Jan 1, 2020
Bella is often used in place of Helen since they both mean “beautiful”. I had an aunt Helen who was usually called Bella for that reason. Bella isn’t shorter than Helen, but Jack isn’t shorter for John (as per a guy named John!)
+1
Level 44
Jan 2, 2020
Can you please accept Katelyn and/or Katherine for Kate?
+1
Level 39
Dec 9, 2020
Who would abbreviate John to Jack they are both one syllable
+1
Level 23
Dec 23, 2020
What about Freddie or Freddy?
+1
Level 23
Dec 23, 2020
I mean the short version of Freddie or Freddy.... Is Fred!
+1
Level 44
Jun 29, 2021
Wow, the English language sure is interesting. The concept of short version names don't exist in my language lmao, so I struggled af.
+1
Level 43
Jun 20, 2022
I tried Demarcus Quinquantavious Dinglewingle Goofy the 69th.
+1
Level 54
Apr 5, 2023
Valentina for Tina maybe
+1
Level 37
Aug 21, 2023
It is Rob for Robert
+1
Level 63
Sep 1, 2023
Add Antonio as a type in for Anthony.