11 baby names that have very unexpected diminutives
Names are often extended, shortened or ‘riffed-off’ in the name of displaying intimacy and these tweaked names are known as diminutives (or ‘pet names’).
Some seemingly common baby names end up with very surprising diminutives which are arrived at by a few natty linguistic shifts. Let us take you through a few …
1
The name Nan is a diminutive — or pet name — of Anna
Anna is short and sweet all by itself, but did you know that the name Nan is also a diminutive of Anna? This was arrived at by running ye olde phrase “mine Ann” together, and shortening to Nan.