I am not sure the how I got the nickname Tilly but it had something to do with a last name that no one could pronounce and fewer people could spell.
Yliniemi pronounced ...wait for it.... ILL a KNEE me
( A childhood friend Janet began calling me Tilly...and it stuck for a long time.)
When other kids in grade school had to write their whole name I got by with a Y. In the alphabet line up I was always last...then a few kids that names began with Z were added to the bunch in High School.
Anyways that was eons ago...over fifty years ago. No one calls me Tilly anymore...however my High School Yearbooks are witness to my nickname as are a bunch of old 45 records.
Far Side
It's a pretty nickname. I like it! My last name started with a B, i was so often first, which was not always good. But I did wonder how the kids with a name beginning with Z felt about being last all the time.
ReplyDeleteThat is a pretty hard last name by sight but easy enough once you showed how it was pronounced. Have a great weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteWOW! That's some last name! I thought mine was difficult to spell and I was made fun of often for it. Saathoff. A good german name from the midwest. I've always loved to find out the origins of different last names.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still like Tilly. Perfect for the new old car and a great name for you too!
Blessings,
Betsy
You know how you got your nick name . Many people don't . There's a fairly large Finnish settlement in this area.
ReplyDeleteMy last name growing up was always spelled and pronounced wrong too, but it never led to a cute nickname. Tilly is a great nickname!
ReplyDeleteI like the name Tilly---it works for the car because, after all that car is a darling at YOU!
ReplyDeleteI was a Johnson so there was a small section of us and we were always in the middle--LOL! How time flies. Graduated 53 years ago--whew! I like Tilly. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, and satisfying our curiosity.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the origin of your family name??
ReplyDeleteFinnish
DeleteI can see why your nickname came to be.
ReplyDeleteI love the name Tilly, it sounds like a happy and fun loving person. I think it is very sweet that Far Guy named his car that. The picture of Tilly going down the road is great!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if Tilly didn't come from your last name, many do. I don't get the "a" in the pronunciation of your last name, but that's okay ~ Tilly! What a great nickname!! Growing up, no one could pronounce (or spell) my first or last name. I got called a lot of names I would rather not repeat. Thanks to Disney, at least my first name isn't so "weird" now.
ReplyDeleteI have a nickname that only a few people know. It was what my mother wanted to name me, but it wasn't a "saint's name". My family called me that and close friends in school. Now if someone says it - I can place them instantly. My own children are not familiar with it. My husband calls me by my given name these days and it still seems strange to hear him say my "right" name.
ReplyDeleteIs that a Finnish surname? And yes, I get "Tilly" now.
ReplyDeleteyes
DeleteI have never had a nickname
ReplyDeleteI love how Tilly is now the name of the car and it is so sweet in a way. A Finnish name? Wow, that is neat.
ReplyDeleteMy surname was pretty boring so I love unusual names!
Ah...I can see where the nickname came from. And I would never been able to correctly pronounce your last name if you hadn't shared it phonetically. If you add a K to my last name, it becomes a disease...I can't tell you how many times I have corrected someone for adding that K.
ReplyDeleteLike others I didn't have a nickname but I was okay with that! :)
I think you and your parents are the first and only Finnish people that I have every known. The name and its spelling is great but nothing I have ever seen before. My wife's grandfather's name was Cone and my wife is still researching as to when it got changed to that from what we believe was originally Cohen. It was Cone back in the Revolutionary War era.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least you didn't have to worry about being called first when the roll was called. And now that you mention it, I guess I could have figured out that pronunciation. But yeah, a bear to spell, especially in those early school days. Thanks for the explanation!
ReplyDeleteI've wondered how to pronounce that :-). Great name for the car!
ReplyDelete