Looking Back to Beaver and the Head: Male College Nicknames in the 1950s

Abstract

Studies of nicknames have neglected social fraternities, and most have been done by outsiders unable to assess the feelings of those who bear nicknames. I questioned members of a social fraternity to which I belonged in the late 1950s to find out how men felt about their nicknames then and now. Nicknames were found to be either endearing or critical, functioning as social controls.