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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]WASPs keep using the same few names over and over and within the same generation, so in order to eliminate confusion, a distinctive nickname is bestowed upon the child at birth or soon thereafter that likely will have very little relation to birth name.

So, Catherine Mary Hopkins will be forever known as Ticky, because this is what her younger brother called her when trying to say "sister" as a three year old.

John Warren Calhoun III will be called Warren or "War" because granddad was Jack and Dad's JW.[/quote]

Spot on.[/quote]

Mary is a Catholic name. Not waspy. [/quote]

I've known some WASPs with Mary somewhere in their name, though agree it's not common. Interestingly, I know some rich Catholic families in New England and the Mid-Atlantic who have avoided Mary specifically because it reads as Catholic and they want to try and fit in WASPs. They use names like Margaret, Louise, and Charlotte, which are also used by Catholics, but also get used by Protestants. One of my closest friends from grad school is from a family like this and it's always been interesting to me how sensitive her family is to little signifiers like this. Apparently even now you'll get little comments in these circles about "oh my, that's a lot of kids" or turning up noses at wedding invitation to a Catholic church. It's fascinating to me because we're talking about people with generational wealthy and fairly deep ties with private schools, financial institutions, and public service organizations. But there are *still* people who think having a relative who was on the Mayflower or whatever is an important class signifier. It's so bizarre to me as your bog standard middle class midwesterner, from an Irish catholic immigrant family.[/quote]

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