Hypocorism

A hypocorism (/haɪˈpɒkərɪzəm/; from Ancient Greek ὑποκόρισμα (hypokorisma), from ὑποκορίζεσθαι (hypokorizesthai), meaning 'to use child-talk'^[1]) is a diminutive form of a name. Hypocorisms include pet names or calling names,^[2] often a, diminutive or augmentative form of a word or given name when used as a nickname or term of endearment.

Derivation

Hypocorisms are often generated as:

• a reduction (in English) of a longer word to a single syllable, then adding -y or -ie to the end, such as movie ("moving picture"), telly ("television") or Aussie ("Australian").
• a contracted form of a personal name, such as Tony from Anthony, Rosy and Rosie for Rosemarie, Rosalie, Roseann, or Rosalind (among many others) or Vicky from Victoria.
• a baby-talk form approximating the name's pronunciation, such as Bess for Elizabeth, or Bubba for brother.
• a personal name with a diminutive suffix; in some languages diminutive forms of names are used primarily when referring to children, and the meaning can oscillate between tenderness and condescension when used for an adult.
  • -(c)ito/-(c)ita or -(c)ín/-(c)ina in Spanish, such as Juanita from Juana. Extra consonants may be interposed as in Carmelina and Carmencita from Carmen, or merged, as in Carmina.
  • -chen, -lein, -(l)i, -(e)le (usually used with names) in German, such as Hündchen or Hündlein (from Hund, meaning "dog") or Kalli (from Karl, a name) or Häusle or Häusele (from Haus, meaning "house"); a back vowel in the root is normally subjected to umlaut, i.e. shift from u, o, a to ü, ö, ä respectively (e.g. Hund → Hündchen, Arm → Ärmchen, Holz → Hölzchen).
  • the usual hypocoristic endings in Dutch are in both words and personal names alike: -tje, -ke. When the name ends in a b, a d or a t the ending is then a -je (e.g. Bert → Bertje). If the final consonant of a name is m, the ending is then -pje (e.g. Bram → Brampje), -metje (Bram → Brammetje) or -mie (Bram → Brammie). For the other consonants the hypocoristic form is -tje. In the southern parts of the Netherlands and the northern part of Belgium the hypocoristic form is often -ke (e.g. Peer → Peerke). Also in Frisian the usual hypocoristic ending is -ke (e.g. Ype → Ypke). But this form, and others like -ske and -tsje, often makes the name feminine (e.g. Jetse → Jetske) as they do in Dutch (e.g. Jan → Jantje, Hans → Hansje). There is another productive hypocoristic ending: in the eastern part of the Netherlands (mostly in the province Drenthe), the female form is -chien Examples are Anne → Annechien, Lammert→ Lammechien.
  • a parallel construction in Portuguese, with -(z)inho/-(z)inha, as in Aninha from Ana and Joãozinho from João.
  • same in Italian and Italian regional languages, with -ino/-ina and -etto/-etta as in Paolino/Paoletto and Paolina/Paoletta from Paolo and Paola. There are also -ello/-ella, as in Donatello/Donatella from Donato and Donata, -uccio/-uccia, as in Guiduccio from Guido and -etto/-etta, as in Giulietta from Giulia. The forms -uzzo/-uzza, as in Santuzza from Santa, are typical of Sicilian.
  • -ĉj- and -nj- affixes (for males and females respectively) in Esperanto; these replace the last consonant (or consonant cluster) of the root, thus patro → paĉjo (father), patrino → panjo (mother).
  • -chan, -tan, or -pi in Japanese, such as Kana-chan from Kana and Aki-chan from Akihiro. Gemination (doubling) of the consonant or lengthening of the vowel before the -chan to provide two moras is common, such as Settchan from Setsuko and Hii-chan from Hiroki. Many of these are derived from the custom of using Japanese honorifics, even is colloquial language.
• reduplication in various languages, such as John-John or Didi.
• in Cantonese and related dialects, the addition of a word-final very high tone, or changed tone sometimes in combination with the addition of the prefix A before the name. The A syllable is also used in other dialects originating in southern China as a term of endearment or closeness.
• -ulus/-ula in Latin, most famously in the case of the Roman emperor Caligula, whose nickname means "little boot". He received the name from soldiers in reference to the small army sandals (caligae, singular caliga) he wore when he was young. Likewise the name Ursula is derived from ursa (bear) and means "little she-bear".
• -eleh/-leh in Yiddish. An example is Leah → Leahleh.
• a combination of multiple methods from those described above. For example, in Romanian, Ileana becomes Ilenuța by addition of a diminutive suffix, and Ilenuța becomes Nuți by contraction.
• In the Anglo-Saxon language, hypocoristic forms were made by truncating the name and adding '-a' (genitive '-an'); if that '-a' is preceded by a short vowel and then one consonant, that one consonant was doubled; sometimes assimilation happened, e.g. Cēomma for Cēolmǣr. These hypocoristic names are often the first component of a placename, for example Badby, which is recorded in 944 as Baddanbyrig (dative case) = (at/to) "Badda's fort".

As evident from the above-mentioned examples, hypocorisms frequently demonstrate (indirectly) a phonological linguistic universal (or tendency) for high-pitched sounds to be used for smaller creatures and objects (here as more "cute" or less imposing names). Higher-pitched sounds are associated with smaller creatures because smaller creatures can only make such high frequency sounds given their smaller larynxes.

The word "hypocorism" is the noun form in English; "hypocoristic" is the adjective form.

Examples of hypocoristic proper names

Armenian

• Անդրանիկ Andranik → Անդո Ando
• Հովհաննես Hovhannes → Հովո Hovo
• Տիգրան Tigran → Տիկո Tiko
• Հայկ Hayk → Հայկո Hayko

Bengali

• Anirban → Ani
• Debmalya → Debu
• Mitalee → Mita

Bulgarian

The traditional hypocoristic forms of Bulgarian masculine names end with "-cho", for example: Ivan - Ivancho - Vancho, Stoyan - Stoyancho, Petur - Peturcho, Angel - Angelcho. The traditional hypocoristic forms of Bulgarian feminine names end with "-ka", for example: Ivana - Ivanka, Snezhana - Snezhanka, Bozhana - Bozhanka. In recent times, however, the hypocoristic forms of many Bulgarian names receive English and Russian endings, for example:

Catalan

• Anton → Tono
• Antoni → Toni
• Bartomeu → Tomeu, Xumeu
• Benet → Neto
• Carme → Carmina
• Concepció → Ció, Conxita
• Dolors → Dolo
• Elisabet → Bet
• Ferran → Rano
• Francesc → Cesc, Cesco, Xesc, Xisco, Cisco, Siscu, Quico
• Francesca → Xesca, Xisca, Cisca
• Gabriel → Biel
• Isabel → Bel
• Jacint → Cinto
• Jesús → Suso, Xuso
• Joan → Chuano
• Joaquim → Quim, Ximo
• Josefina → Fina → Fineta
• Josep → Pep, Pitu
• Magdalena → Malena, Magda
• Maria → Mariona
• Maria Isabel → Maribel
• Meritxell → Txell
• Miquel → Quelo
• Montserrat → Montse
• Narcís → Narciset → Ciset
• Rafel → Felo
• Salvador → Voro
• Vicent → Sento

Croatian

• Andrija → Andro, Andre Andrijica, Jašo
• Antun → Ante, Antiša, Tonči,Toni, Tunja
• Danijel → Dane, Danko
• Davorin → Davor, Dado, Rino, Darko
• Dominik → Domo, Domko
• Franjo → Frane, Frano, Fran, Francek
• Ivan → Ivica, Ivo, Ivek, Ico, Ivko, Ićo, Iko, Iva
• Jerolim → Jerko, Jere, Jerkan
• Josip → Joso, Joža, Jozo, Joško, Joco, Jole, Joko, Joza
• Juraj → Jure, Jura, Juko, Jurica, Jurko, Juriša, Jureško
• Luka → Lukša, Lukica, Luketa
• Marko → Maro, Markec, Markan, Markica, Marketa
• Matej → Mate, Mato, Matan, Matko, Mata
• Mihovil, Mihael → Miho, Mijo, Mišo, Miško
• Miroslav → Miro, Mirko
• Nikola → Niko, Nikša, Nikica, Niđo
• Pavao, Pavle → Pavo, Pave, Pavko, Pajo
• Petar → Pero, Perica, Petko, Peko, Peran, Perko
• Robert → Robi, Robo
• Stjepan, Štefan → Stipe, Stipo, Stipko, Stipica, Štef, Štefek, Štefko, Stipa
• Šimun → Šime, Šimunica,Šima
• Tomislav → Tomo, Tomek, Tomica, Tomiša
• Vladimir → Vlado, Vlatko, Vladan, Vlada
• Zvonimir → Zvone, Zvonko

Czech

Male

• Adam → Áďa
• Bohuslav, Bohumil → Bohuš, Bob
• Čeněk → Čenda
• Daniel → Dan
• Denis → Deni, Deník
• Eduard → Eda
• Ferdinand → Ferda
• František → Fanda, Fany, Franta
• Gabriel → Gaby, Gáb
• Jakub → Kuba
• Jan → Honza, Jenda
• Jaromír, Jaroslav → Jára, Jarek, Jája
• Jindřich → Jindra
• Jiří → Jirka, Jura
• Jonáš → Jon
• Josef → Pepa, Jožin
• Karel → Kája, Karlík
• Kristián, Kryštof → Kris
• Leopold, Leoš → Leo
• Lubomil, Lubomír, Lubor, Luboslav, Luboš → Luba
• Matěj → Maty, Mates
• Maxmilián → Max
• Michael, Michal → Míša
• Mikuláš → Miky
• Miroslav → Mirek, Mira
• Oldřich → Olda, Olin
• Ondřej → Ondra
• Otakar → Ota
• Pavel → Pája
• Petr → Péťa
• Radoslav, Radimír, Radomil, Radomír, Radek, Radovan → Radek
• Richard → Ríša
• Robert → Rob, Bob, Bert
• Rudolf → Ruda
• Samuel → Sam
• Stanislav → Standa
• Tomáš → Tom
• Václav → Vašek, Venda, Vincek
• Vladimír, Vladislav, Ladislav → Vláďa, Láďa
• Vlastimil, Vlastislav, Vlasta → Vlasta
• Vojtěch → Vojta
• Zdeněk → Zdena, Zdenda

Female

• Adéla → Áďa, Adina
• Alžběta → Bětka, Bety
• Anastázie → Any, Stáza
• Andrea → Andy, Andrejka
• Barbora → Bára
• Dagmar, Dagmara → Dáša
• Daniela → Daninka, Dani, Danča
• Denisa → Deni, Denda, Denča
• Doubravka → Dobra
• Eliška → Eli, Ela
• Františka → Fany
• Gabriela → Gábi, Gabka, Gábina
• Ivana, Iveta → Iva, Ivča
• Jarmila, Jaroslava → Jarka, Jarina
• Jindřiška → Jindra
• Karla, Karolína → Kája, Karol
• Katarína, Kateřina → Katka, Káťa
• Kristýna → Kiki, Týna
• Libuše, Liběna → Liba
• Liliana → Lili
• Ludmila, Lýdie → Lída
• Lucie → Lucy, Lucka
• Magdaléna → Magda, Majda
• Marie, Mariana, Marina, Marika → Maruška, Mája, Majka
• Matylda → Maty, Tylda
• Michaela → Míšenka, Michalka
• Milena, Miluše, Milada, Miloslava → Míla, Milka
• Miroslava → Mirka
• Naděžda → Naďa
• Pavla, Pavlína → Pája
• Petra → Péťa
• Růžena, Rozálie, Rosita → Róza
• Stanislava → Stáňa
• Taťána, Tatiana → Táňa
• Vendula → Vendy
• Zdeňka → Zdena
• Zuzana → Zuzka
• Žofie → Žofka

Danish

Male one syllable names are sometimes lengthened

• Karl → Kalle
• Lars → Lasse
• Poul → Palle, Pelle, Polle, Pølle

Female names are sometimes shortened to the last two syllables

• Katrine → Trine
• Kirstine → Stine
• Marie → Rie
• Sofie → Fie

Dutch

Increasingly, the official form of Dutch given names as registered at birth is one that originally was hypocoristic. For many of the hypocorisms listed below, a diminutive may be used (e.g. Jan → Jantje, Lotte → Lotje), in particular for children and women. The English forms Johnny or Johnnie and Bobby or Bobbie are quite common in the Netherlands.

English

English also forms nicknames in a variety of manners.

Shortening, often to the first syllable:

Addition of a diminutive suffix, usually -ie or -y, often to an already shortened name. This suffix connotes smallness or endearment. Although most often applied to the names of children, it is not uncommon for an adult to be referred to by the diminutive, especially by family, friends and close acquaintances:

A short form that differs significantly from the name:

Also, initials of complex names are often used as the hypocorism, e.g.: Brandon William → B W → B Dub

Esperanto

Esperanto forms nicknames by suffixing -njo (for females) and -ĉjo (for males) to the first letter(s) of the basic name or word.^[3] (This is the only situation in Esperanto in which a word root is shortened or otherwise changed in word-building.)

French

Informal French has a number of diminutive nicknames, although not as systematically as in English.

In French, for both male and female names, hypocorisms are most commonly formed by dropping the last syllable:

• Catherine → Cathy
• Christelle → Chris
• Christophe → Chris
• Frédéric, Frédérique → Fred
• Grégory, Grégoire → Greg
• Jean-Michel → Jean-Mi
• Joannie → Jo
• Marie-Charlotte → Macha
• Marie-Josée → Marie-Jo
• Maxime → Max
• Michaël → Mic
• Philippe → Phil
• Stéphane → Steph
• Stéphanie → Steph

Dropping the first syllable is also attested:

• Christophe → Tophe

Sometimes, only central syllables are kept:

• Augustin → Gus
• Emmanuel → Manu
• Emmanuelle → Manu

Another method commonly used is doubling one syllable of the name:

• André → Dédé
• Annie → Nini
• Augustin → Tintin
• Christine → Kikine
• Christophe → Totophe
• Joseph → Jojo
• Julie → Juju
• Louis → Loulou
• all female names ending in -tine → Titine

For male names, the ending -ot is attested, although its use is rather dated:

• Charles → Charlot
• Jean → Jeannot
• Jules → Julot
• Pierre → Pierrot

It was also sometimes (but rarely) used for females:

• Marguerite → Margot

The ending -et for males was used around the Renaissance, and is now obsolete:

• Henri → Henriquet
• Jacques → Jacquet

For female names, the ending -ette was used in the first half of the 20th century, and even often given as the official name:

• Anne → Annette
• Jeanne → Jeannette
• Marie → Mariette
• Paule → Paulette

Some names in -ette are not actual hypocorisms, but the only existing feminized form of a male name:

• Antoine (male) → Antoinette (female)
• Pierre (male) → Pierrette (female)
• Nicolas (male) → Nicolette (female) (rare and dated) → Colette

The ending -on is rarer, often dated or obsolete, used for both genders:

• Antoinette → Toinon
• Françoise → Fanchon
• Henri → Riton
• Marie → Marion
• Louis → Louison
• Louise → Louison

The ending -ou is also rare:

• Anne → Nanou

A special case is the ending in -ick/ -ic, which is the French writing for the hypocoristic form in Breton "-ig", used for both genders. The "-ig" form in Breton means "Little ...". This diminutive, in its French form of "ick" or "ic", became in vogue for official names in the second half of the 20th century:

• Annick (original in Breton: Annaig), from Anne
• Soizic (original: Soazig), from Frañsoaz, the Breton writing for the French "Françoise"
• Loïc, probably from the French Louis
• Yannick (original: Yannig), from Yann, meaning "John" in Breton

In Breton, the diminutive form "...ig" can be given to any kind of names, nouns or adjectives, (un tammig, a few), while in French it relates only to given names.

The name Soazig shows more than the ending "ig". Often in Breton a hypocoristic form of a given name can be made by putting away the first syllable. "Frañsoaz" becomes a familiar "Soaz" then, given to a child, the name is "Soazig", but not as an official name. This is also a difference between French and Breton: the diminutive ending "...ig" in Breton is only used as a temporary form for young children, while "...ick" is official and permanent in French names, and has lost his sense of a diminutive.

For words, French often produces hypocorisms either by truncating a word after the letter o, or by chopping off the end of the word and adding an o: McDo from McDonald's; gynéco from gynécologue; dico from dictionnaire; dodo (childish word for sleep, from dormir, to sleep); écolo from écologiste; coco from communiste; catho from catholique; psycho from psychologie.

The ending -oche (with or without an intervening consonant or phoneme to make it easier to pronounce) is also sometimes used: cinoche (cinéma), MacDoche (McDonalds), fastoche (easy-peezy, from facile, easy). Words or names may also be shortened or abbreviated without an O: fixs from fixations, 'ski bindings'; Jean-Phi from Jean-Philippe; amphi from amphithéatre (large classroom or lecture hall); ciné (another informal word for cinéma). These words are familiar/informal versions of the underlying words.

The connotation of familiarity (my friend Jean-Phi, as opposed to my new colleague Jean-Philippe; cinoche, the place I often go for entertainment, as opposed to cinéma, the neutral word for a movie theater) is what makes them hypocorisms.

German

Hypocorisms of first names are commonly based on truncation, only keeping the first (Max) or last (Hans) syllable(s), sometimes in contracted form as these examples show. Often the ending -i is added to these truncated nameforms. The name might also undergo a sound shift (Sepp). Further diminutives can be added with the suffixes -lein, -(e)l or -chen, e. g. Gretel or Gretchen as a diminutive for Grete.

• Anna, Anne → Anni
• Anton → Toni
• Elisabeth → Liesl
• Franziska → Franzi, Sissi
• Georg → Schorsch (mostly Bavarian and Swiss German)
• Helene → Leni
• Ignaz → Nazi (Bavarian; out of use), Nazl (mostly Bavarian German, still in use)
• Johannes → Hannes → Hans → Hansi
• Josef, Joseph → Sepp (Bavarian), Jupp (Rhinelandic)
• Karl → Kalle, Kalli
• Katharina → Kathi
• Margarete → Grete, Gretchen
• Maximilian → Max
• Michael → Michi
• Siegfried → Siggi
• Sabine → Bini
• Susanne, Susanna, Susann → Susi
• Therese, Theresia → Resi (mostly Bavarian)
• Ulrich → Uli (Ueli in Swiss German)
• Wilhelm → Willi

Sometimes female names may have the ending -el instead of -i, or any other shortening, especially in southern Germany:

• Barbara → Babsi → Bärbel
• Ursula → Uschi, Ulla, Ursel
• Christina, Christine → Trina, Trine (northern Germany), Tina, Tine → Christel

An ending for nicknames, sometimes considered “typical German” is -z:

• Friedrich → Fritz (but compare the much softer Fidi from northern Germany)
• Heinrich → Heini, Heinz, Hinz
• Konrad → Kunz

Hungarian

Hypocorisms of first names are commonly based on truncation, only keeping the first (Kat-; Jul-) syllable, sometimes in contracted form as these examples show. Often the ending -i is added to these truncated nameforms (Kati, Laci, Julcsi, Ági, Feri). Further diminutives can be added with the suffixes -ka, -ke, -kó, -csi, etc., e. g. Lacika, Ferike, Palkó and Julcsi as a diminutive respectively for László, Ferenc, Pál and Júlia.

• Anna (Anne) → Ani(ka), Annácska, Anci(ka), Annus(ka), Panni(ka), Panna, Panka, Nusi(ka)
• György (George) → Gyur(i)(ka)
• István (Steven) → (P)isti(ke), Istvánka, Pityu(ka)
• János (John) → Jan(cs)i(ka), Jankó(ka)
• József (Joseph) → Józsi(ka), Jocó(ka), Jozsó(ka), Joci(ka)
• Károly (Charles) → Karcsi(ka), Karesz(ka), Károlyka
• Margit (Margaret) → Manyi(ka), Manci(ka), Margó(ka), Gitta
• Mária (Mary) → Mar(cs)i(ka), Máriácska, Mári(ka), Mara, Marácska, Manci(ka), Ria, Riácska
• Terézia (Theresa) → Trézsi(ke), Terka, Teri(ke), Terézke, Terus(ka), Teréziácska
• Vilmos (William) → Vili(ke), Vilmos(ka)
• Zsuzsa (Susan) → Zsuzsi(ka), Zsuzska, Zsu

Icelandic

Hypocorisms usually consist of the first syllable of the name with a diminutive suffix ending in -i (masculine) or -a or ý (feminine). There are however some exceptions, for example Nonni which is an alternative from for Jón.

• Guðmundur → Gummi, Gvendur
• Jón → Jónsi, Nonni
• Magnús → Maggi
• Sigfús → Fúsi
• Sigurður → Siggi
• Þorbjörg → Tobba
• Guðrún → Gunna
• Sigríður → Sirrý
• Guðríður → Gurrý

Japanese

In Japan, diminutive names are made by adding an honorific suffix to a person's name, or to part of the name. The suffix -chan is typically added to a girl's name as a term of endearment. The suffix -kun is added to a male's name. Outside of family, the suffix -kun typically implies a relationship between an authority (the caller) and a subordinate. Thus, it is often used by teachers calling on male students, and a boss or supervisor calling on male employees.

The term -chan is occasionally added to the name of an effeminate boy or man. While the addition of -chan to a girl's name is endearment and intimacy, when applied to a male's name, it may be either a term of endearment or it may be added as a derogatory taunt, depending on the context and the nature of the relationship.

Female names

• Ayaka → Ayaka-chan → Aya-chan
• Mako → Mako-chan → Ma-chan or Macchan
• Mao → Ma-chan
• Reina → Reina-chan → Rei-chan

Male names

• Keita → Keita-kun
• Kentaro → Kentaro-kun → Kenta-kun
• Taro → Taro-kun
• Tatsuya → Tatsuya-kun → Tatsu-kun

Nepali

• राम Raam → रामे Raamé
• पार्वती Paarvatee → पारु Paaru
• बिष्णु/बिस्नु Bishnu/Bisnu → बिस्ने Bishné
• रुक्मणी Rukmani → रुकु Ruku

Persian

In Persian some of the most used personal names have hypocorisms. Many of these hypocorisms are formed by truncating the name and adding an -i to the end, or by using just a part of a composed name.

Polish

In Polish, there are multiple affixes used to create the diminutive. Some of them are -ka, -sia, -cia, -unia, -enka, -śka, -lka for feminine nouns and -ek, -uś, -ciek, -czek, -uń, -eńki, -lki for masculine (among others). Some of the stems change, particularly to more archaic forms of the name (e.g. Andrzej → Jędrek or Agnieszka → Jagusia). Some masculine names take an -o suffix that is considered archaic form, present in Polish since pagan times. Masculine names occasionally take an -a suffix, which is an archaic Slavic form as in Russian (e.g. Jakub → Kuba). Here is a list of common names with some of them:

Portuguese

In Portuguese, abbreviations of the name are common, such as suffixes for diminutive and augmentative. For males, the suffixes -inho (diminutive) and -ão (augmentative) are the most used. In several parts of Brazil, -inho is informally replaced by -im in diminutive words. The same occurs with hypocorisms as, for example, Luisim instead of Luisinho. For females, -inha (diminutive) is the most used in Portuguese; augmentatives are uncommon. In compound names some mixed forms can occur, such as José Carlos being called Zeca, or Maria Luísa being called Malu.

The phenomenon also occurs with terms of address other than personal names; for example, a cachorro or cão (both meaning "dog") can be affectionately called cachorrinho or cãozinho (the most common translations of the English word puppy).

Romanian

Russian

Russian has a wide variety of diminutive forms for names, to the point that for non-Russian speakers it can be difficult to connect a nickname to the original. Diminutive forms for nouns are usually distinguished with -ик (-ik), -ок (-ok), -ёк (-yok) (masculine gender), -чк-/-шк- (-chk-/-shk-) and -оньк-/-еньк- (-on’k-/-en’k-) suffixes. Names can be somewhat more arbitrary, but still follow a loose pattern. A list of common names and their diminutive forms:

• Aleksey → Alyosha, Alyoshen'ka, Alyoshka, Lyosha, Lyoshka, Lyoha
• Aleksandr, Aleksandra → Sasha, Sashen'ka, Sashechka, Sashka, Sanya, San'ka, Shura, Shurka, Shurik, Shurochka
• Alyona → Alyonka, Alyonooshka
• Anastasiya → Nastas'ya, Nastya, Nasten'ka, Nastyushka, Nastyona, Nast'ka, Natasha, Asya, Stasya
• Andrey → Andryusha, Andryukha, Dyusha, Dyukha, Andron, Dron
• Anna → Anya, Anyuta, Anyutka, Anechka, Annushka, Nyuta, Nyura, Nyurka, Nyusha
• Artyom → Tyoma, Tyomych
• Avdotya → Dunya, Dunyasha
• Boris → Borya, Boren'ka, Boryusha, Bor'ka
• Dmitry → Dima, Dimas, Dimka, Dimochka, Dimulia, Dimon, Dimych, Mitya, Miten'ka, Mitёnka, Mityusha, Mit'ka
• Elena → Lena, Lenka, Lenochka, Lenochek, Lenok, Elenchyk, Lenyusya
• Galina → Galya, Galka, Galechka
• Gennady → Gena, Gesha, Genka, Genych, Genchik, Genochka
• Georgiy → Zhora, Gosha, Goga
• Gleb → Glebka
• Grigoriy → Grisha, Grinya, Grikha
• Igor → Igoryok, Igoryochek, Gosha, Garik
• Irina → Ira, Irochka, Irunya, Irisha, Irishka, Irka, Irinka, Irusya
• Ivan → Vanya, Ivanushka, Vanechka, Van'ka, Vanyusha
• Kirill → Kiryusha, Kirya
• Konstantin → Kostya, Kosten'ka, Kostik, Kost'ka, Kotya, Koka
• Kseniya, Oksana → Oksanka, Ksana, Sana, Ksyuha, Ksyusha
• Larisa → Lora, Lorka, Larochka
• Leonid → Lyonya, Lyonechka, Lyon'ka, Lyonchik
• Lev → Lyova, Lyovochka, Lyovka
• Lyudmila → Lyuda, Lyusya, Mila
• Margarita (given name) → Rita, Ritka, Ritusya, Ritunya, Ritik
• Mariya → Masha, Manya, Man'ka, Manyunya, Mashen'ka, Mashechka, Mashka, Marusya, Makha
• Mikhail → Misha, Mishen'ka, Mischechka, Mishanya, Mishka, Mishutka, Mikha
• Nadezhda → Nadya, Nad'ka, Naden'ka, Nadyusha
• Nataliya → Natasha, Nata, Natashen'ka, Natakha, Natusyen'ka, Natusik, Natashka
• Nikolay → Kolya, Kolen'ka, Kolyunya, Nikolen'ka, Nikolasha, Kol'ka, Kolyan
• Oleg → Olezhka, Olezha, Olezhek, Olegushka, Lega, Lyoka
• Olga → Olya, Olen'ka, Olechka
• Pavel → Pasha, Pashka, Pashen'ka, Pavlik, Pakha, Pakhan, Pavlusha, Poshik
• Pyotr → Petya, Pet'ka, Peten'ka, Petrusha, Petruha, Petyunya
• Radimir → Radya, Mira
• Roman → Roma, Romka, Romochka, Romych
• Sergey → Seryozha, Seryoga, Seryozhen'ka, Seryozhka, Seriy, Sega
• Stepan → Styopa, Styopan'ka, Stepan'chik, Styopushka, Styopka
• Stanislav→ Stasya, Stas, Stasik, Stasen'ka
• Sofiya → Sonya, Sonechka, Sofa, Sofochka
• Svetlana → Sveta, Svetochka, Svetyushka, Svetka
• Svyatoslav, Vyacheslav → Slava, Slavik, Slavochka
• Taisiya → Tasya, Taya
• Tatyana → Tanya, Tanechka, Tanyusha, Tan'ushka, Tan'ka, Tan'chik, Tata, Tatochka
• Vadim → Vadik, Vadimka, Vadya, Vadisha, Vadyusha
• Valeriy → Valera, Valerka, Valerik
• Valeria → Lera, Lerusha, Lerka, Valera
• Varvara → Varya, Var'ka, Varyechka
• Vasiliy → Vasya
• Viacheslav → Slava, Slavik, Vyachik, Slavyan, Slavutich
• Viktor → Vitya, Viten'ka, Vit'ka, Vityok, Vityay
• Vitaly → Vitalik, Vitalya
• Viktoriya → Vika, Vita, Vikulechka, Vikusik
• Vladimir → Volodya, Volod'ka, Voloden'ka, Vova, Vovka, Vovochka, Vovan
• Vladislav → Vlad, Vladik, Vladyusha, Vladya, Slava, Slavik
• Yaroslav → Yarik, Yaroshka, Slava, Slavik, Slavochka
• Yefim → Fima, Fimochka
• Yekaterina → Katerina, Katya, Katechka, Katen'ka, Katyukha, Katyusha, Kat'ka
• Yevgeny → Zhenya, Zhen'ka, Zheka, Zhenyok, Zhenechka
• Yevgenia → Zhenya, Zhenechka, Zhen'ka
• Yuriy → Yura, Yurka, Yurik, Yurok

Some names can also be modified with a -ka ending to add a further level of familiarity, but are not normally used for adults who are not family members.

Serbian

Slovak

In Slovak, feminine diminutives usually end in -ka and masculine in -ko.

• Alexandra → Saša, Saška
• Mária → Marika, Majka
• Jakub → Jakubko, Kubo, Kubko
• Jozef → Jožo, Jožko
• Kristína → Kika, Kristínka
• Martin, Matej → Maťo, Maťko
• Natália → Natálka
• Rastislav → Rasťo, Rastík
• Stanislav → Stano, Stanko

Slovene

In Slovene, diminutives are very common. In many cases they have almost completely replaced their originals (such is the case of Špela for Elizabeta, Branko for Branislav, or Alenka, Majda, and Magda for Magdalena). Especially among female names, the etymological link of the diminutive with the original name has been lost and the diminutive is perceived by most speakers to be a separate name (such is the case for Mojca, deriving from Marija, or Maja and Alenka deriving from Magdalena). In other cases, especially among male names, this link has been kept, but frequently boys are given diminutives as their given names (such as Miha instead of Mihael, Ivo instead of Ivan, or Nejc instead of Jernej etc.)

Spanish

Spanish forms diminutives by adding one of several diminutive suffixes: -ito/a, -cito/a, -ecito/a, -ico/a, -cico/a -illo/a, -cillo/a, -uelo/a, -zuelo/a, -ete/a, -ín, -iño/a:

• Juana → Juanita → Ju
• Jorge → Jorgito → Jor
• Antonio → Antoñín, Antoñito, Antoñete, Antoñillo, Toño, Toñito

It is common for a person to be known by 2 first names: José Luis, María Teresa, Juan Carlos, etc. Combining the 2 names into one is another common way to form a hypocorism:

Many Spanish nicknames, however, are or can seem very unlike the original name. Notice, however, that the -ch- [tʃ] sound is common in these diminutives:

Also, several names (especially female) may have their endings cut off and the vowel -"i" added at the end in the formation of pet names:

• Beatriz → Beti
• Javier → Javi (m.), Javy
• Leticia → Leti
• Pilar, María del Pilar → Pili
• Susana → Susi

Speakers of Philippine languages follow the same system.

Sri Lankan

• Kasun →Kassa
• Madushanka,Madhuranga,Madhumaali →Madhu
• Ravindra,Ravinaatha →Ravi
• Tharindu →Thariya
• Amandhi →Amaa
• Dushmantha,Dushan →Dush
• Aravindha →Araa
• Arjuna →Arju
• Kaluwithaarana →Kalu
• Chamindha,Chaamikara →Chami

Swedish

Male hypocorisms are often based on the first syllable of the name (shortening it if it's long), plus the ending -e. Hypocorisms are almost always two-syllabic with a grave accent.

These forms may be quite old: the oldest possible attestation may be the name Sibbi on the Rök Runestone dating to about 800 AD.

Like male hypocorisms, female hypocorisms tend to be bisyllabic:

• Caroline → Carro, Line
• Charlotta → Lotta
• Katarina → Kattis, Katta
• Kristina → Stina, Tina
• Magdalena → Malena, Lena
• Maria → Mia
• Susanna → Sussi, Sanna

Turkish

• Abdullah → Apo
• Fatma → Fatoş
• Hasan → Haso
• Hatice → Hatçe
• İbrahim → İbo
• Mehmet → Memo
• Süleyman → Sülo
• Muzaffer → Muzo

Welsh

• Bronwen → Bron
• Catrin → Cadi
• David → Dai, Dewi
• Elen → Nel, Neli
• Elisabeth → Bethan, Beth, Leusa
• Esther → Nesta
• Geraint → Ger
• Huw → Huwcyn
• Ioan → Jac
• Iorwerth → Iori
• Myfanwy → Myfi
• Richard → Dic
• Siôn → Siôni
• Tomos → Tomi, Twm

Yiddish (And contemporary Hebrew)

As rule of thumb, adding the "suffix" 'le, 'ale, 'ele or sometimes simply an "L" to the name makes it diminutive and endearing, for both female and male names. It is also in common practice in Hebrew, mostly by Ashkenazi Jewish people. In most cases, as the names would be spelled using the Hebrew Alphabet, an apostrophe would separate the name from the suffix.

• חיה Chaya → חיה'לה Chayale , Chaya'le
• משה Moyshe → משה'לה Moyshele , Moyshe'le
• דוד David → דוד'לה Davidle , David'le, דוד'ל Davidl
• רינה Rina → רינה'לה Rinale , Rina'le
• זלדה Zelda → זלדה'לה Zeldale , Zelda'le
• דב Dov → דב'לה Dovale , Dov'ale

It can also work with names which are not predominantly Jewish, for example:

• Craig → Craigele, Craigale
• Gerda → Gerdale

Another suffix used by Yiddish and Hebrew speakers could be 'ke, 'ka and also "inka"/"yinka":

• דוד David → דוד'קה Davidke , David'ke
• טל Tal → טלינקה Talinka
• צבי Zvi → צביקה Zvika

Other diminutive and endearing suffixes in common use by Yiddish and Hebrew speakers are "ush", "chook" and "inyu":

• רבקה Rivka → רבקוש Rivkush
• גיא Guy → גיאוש Guyush
• דן Dan → דנצ'וק Danchook
• חן Chen → חנצ'וק Chenchook
• בר Bar → בריניו Barinyu

With single syllable names a form of endearment exists where the name is repeated twice consecutively, or with longer names, the last syllable might be repeated, for example:

• גיא Guy → גיאגיא Guyguy
• דן Dan → דן Dandan
• טל Tal → טלטל Taltal
• רון Ron → רונרון Ronron
• נטלי Natalie → נטלילי Natalilie

Many names have their own versions of nicknames specifically for them which are common in Yiddish, or in contemporary Hebrew:

• רפאל Refael → רפי Rafi
• יוסף Yosef → ספי Sefi
• אברהם Avraham → אבי Avi
• אליהו Eliyahu → אלי Eli (The same goes to most names that has the prefix of Eli, like Elimelech, Eliezer, Elisha, etc.)
• רבקה Rivka → ריבי Rivi , ריקה Rika , ריקי Riki
• שמואל Shmuel → שמוליק Shmulik , מולי Muli
• משה Moshe → מויש Moysh , מוש Mosh , מושון Mushon
• בנימין Binyamin → בני Beni
• דוד David → דודו Dudu
• יחזקאל Yehezkel → חזי Hezi
• חנה Chana → חני Chani
• יצחק Yitzhak → איציק Itzik
• ישראל Israel → שרול Srool, שרוליק Sroolik
• בלהה Bilha → בילי Bili
• גאולה Geula → גולי Guli

References

Look up hypocorism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.