Ever notice that men are much more likely to assign nicknames or use surnames when two or more people share the same first name, whereas women are not?
Why is this?
For example, there are three Matthews in one of my circles of friend. Myself, Matthew Shepard and Matthew Parker. Rather than relying on versions of of our first names, we simply became Shep, Parker, and Matty.
In another circle of friends, there are three Michaels. Each ended up being referred to by their surnames. Even with the possibility of using Michael, Mike and even Mikey, no version of the first name was left standing.
In a third circle of friends, there are two Jeffs. Jeff Coger became Coog and Jeff Martin became Martin. Again, no first name variant was left standing.
Yet I never see women do this. Though I refer to some of my female friends by their surnames from time to time, I can’t remember the last time I heard a woman do this. And I almost never see a woman going by a nickname of any kind. A Jennifer may become a Jen or a Jenny, but rarely does she become a J.Lo.
Am I just hanging out with the wrong kind of women or is this a thing?
And if so, why?
