History Main / EmbarrassingNickname

* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', [=Tony DiNozzo=] comes up with [[http://ncis.wikia.com/wiki/Timothy_McGee/Nicknames a new nickname]] for his fellow agent [=Timothy McGee=] almost [[OnceAnEpisode every episode]]. None of them are very flattering. [=McGee=] is particularly ashamed of "Elf Lord" (his online gaming name).

--> '''Inferno:''' As you command... my queen.
--> '''Megatron:''' ''Ugh...'' I do wish he would stop calling me that...

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': [[FreakyFridayFlip "The Great Brain Robbery"]] reveals Green Lantern had one, but we don't know what it is.
-->'''G.L.''': It ''sounds'' like Wally, [[SpotTheImposter but is there any way to be sure?]]\\

'''G.L.''': [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay STOP! It's him]]. [[NoodleIncident Man, you promised never to repeat that story]]!

** "Soggy McGee"

** James "Whitey" Bulger really hated being called his more famous moniker since it was given to him by the police because of his platinum blond hair, and always instructed those close to him to call him "Jim" or "Jimmy." Since being caught, convicted and put in prison, he apparently [[http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/07/whitey-bulger-sparks-prison-probe/RFvMmEERrraVI0t32SFVpN/story.html changed his mind]] and asked that fellow inmates call him Whitey, presumably for the celebrity factor. Also one of many reasons Howie Carr had his unending hatred is that he continually called him Whitey [[{{Troll}} purely to piss him off]].

* UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} was the childhood nickname of Roman emperor Gaius Caesar [[note]](it means something like "little boot," referring to how he'd been made a small Legionnaire's uniform for when he went on campaigns with his father as a child, including a tiny set of boots)[[/note]] which he reportedly disliked.

** One RCAF pilot got stuck with the call sign "Bobbitt" after he accidentally sheared off his CF-18's phallic refueling probe during an excercise. He was given the tip to forever remind him of what happened.

* The so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ''loathes'' being called "Daesh" which is the name they are known for throughout the Islamic world and threatens to flog or cut out the tongues of anyone using it. "Daesh" is an acronym for their organization's full name in Arabic (ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām), but they find it offensive for two reasons: 1) the word sounds close to "trampling" or "discord sowers", both of which had negative connotations and 2) the word has no specific meaning on its own, which undermines their position as a caliphate since they stand for nothing. Westerners (both governmental entities and journalistic media) have also adopted the term, though they do refer to them by the ISIS acronym in their respective languages because it's more convenient.
* [[UsefulNotes/CheGuevara Ernesto Guevara's]] nickname of "Che" is actually rather embarrassing when you know the meaning. It’s a meaningless filler word in Argentina similar to “um.” However this was completely unknown to the Cubans who gave it to him as a nickname because he said it a lot. “El Che” to someone of Guevara’s region of Argentina sounds like “The Umm.” Guevara didn’t expressed any dislike of the name while in Cuba, but did confess to Khrushchev that he would be rather embarrassed to return home with it.
* Medievel History is particularly rife with embarrassing epithets.
** James II of England took the throne in 1685, but he was universally loathed by Irish and English subjects alike, therefore earning him the nickname, "James the Be-Shitten."
** Aethelred II of England took the throne in 978, but his poor governance earned him the nickname "Aethelred the Unready." However, it should be noted that the meaning of the term ''unready'' has evolved in the English language; at the time it was applied, it simply meant ''poorly-advised,'' not ''unprepared.'' Nonetheless, it doubles as a Main/PunnyName and Main/IronicNickname because ''Aethelred'' itself literally means ''well-advised.''
** Louis V, the last monarch of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}} Carolingian]] Dynasty, was known as "Louis the Do-Nothing." He was crowned while his father was still alive in 979, but failed to retake Aquitaine and died heirless at age 20.
** King William I of Sicily was known as "William the Bad," but not for reasons entirely of his own doing. Early in his reign, William tolerated other religions and promoted literature and science, and he ruled his kingdom efficiently. But in order to do that, he had to centralise authority under the crown by suppressing the powerful barons of Sicily, thus angering them. They turned against him and undermined his rule as Sicily lost its African territories one by one, and ultimately popular rebellions hamstrung William's government.

* Creator/RobReiner's StarMakingRole was on ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' as Archie Bunker's liberal, opinionated son-in-law, whom Archie "affectionately" nicknamed "Meathead." Even after the show ended and Reiner became a successful director and producer, news outlets dubbed him "the Meathead" throughout the 80's (Reiner famously claimed that if he ever won the Nobel Prize, every newspaper headline would be "MEATHEAD WINS NOBEL PRIZE"). It took until the 90's for him to finally shake it off.

* Wrestling/JimCornette is known for handing out emabrrassing nicknames to wrestlers he dislikes. Among the most famous are "Kenny Olivier", "Harpo Fingerfuck", and "Twinkletoes [=McFingerbang=]" for Wrestling/KennyOmega; "(My Little Dog) Pockets" for Wrestling/OrangeCassidy; "The Pudding Gang" for The Best Friends; "The Bank-Addicted Drug Robber" for Nick Gage[[note]]Because he served time in prison for robbing a bank to get drug money[[/note]]; and "The Hardly Boys" or "The Cucamonga Kids" for the Young Bucks.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

* [[ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} Captain Mar-Vell]] would often insist he be called by his actual name and ''not'' "Captain Marvel". (Despite the fact that it was the title of his own comic.)

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Eugene Thompson's nickname "Flash" was changed into one in one of the sillier [[RetCon retcons]] during ''Brand New Day''. Originally it had been used in reference to his [[LovableJock prowess on the football field]], now it became a reference to a case of premature ejaculation on a high-school date.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ''Franchise/XMen'':

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaRevengeOfTheIsland'', Jo christens teammate Brick with an entire LIST:

* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': Sheldon remembers that six-year-old Georgie was still struggling with potty training, and so Connie would call him "Mr. Soggypants". Georgie is embarrassed and tries to deny this. Missy, naturally, starts calling him that again.

* [[http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/020726.html Seen here]] on ''WebSite/OverheardInNewYork''.

* On ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', the gang finds out that Rebecca's college nickname was "Back Seat Becky".

* Penny from ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' finds it extremely annoying that her dad calls her "Pen-Pen," since he's [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents overly affectionate]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E16SonicRainboom Sonic Rainboom]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles The Cutie Mark Chronicles]]", three male JerkJock Pegasi call Rainbow Dash "Rainbow ''Crash''" and Fluttershy "''Klutz''ershy".
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E7NewbieDash Newbie Dash]]", Rainbow Dash gets a chance to fly with the Wonderbolts, but after an accident on her first day gets stuck with the nickname "Rainbow Crash" (again). She spends the rest of the episode trying to erase her bad first impression, but then learns all the other Wonderbolts have embarrassing nicknames from when they were first starting out: Soarin is known as "Clipper" from clipping his wing on a flagpole, Fleetfoot is known as "Flatfoot" for stepping on Spitfire's hoof, Misty Fly is "Daisy", Surprise is "Slowpoke", High Winds is "Hoof-in-Mouth", and Spitfire tells Rainbow "you ''don't'' want to know what they call ''me''" before [[TakeOurWordForIt whispering it in her ear]].

* ''Fanfic/LuzBelosPrincessOfTheBoilingIsles'':
** Much like in canon, Amity can't abide being called "Mittens", even by Luz.
** When they were little, Luz would call Willow "Willy."
* In the ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' fanfic ''Fanfic/MaFille'', Glass Joe's high school "[[WithFriendsLikeThese friends]]" often called him Lulu, since his middle name is Luc.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' fanfics:
** Ignacio from ''Fanfic/TheDragonAndTheButterfly'' has a habit of giving these, referring to Julieta Madrigal as "Cooking Mama."
** In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42966075/chapters/107951373 Storytime]]'', it's mentioned that Pepa sometimes calls Bruno "Pancita" (a Spanish word more-or-less meaning "chubby belly"), which [[FanCreatedOffspring Sierra]] has picked up on.

** [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin III]]/ComicBook/RedRobin Tim Drake despises the nickname "Timmy" though he still gets called by it from time to time.

** X-Men villain [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Apocalypse]] was often referred to by fans as 'Pookie' due to his tendency to [[VillainDecay not come off nearly as intimidating as he used to]]. Several years ago this [[AscendedMeme became canon]] when ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' began calling him this, and it soon caught on among other characters in-universe. Needless to say, the immortal world-conquering mutant overlord was [[DoNotTauntCthulhu not amused by this]].

* In ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', Cornell Stokes absolutely [[BerserkButton hates]] being called "[[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames Cottonmouth]]" to his face. Doesn't stop his own men from using the name behind his back. Mariah Dillard also doesn't like being called "Black Mariah" either.

* On ''Series/TheWestWing'', CJ's Secret Service code name is "Flamingo," which is presumably a reference to how tall and thin she is. Some of the men try to reassure her that a flamingo is a beautiful bird, but she always replies, "No, it's a ''ridiculous''-looking bird!"

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'':

This is not always a comedy trope; the backstory behind the nickname can also apply to a harrowing event from the character's past like a [[MyGreatestFailure tragic mistake they made]] - they simply need to be ashamed of the nickname they are now burdened with.

* In ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'', AnnoyingYoungerSibling Manny calls his older brother Greg "Bubby", much to his chagrin. It comes to a head at the SchoolPlay, where Manny calls out to Greg (who is playing one of the trees). To avoid the shame, Greg immediately refers to another of the kids playing the trees as "Bubby", which pays off as said kid is seen being bullied later on for it.

* In ''Fanfic/AQuincysFairyTail'', Nanana Najahkoop hates being called "[[Series/Batman1966 Nananana Batman]]" with a passion. Obviously, nearly everyone calls him that, much to his chagrin

* In ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'':
** Luna hates it when Celestia calls her "Lulu," as she finds it childish.
** Twilight hates when her father calls her by her old baby nickname "Twinklesparky," ''especially'' when he does it in front of Nova Shine.

--> '''Raphael:''' Don't call her Rilly.

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In "Finding Clover", when Lawrence quits working for Mr. Boswell at his magic show, the former tells Clover not to call him by his stage name "Mr. Cuddles".