Newcomers may find this list of unusual names from the Knobs in McMinn, Monroe, and Polk Counties helpful. Kinfolks researching local families sometimes have difficulty pronouncing and spelling these strange names and nicknames. Our East Tennessee dialect through generations is a contributory factor, no doubt. Youngsters do not know origins for these curious given names. Neophytes do not even understand that quotation marks indicate a nickname and that nicknames are not legal names but merely "pet" names used commonly by family and friends. Over decades of research, I found such nicknames, naming patterns, learned local pronunciations, and sought origins. The following chart may help researchers, but better still, bring a smile to the rest of us senior citizens. Thanks to Cousins Mildred Maupin and Denise Keltch for help and additions to this list! I appreciate their encouragement and the laughter we share.

NICKNAME	GENDER	TRANSLATION	DERIVATION	MEANING
Allie	female	Dialtha	?	?
Altie / Aldie	female	Althea	Old English from German	healer or wholesome
Arkie	female	Arthena / also Arkadelphia	see Athena	inventive spelling of Athena
Armie / Army	male	Armistead	French & English	dweller by the hermitage
Artie	female	Artemisia	Latin	aromatic shrub like wormwood
Az	female	Azilee	English	derived from azalea, a flowering shrub
Clercie / Clercy	female	Clarissa	English, Italian, & Spanish	clear or brilliant
Creasie / Creecy	female	Lucretia	Roman	a noble woman who committed suicide
Cordy / Deelie / Deal	female	Cordelia	origin uncertain	of the heart; heart-felt
Eckie / Eck	female	Echinacea	herb derived from coneflower and used to improve immune system	from Latin meaning prickly
Een	female	Rowena	Welsh	white mane
Feenie / Josie	female	Josephine	Biblical	feminine version of Joseph
Feen	female	Sophina	English from Greek Sophia	Greek for "wisdom"
Flardy	female	Florida	name of Florida state	the flowery
Frona / Fronie / Frone	female	Sophronia	Greek	of sound mind / heart
Goley	male	clipped from Goldman	?	?
Iggy	male	Ignatius	St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch	saint martyred at Rome
Leevie	female	Olevia	Knobs version of feminine for Oliver	Latin "man of peace"*
Lice	male	Elias	Biblical	Hebrew for "prominence"*
Mealie	female	Amelia / Permelia	Latin	"industrious or golden-tongued flatterer"*
Meridie	female / male	Meredith	Welsh, Celtic, & English	protector or guardian of the sea
Merky / Merk	female	America	geographical	bestowed for patriotism
Narcie	female	Narcissa	Greek mythology, Narkissos	sleep, numbness
Neal	male	Cornlieus / Cornel	from Greek, "cornel tree"	"Cornel-cherry" is the dogwood tree bearing cherry-red seeds in fall.
Neely	female	Cornelia	from Greek, "cornel tree"	"Cornel-cherry" is the dogwood tree bearing cherry-red seeds in fall.
Nennie	male	Nineveh	Assyrian	ancient Assyrian city in Mesopotamia near current Mosul
Nervie / Nerve	female	Minerva	Roman myth	goddess of wisdom
Nicie	female	Eunice	Biblical	woman of assured faith
Onie	female	Leona	English & German	female version of Leon, capital of province of Le�n in Spain
Parkie	female	Parthena	variant spelling of Athena	version of mythology
Parly	female	Paralee	?	?
Procey	female	Providence	M English, M French from Latin	foresight
Rainie	female	Lourena / Lorena	form of Lorraine	derived from King Lothar
Retta / Retter	female	Arietta	Italian	a short aria in music
Rispie	female	Rispa	Biblical - Rizpah	daughter of Aiah and unfortunate concubine of king Saul
Roe	male	Monroe	Scottish, English	from the mouth of the River Roe in Ireland
Sinee	female	Sinai	Biblical geography	Mountain of Moses
Slynie	female	Selena	English from the Greek	"moon" in Greek
Teen / Teenie	female	Christine	Biblical	Jesus Christ
Theen / Thenie / Thener	female	Athena	Greek myth	goddess of wisdom
Thursie	female	Thursa	Norse mythology	Norse god Thor's day is Thursday.
Ulie / Ules	male	Ulysses	Roman mythology	from Odysseus
Unie	female	Eunice	Greek "happy victory"*	in Bible, the woman of assured faith
Vice / Vicey	female	Lovisa	Swedish	on Swedish calendar
Viney	female	Lavinia	Latin	daughter of Latinus and Amata and the last wife of Aeneas
Viry	female	Alvira / Elvira	Spanish from possibly Arabic	"the white"
Zeddie / Zettie	female	Arzada	unknown to me	Who knows?
Zim / Zimri	male	Zimariah	Biblical	Prince of Simeon Tribe or King of Israel betweem Elah and Omri

*Some meanings above come from What's in a Name? by Favius Friedman, Scholastic Book Services, Scholastice Magazines, Inc., New York, NY, Jan 1975.

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This site is dedicated to the memory of my mother,
Beulah Cline Nipper, a beautiful product of the Knobs.