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Princess Charlotte has two cute nicknames

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Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

During a family visit to the annually held Chelsea Flower Show, Prince William used a rather unknown moniker to address his daughter, Princess Charlotte. 

"Mignonette," he called, trying to get his sprightly preschooler's attention. 

According to Babynames.com, the name has French origins, and means "Favorite, Darling," and following on from the video above, the name also means "small, sweet, and delicate or cute."

Mignonette isn't the 4-year-old's only pet name, she's previously been called "Lottie," by mom Kate. 

While Lotte is a fairly obvious choice, we're not quite sure about the origins of Mignonette but nicknames are clearly a parent thing. 


Also see: Princess Diana was the lowkey baby name inspiration for Harry and Meghan's newborn son

What's your child's parent-assigned nickname and how did you come up with it? Tell us emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish your letter. Do let us know if you'd like to stay anonymous.  


Origin stories

A dad on the subreddit r/Parenting shared how he got to assign a nick name to his baby girl and wanted to know how other parents came upon a nickname for their children. Here are some great responses.

"Animal because..."

"Instead of 'Nelly Fertado' we call her 'Ellie Potato'"

"We called her Momo"

"I started to call her Meringue-O-Tang"

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Then, there are all those nicknames that come attached to certain names, like calling William "Bill" and Siyabulelas "Siya".  If you're one of those think-ahead parents who like to know all the possible turns a name can take, here's a look at a few names and their allotted monikers. 

Asanda
Nickname: Asa
Meaning: Still increasing
Origin: Xhosa


Charles
Nickname: Chuck
Meaning: Free man
Origin: French


Dorothy
Nickname: Dot
Meaning: God's Gift
Origin: Greek 


Daniel: 
Nickname: Danny, Dan
Meaning: God is my judge
Origin: Hebrew 


Edward 
Nickname: Ted, Ned 
Meaning: Wealthy or fortunate guardian
Origin: Anglo-Saxon


Georgina
Nickname: Georgie
Meaning: Farmer
Origin: Greek


Gillian
Nickname: Gillie or Gill
Meaning: Youthful
Origin: Latin 


Henrietta 
Nickname: Hettie
Meaning: Home ruler
Origin: German


Henry
Nickname: Harry
Meaning: Home ruler 
Origin: German 


James
Nickname: Jim 
Meaning: Supplanter
Origin: Hebrew 


Joseph
Nickname: Joe, Joey
Meaning: God increases 
Origin: Hebrew


Mabel
Nickname: Mabs
Meaning: Lovable, dear
Origin: Latin


Philip/Philippa 
Nickname: Pip/Pippa 
Meaning: Lover of horses
Origin: Latin 


Patricia 
Nickname: Patsy
Meaning: Noble
Origin: Latin 


Richard
Nickname: Dick 
Meaning: Strong in rule
Origin: German, French, and English


Robert                
Nickname: Rob, Bob, Bobby
Meaning: Fame-bright
Origin: German


Roxanne
Nickname: Roxie
Meaning: Dawn, bright
Origin: Persian 


Tabitha
Nickname: Tibby
Meaning: Gazelle, graceful
Origin: Hebrew 

Thandolwethu (U)
Nickname: Thando 
Meaning: Our love 
Origin: Ndebele 


Winifred
Nickname: Winnie 
Meaning: Reconciled; blessed
Origin: Welsh

What's your child's parent-assigned nickname and how did you come up with it? Tell us emailing to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish your letter. Do let us know if you'd like to stay anonymous.  

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