Nicknames, Updated

History is filled with persons who earned descriptive nicknames because of their personal characteristics or their accomplishments: English Kings Alfred the Great and Richard the Lionheart are prime examples. Of course, nicknames are often earned for other reasons, as we note in remembering English King Aethelred the Unready, Viking warlord Ivar the Boneless, and Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler. 

Last Thursday (February 15th, for those who celebrate) marked the birthday of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici, the lord of Florence from 1492 until his exile in 1494. Despite his status as the eldest son of Lorenzo “The Magnificent” de’ Medici, his feeble, arrogant, and undisciplined character earned him the nicknames “Piero the Fatuous” and “Piero the Unfortunate.” 

Considering that we have no shortage of feeble, arrogant, undisciplined, unfortunate and fatuous characters, many of whom are either members of Congress or aspiring autocrats trying to strongarm their way back into the presidency, it occurs to me to wonder once again why we no longer attach descriptive nicknames to notable individuals. Der Furor is noted for his childish habit of giving demeaning nicknames to his enemies and opponents ("Ron De Sanctimonious," "Little Marco," "Crooked Hillary," etc), but that's not the same thing. I wrote about this two years ago in a blog post titled - surprise! - "Nicknames," and on noting Piero de' Medici's birthday last week, I was inspired to revisit the topic and update my list of new, history-worthy nicknames ...

President Joe Biden: Joe the Underestimated; 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Volodymyr the Courageous;

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman: John the Underdressed; 

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley: Josh the Sprinter; 

Maine Senator Susan Collins: Susan the Perpetually Concerned; 

New York Representative Elise Stefanik: Elise the Obsequious; 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott: Greg the Heartless; 

Der Furor: Donald the Felonious; 

Special Counsel Jack Smith: Jack the Relentless; 

Useless blowhard Tucker Carlson: Tucker the Traitorous. 

That's a start ... what nicknames might you suggest for the famous and near-famous? Leave a comment.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo the Snarky