Play It Again, Sämu: Decoding Bernese Nicknames

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) If you're introduced to Seppu, Küsu, Vanä and Simä, you might think you've woken up in Finland. But you're actually in the Swiss capital, Bern, and have just met Joseph, Markus, Vanessa and Simone. Welcome to the colourful world of Bernese nicknames. This content was published on December 13, 2025 - 11:00 7 minutes

I write articles on the Swiss Abroad and“Swiss Oddities” as well as weekly briefings and press reviews. I also translate, edit and sub-edit articles for the English department and do voiceover work for videos. Born in London, I have a degree in German/Linguistics and was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. I speak all three official Swiss languages and enjoy travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.

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Nicknames, sobriquets, monikers – call them what you like, almost all cultures have them. They can be used for convenience (Alex for Alexander, Liz for Elizabeth), to express affection, or to signal that you've been accepted by a group – that you belong.

A nickname, in its broadest sense, is an informal substitute for a person's real name.

It can be a shortened form (Tom, Sue), a term of endearment (Pumpkin), or a funny description based on physical characteristics (“Big Mac” if tall and Scottish – these are often ironic, hence“Curly” for someone who is bald).

It is not the same as a pseudonym (Le Corbusier), a pen name (Mark Twain, Elena Ferrante) or stage name (many, many actors and musicians – Marilyn Monroe, John Denver, Lady Gaga), although these concepts often overlap.

It can also simply be a name that someone picks up when young and which sticks: Gabrielle“Coco” Chanel, Edwin“Buzz” Aldrin, Pelé, Eldrick“Tiger” Woods, Shelton“Spike” Lee.

This article focuses on Bernese forms of first names which are often – but not always – shortened. They are not to be confused with Pfadfindernamen or Fahrtennamen (scouting names or trail names), by which several famous Bernese are known (Hans-Peter“Mani” Matter, Urs“Polo” Hofer).

In English, many first names are shortened or at least changed somehow; famous tweaks include William Clinton, Catherine Blanchett and Michael Jagger. At the other end of the fame scale, hardly anyone I'm close to calls me Thomas (it's Tom).

But finding someone from Bern who uses their original name is definitely the exception. In my first week at Swissinfo I met a Chrigu, Pesche and Köbi – in fact a couple of Köbis. It was several days before I realised I was dealing with a Christian, Peter and two Jakobs.

“When I meet someone, I introduce myself as Chrigu – no one calls me Christian,” explains my colleague Chrigu Raaflaub, who grew up in Riggisberg, canton Bern.“When I was a kid, my family called me Chrigi, but when I went to higher education in Bern when I was 16 or 17 it became Chrigu.”

In Bern, it's rare not to be called by a nickname – whether you like it or not – by friends and family and, depending on the level of formality at your job, by work colleagues. Teachers stick to using the original name.

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