My experience of the British public school system and a hugely enjoyable experience of managing the Officer's Mess at the Royal Military Police Training School leads me to argue that nick-names (pet names) can be either wholly arbitrary or linked to either personal attributes, likes and dislikes, variations on the individual's names or abilities.

Intriguingly a great many of the nick names offer up a complete contrast to the reality.

At the most basic in the RMP - a soldier called 'Lofty' was short in stature while 'Shorty' towered head and shoulders above everyone else. The name 'Gonzales' was an abrreviation of 'Speedy Gonzales', which did not reflect the officer's driving skills but the habit of being last downsatirs for breakfast. 'Red' was, of course, red-haired and male. Goldielocks did not refer to the gender nor the officer's hair-colour but the length - longer than the standard allowed in the Army. .......