My given name is Catherine. I've been called Cathy and or Cat most of my life, and it makes sense because there is a direct correlation to the name Catherine.

There are some names, however, where the nicknames don't seem directly related to the original birth name. I'm thinking of things like:
Robert - Bob
Richard - Dick
Margaret - Peggy
Henry - Hank

Any idea how we got to these nicknames?

I have no idea how the nicknames evolved, but off the top of my head "Elizabeth" probably has the most ..... Liz, Lizzie, Eliza, Beth, Betty, Bess, Bessie, .... more ???

Not sure if any etymologies exist, but here's what of the Straight Dope has to say about Peggy. There's also Ted for Edward and Bill for William. Some sort of rhyming scheme seems to be going on. Margarita is 'pearl' in Latin. Might be where the p comes from.

Peggy and Dick seem a little off, but all the rest seem fairly logical as diminutives. I found this site somewhat instructive, though this comment was somewhat odd:

quote:

Diminutives are usually used with inferiors or equals, such as children and servants, or close friends or relatives. Usually meant affectionately, often times there are varying degrees of diminutives.

Servants?