Dear Philly, Tell us your best nicknames

Most people know my brother as Dean Owens. I still call him Gumby.

As does my mother, our grandparents and scores of cousins. He's 35 now, and maybe there are some people who ask why he hasn't shaken the name after childhood. But I grew up in a Philly family full of nicknames: Pig, Sickamo Sull, Beeda, ReeRee, LaLa, Puddin, Champ and Shaddy, just to name a few.

Nicknames are sources of musicality, humor and endearment, and we want to hear yours.

Please share with us your coolest, cutest and funniest nicknames and the stories behind them. (My brother did love the animated clay character, but my mother based it on his gums as a baby.) Email these details and your real name to audience@philly.com, and we'll share submissions in a story to come.

Philly, this should be fun.