Nicknames

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Artwork by urdsama at The Dean Show

Everyone loves a nickname, and Supernatural has plenty for the characters, the actors, and of course the fans ourselves.

The Show

When Supernatural started, SN was used as an abbreviation for the show on things such as Livejournal community names, for example the original sn_newsletter. The crew also used the abbreviation "SN," as in the yearly issued Production pins. However some fans found it could be confused with the TV show and fandom for "Sports Night", while SNL was associated with Saturday Night Live. So SPN became the commonly used abbreviation. Its usage spread even more widely with the advent of the letter economical Twitter.

SPN (pronounced "ess pee en") is usually capitalised and was originally used to refer to both the show and the fandom. Over time however, as the fans and the crew began to refer to each other as "members of the SPN family," and the term "SPN family" has become used more often in reference to fans with "SPN" reserved for the show itself.

For other Supernatural slang, and the mashup pairing names such as Sassy or Megstiel, check the entries in the Vernacular category. For aliases and fake ids used on the show, see Aliases.

SPNFamily

SPNFamily is the term most commonly used term for the fandom. Given the "family doesn't end with blood" theme of the show, the only surprise about the term is that fandom didn't think of it earlier, and it took Jared to really get the term into usage.

When the Supernatural fandom began, fans would occasionally discuss collective terms that could be applied to Supernatural fans, similar to "Trekkies or Trekkers" for Star Trek fans, or "Whovians" for fans of the Doctor Who. Discussions were had, polls conducted, suggestions such as rocksalters, saltgunners, renegades and roadies canvassed, but nothing ever stuck.

Super fans has been used occasionally - possibly coined by TV Guide reviewer Matt Roush is response to a fan postcard campaign in February 2007 source. In the show Becky Rosen is referred to more than once as Sam's "super fan" [1][2]

Supe Nazi was a term coined by TV critic Michael Ausiello. The term SPNers has some currency and is often used by Clif Kosterman on Twitter. Some fans have used the term Super Freaks.

Around early 2011, the term "Supernatural Family" came into circulation, used at first by Jared to describe how he felt about the relationship between the cast, crew and fans: "It's like my third family," he says of his fans. "I have my family, my on-set family, and then our 'Supernatural' family, so I love them. My 'Supernatural' family's the biggest and strongest, so I love 'em." [3]. He also used it at the Comic Con 2011 [4] The usage spread amongst other crew members on Twitter such as Jim Michaels.

For the 2013 People's Choice Awards, there was also a new category for "Favorite TV Fan Following". The Supernatural fandom was referred to as "Dean Girls, Sam Girls, and Misha Wives". Within hours of the polls opening, fan complaints about this led to it being changed to SPNFamily. We won the award!

In the Pegasus nebula there is a SPNFamily star! On 8th of September 2018, Misha Collins tweeted that he had named a star for the SPNFamily.

Team Free Will

A collective term first used by Dean to describe him, Sam and Castiel [5]. Later Dean expands it to include Jack dubbing them Team Free Will 2.0.

Sam and Dean

While not exactly a nickname, the most common term used to refer collectively to Sam and Dean is "the boys." This term originated on the show, as used by older characters such as Bobby, John Winchester and Ellen Harvelle, but was quickly adopted by fans and crew members to refer either to both Sam and Dean or Jared and Jensen. Likewise, these characters have all referred to them in the singular as "boy." Crowley greets Sam and Dean on several occasions by saying "Hello, boys".[6][7][8][9][10] Abaddon and Irv Franklin also refer to them as "boys" on a few occasions in 9.02 Devil May Care, as do background characters throughout the show.

As for themselves, Sam and Dean have a childish habit where Dean calls Sam "Bitch" and Sam responds with "Jerk". While this exchange became strongly associated with the characters in the fandom, it has only been used six times[11][12][13][14][15][16] in the the show. (See [1] for the full list.)

Bobby's affectionate term for the boys is Idjits. In 7.10 Death's Door, Bobby's dying word to the boys is "Idjits".

Most commonly, it's the Winchester's adversaries who refer to them by a variety of pejorative epithets:

Probably the most expressive term is used by the ever articulate Crowley who calls them "denim-wrapped nightmares".[19]. He also calls them the Hardy Boys[24], a term long-used in the Television Without Pity recaps of Supernatural. That forum also referred to the boys in 2005/06 as The Brothers Dean. This related to Jared's previous role as Dean Forrester on Gilmore Girls. Occasionally Sam was referred to as Cute!Dean and Dean as Hot!Dean.

Crowley also calls Sam and Dean "Moose and Squirrel," respectively, referring to the cartoon duo of Bullwinkle (the moose) and Rocky (a squirrel)[25] and Timon and Pumbaa who are a cartoon meerkat and warthog duo who first appeared in Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King.[26] Crowley's caller id for Dean is Not Moose. [10]

Frank Devereaux compares the two to Cheech and Ed from Ma Bell while they are costumed as electricians while undertaking surveillance.

Cole Trenton refers to the boys as Sammy and Dean-o. He wrote about this character choice here.

Charlie Bradbury once called Sam "Groot" and Dean "Rocket" in reference to the tree and raccoon duo of Marvel.[27]

If you say their names fast enough together, Sam and Dean becomes "Salmon Dean," spawning the title of a track on the show's OST as well as a barrage of interesting fan works after a J2 panel at JiBcon 2016 (recorded by a fan here).

Sam

Dean: House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.
Sam: You know, Sammy is a chubby 12 year old. It's Sam, okay?

– Sam and Dean, 1.01 Pilot

Dean's main nickname for Sam is "Sammy," generally used either for teasing or in moments of great emotion. While Sam initially protests its use after he and Dean first reunite in 2005, it becomes clear it has as much meaning for Sam as it does for Dean when Gordon Walker uses it and Sam retorts "He's the only one who gets to call me that."[21]. Cole Trenton also calls Sam "Sammy" during their second encounter.[28] For a count of every time Dean uses this nickname see Sammy.

Dean also calls Sam "little brother" from time to time. Other characters throughout the show also reference Sam as Dean's little brother, including Benny, Lucifer and Michael. Going one step further, Michael refers to Sam as Dean's "darling little Sammy".[29]. (Darling Sammy was also the nickname for Sam in the Television Without Pity recaps by Demian.) Dean has also called Sam "Samuel".[30]

In 3.01 The Magnificent Seven, a demon gives Sam the nickname "The Boy King" in reference to Azazel's plan to have Sam lead Hell's army. Fans adopted the nickname and frequently use it for AU fanworks in which Sam is evil, often playing the role Azazel intended. Along the same vein, when Castiel first meets Sam, he refers to him as "The boy with the demon blood."[31]

Many of the nicknames Sam receives both in canon and fandom refer to Sam's Height, such as:

Crowley in particular has a number of nicknames based on Sam's height including "Jolly green."[32], "Winchester Jumbo-Sized"[33], and "Moose". In fact, "Moose" has became so popular with Crowley that it spread to Jared, other cast members, and the fans. (See all its uses in canon here.)

Rowena also refers to him as "Moose,"[34] along with "Giant" and a "bampot" (idiot)[35], "Samuel"[36][37][38] and "Big and tall"[39].

Meg calls Sam Bullwinkle in 7.21 Reading Is Fundamental, as does Crowley in 9.10 Road Trip.

In 7.09 How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters, the waiter Brandon refers to Sam as Big Bird.

In 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? Crowley calls Sam "Samantha," possibly a reference to his longer hair in Season 8. However, he continues to use "Samantha" intermixed with his other nicknames through Season 11.

The reaper Billie refers to Sam as "The Big W" in 11.17 Red Meat.

In 14.03 The Scar it is revealed, much to Sam's chagrin, that the Apocalypse World refugees have taken to calling Sam "Chief", due to his leadership role in coordinating their various hunts.

There are also nicknames for the various incarnations of Sam:

  • Evil!Sam - the name given by fans to Sam when he was possessed by the Meg!Demon[40]. Over time the term has come to have a broader use, especially in fanfiction where there is a whole genre based on the premise of Sam becoming evil.
  • Samifer - used by fandom to describe when Sam is Lucifer's vessel.[41]
  • Sampala - used by fandom to describe when Sam is transformed into the Impala by Gabriel.[42]
  • RoboSam - used by Dean to describe Sam when he didn't have a soul.[6] and was widely used by fans and TV reviewers. Other terms used included Soulless!Sam or Not!Sam. Sam with a soul was occasionally referred to as soulful Sam and Care Bear Sam.[43]
  • Leviathan!Sam - for when a leviathan poses as Sam.[44]
  • Sazekiel or "Sadreel" - used by fandom to describe when Sam is Gadreel's vessel.[45]

Sammich is a fan nickname for Sam and is also used in Keith R.A. DeCandido's tie-in novel Nevermore by Dean as a nickname/pet name for Sam.

Jared seems to prefer the nickname "Sam Fucking Winchester."

Dean

Sam doesn't really have a nickname for Dean. He just calls him "Dean." A lot.[46] A popular fandom nickname, particularly in Wincest fanfic, is "Dee." It's hotly debated amongst fans whether Sam has actually used the term in the series. The consensus seems to agree that he hasn't, although there are some instances as recently as season 11 where it's really hard to say.

Multiple characters have called him "Dean-o" including Irv Franklin[47], Gabriel, Cole, and Rudy[36].

Whereas Sam is usually referenced by his height, nicknames for Dean often reference his good looks. For instance, Ghostfacer Ed Zeddmore calls him "chisel chest"[48], and Brandon, a waiter at Biggerson's Restaurant, refers to him as "Ken Doll" as he serves him a turducken slammer.

Zachariah calls Dean "the Michael Sword," in reference to the fact that he is Michael's chosen vessel.

In 4.16 On the Head of a Pin the demon Alastair calls Dean "Grasshopper," a reference to training Dean in Hell:

Alastair: Now we're getting somewhere. Holy water? Come on. Grasshopper, you're gonna have to get creative to impress me.

Alastair also quotes a prophecy supposedly about Dean, calling him a "righteous man,":

Alastair:And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell. As he breaks, so shall it break.

Castiel repeats the nickname again later in the same episode:

Castiel: The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it.

In 7.11 Adventures in Babysitting, Frank Devereaux also calls Dean Grasshopper, alongside a variety of seemingly random nicknames including Sweetie pops, Buster Brown, My Little Lamb, Tarzan, and Cupcake. He also calls him Fudge Pop in 7.16 Out with the Old.

Crowley occasionally calls Dean "Squirrel"[49] and "not Moose" as a play off his nickname for Sam.

Sonny refers to Dean as "Dee-Dawg".[50]

There are also nicknames for the various incarnations of Dean:

Fan nicknames for Dean include: Deen, Ducky lips, El Deano, Li'l Stumpy and Puddean.

Impala

Dean: Whoa!! Listen to her purr! Have you ever heard anything so sweet?

Sam: You know, if you two want to get a room, just let me know, Dean.

Dean: Don't listen to him, baby. He doesn't understand us.

Sam and Dean Winchester, 2.03 Bloodlust

It wasn't until 2.01 In My Time of Dying that Dean's car was referred to as "the Impala", by Sam. Most notably she's called the Impala in the monologue by Chuck in 5.22 Swan Song.

Dean's term of endearment for his beloved Impala, first used in 2.03 Bloodlust, is "Baby". This is commonly used in fandom and by the cast and crew. Dean uses the diminutive in the following episodes: 2.03 Bloodlust, 2.05 Simon Said, 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas, 6.15 The French Mistake, 7.06 Slash Fiction, 7.01 Meet the New Boss, 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? and 9.04 Slumber Party.

Fans often refer to the car as "the Impala" or "Baby" partcularly in fan fiction. When Sam is transformed into the Impala by Gabriel, fans dubbed it the Sampala!

The nickname Metallicar originated on Television Without Pity on October 11, 2005 source. It was coined because Dean enjoys listening to classic rock music like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and, of course, Metallica while driving. It became commonplace throughout fandom, and has appeared on merchandise. It diminished in usage over later seasons, replaced by "Baby".

Castiel

Cas is a nickname for Castiel, first used by Dean in [51] and later commonly by other characters. Before its use in canon there were relatively few instances of this diminutive in fandom, and when it did appear it was generally pilloried. Subsequently its use became widespread. The show's writers spell the nickname "Cass" (example), and it also appears that way in Tie-in novels. It is spelled Cass in the Season 7 promo. In fandom, and particularly in Fanfiction, it is almost exclusively spelled "Cas". One theory as to the spelling "Cass" is that the writers based Castiel on the angel Cassiel, best known in popular culture from the movies Wings of Desire and the American remake City Of Angels.

Including being the first to call Castiel "Cas," Dean gives him a number of nicknames, including "junkless," "Happy Meal," "little nerdy dude with wings" and (when he's without powers) "baby in a trench coat."[52]

Meg refers to Castiel as "unicorn," "tree-topper," and predominantly as "Clarence" in a reference to the angel in the movie It's a Wonderful Life[24][53][54][55]. In 9.03 I'm No Angel, Castiel adopts the name Clarence as a cover when he is human. He also uses the alias FBI Special Agent Clarence Worley while working a djinn investigating a case in Wyoming. Clarence Worley is Christian Slater's character from True Romance.

Crowley calls Castiel a giraffe, among other endearments.

Metatron refers to him as Asstiel on several occasions.

Amara calls him blue eyes.

He has also been called Feathers by multiple people at multiple times.[36]

There are also nicknames for the various incarnations of Castiel:

Fan nicknames include My Sweet Baboo on TWOP and Hot Wings, which was coined by TV Guide in their 2009 Hot List.

Crowley

In response to Crowley referring to him as "Squirrel" Dean on one occasion calls Crowley "Boris" and refers to Rowena as "Natasha", In the animated series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show starred a moose called Bullwinkle and a squirrel called Rocky - the source of Crowley's nicknames for the Winchester's. Their nemesis were secret agents of the nation of Pottsylvania: the rather diminutive Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.

Reportedly, other demons call him Lucky the Leprechaun, a description more suited to an Irishman than a Scotsman.[59]

Ruby

When Genevieve Padalecki (then Cortese) was cast as Ruby in Season 4, her version of the character became known as Ruby 2.0, New Ruby or its contraction Nuby. Katie Cassidy's Ruby became known as Old Ruby.

Rubella was a mashup name of Ruby and Bela used by fans who were not keen on the two new characters introduced in Season 3. source.

Azazel

The demon Casey reveals that Azazel is the true name of the demon the Winchesters have been hunting in Season Three[60]. In Season 1, he is referred to as "the thing that killed Mom and Jess" and subsequently, after John reveals he knows what it is, as The Demon. In Season 2, Dean refers to him as The Yellow-Eyed Demon. Fannish shorthand for this was YED.

Another fannish term was Celine Demon coined on the TWOP boards on September 14, 2005, and derived from a misreading of the words Ceiling Demon as Celine Dion.

Other characters

Cast and Crew Nicknames

Well obviously we both call each other J, and when anybody says "Alright J, they're ready for you", they generally get both of us. (Points to Jared) J-Rod. I call him J-Rod. The crew, he gets J-Rod. And then I get Jackles. Yeah J-Rod and Jackles are probably the two most commonly used.

Jensen, Salute to Supernatural Chicago 2011, Video

The most popular fannish terms are J2 or J-squared. The term "J-squared" was used by Misha in the episode 6.15 The French Mistake. Jared and Jensen are also referred to as "the boys" by both fans and fellow cast and crew. The portmanteau "Padackles" was popular in the first couple of seasons of the show.

Fartacus is a nickname Jared created for himself referring to his prodigious production of gas source.

In a January 2007 issue of Pop Star magazine, it reported that Smeckles was Jared's nickname for Jensen. At EyeCon April 2008 Jared listed some nicknames for Jensen, including Smackles and Ugly, and mentioned Stretch for himself. (Video)

In fandom, Jared often attracts many of the same nicknames as Sam, which is not surprising given they are the same height. Moose became popular after its use in the show and at conventions, and especially following Jared joining Twitter. Puppy is another commonly fannish nickname, referring to Jared's boundless energy, affectionate nature and good humour.Also J-Pad.

Adding the prefix "Pada" to anything is a common fannish habit: Padacock is a fannish nickname for Jared's penis, while his and Genevieve's first child Thomas was referred to as the Padabump and as mini-Moose after he was born. The on-set logistics around the impending birth were known as "Operation Moose Drop"


Jensen is called Jackles by his costars and crew members. On the Tough Mudder video he is listed as J-Money. Frackles is a fannish nickname for Jensen's freckles.


Fandom Nicknames

Fans particularly intensely attached to certain characters are variously called Sam Girls, Dean Girls or Cas Fans.

Although not widely used, Jensen fans are sometimes called (usually by themselves) Ackleholics or Ackles Army and Jared fans are Padafans or Padaphiles.

Of course most fans have individual online 'nicknames' or handles that we use on the social media site, message board or websites with which we are involved.

Anyway, I'll think of you as friends not followers. But then again, maybe minions is a better term... I'll percolate.

– @mishacollins 2:07 PM May 13th 2009, Twitter

Wayward Daughters became the collective term used by fans of the idea of a female-centered Supernatural spin-off, and more broadly fans supportive of female characters and actors on the show.

Misha started the tradition in Supernatural fandom of the Twitter followers of particularly cast or crew being granted a particular name.

The following are those that had currency at some time. The practice of Twitter followers having a nickname, seemed to wane over time with it becoming rare after 2015.

Supernatural Wiki

The Supernatural Wiki began life as a website called Super Canon in early 2006. When it transformed into the wiki format in August 2006, the name Supernatural Wiki was our new official name. But the nickname Super Wiki soon stuck and became widely used, especially when we adopted it as our Twitter handle in late 2008.

References

  1. 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil
  2. 7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!
  3. Jared interview with Zap2It
  4. Nerd HQ session
  5. 5.13 The Song Remains the Same
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.07 Family Matters
  7. 6.07 Family Matters
  8. 7.23 Survival of the Fittest
  9. 9.10 Road Trip
  10. 10.0 10.1 9.16 Blade Runners
  11. 1.01 Pilot
  12. 2.10 Hunted
  13. 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be
  14. 10.01 Black
  15. 10.05 Fan Fiction
  16. 11.04 Baby
  17. 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
  18. 6.17 My Heart Will Go On
  19. 19.0 19.1 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King
  20. 20.0 20.1 7.01 Meet the New Boss
  21. 21.0 21.1 2.03 Bloodlust
  22. 4.15 Death Takes a Holiday
  23. 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait
  24. 24.0 24.1 5.10 Abandon All Hope...
  25. 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
  26. 8.17 Goodbye Stranger
  27. 10.11 There's No Place Like Home
  28. 10.15 The Things They Carried
  29. 5.13 The Song Remains the Same
  30. 11.04 Baby
  31. 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
  32. 6.21 Let It Bleed
  33. 8.19 Taxi Driver
  34. 11.22 We Happy Few
  35. 10.19 The Werther Project
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 10.23 Brother's Keeper
  37. 11.03 The Bad Seed
  38. 11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou?
  39. 11.22 We Happy Few
  40. 2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign
  41. 5.22 Swan Song
  42. 42.0 42.1 5.08 Changing Channels
  43. Supernatural Panel at Paley Festival, Part III by Liana Bekakos for eclipsemagazine
  44. 44.0 44.1 7.06 Slash Fiction
  45. 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
  46. Buddy TV set interviews Sept 2008
  47. 9.02 Devil May Care
  48. 3.13 Ghostfacers
  49. 8.23 Sacrifice
  50. 9.07 Bad Boys
  51. 4.04 Metamorphosis
  52. 6.19 Mommy Dearest
  53. 6.10 Caged Heat
  54. 7.17 The Born-Again Identity
  55. 8.17 Goodbye Stranger
  56. 4.20 The Rapture
  57. 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much
  58. 11.10 The Devil in the Details
  59. 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's
  60. 3.04 Sin City
  61. 9.10 Road Trip