I'm not in the south but my gpa gave everyone a nickname. I was little eskimo when I was born and then he called me punky. My cousin Rita was popcorn and her sister peanuts. My mom was bum because she supposedly looked at her little sister when she was born(mom was 2) and called her a bum. Everyone had a nickname.
In school one kid was called Pinky and I still don't know his real name. A girl I grew up with was called George because she was such a sports nut.
My FIL and his brother were Denzell and Paul but the farmer they worked for called them Ike and Jake after his mules because they argued and fought so much he said they looked just like his mules. the nicknames stuck. My FIL was also called Curly because of red curls even after he lost all his hair.
My MIL used to call my son Nathan -Sammy when he was bad.Saying she must have brought Sammy home with her instead of Nathan. My DD Sara got called Sarsy baresy because as a toddler she would run outside with no clothes on.