Hi Anne,   I too was a "Schnickelfritz" as a child.  My dad's from Kiel (Schleswig-Holstein)... I called him just now and asked what the name meant (he laughed!) - and said, "wild child!"  He told me that in Germany it used to be a common (and affectionate) nickname for a little boy or girl that was very talkative or active (I was -- an am -- both).  My sister's nickname was "Schnecki" which means snail in German (she's obviously my opposite).    My dad didn't know the exact meaning of "Schnickelfritz" but vaguely recalls an old German tale about a child that was too talkative / active.  His father used to call him Schnickelfritz as well and he's 85... so, the name may go way back in time...  Hope this helps!   Rob Westphal (Schnickelfritz) --- On Wed, 1/21/09, LEO M VALLIERE <alvalliere@msn.com> wrote: From: LEO M VALLIERE <alvalliere@msn.com> Subject: [BW] Childhood nickname To: "baden-wurttemberg" <BADEN-WURTTEMBERG@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 1:45 PM Hello, Not sure if this means anything or not, but as a child my Uncle used to call me "Snickelfritz" (sic) - does it have meaning? I was an active child so I believe the nickname was given to me for that reason. Anne (ECKERT, nee) VALLIERE ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com writes: >I too was a "Schnickelfritz" as a child. My dad's from Kiel (Schleswig-Holstein)... I called him just now and asked what the name meant (he laughed!) - and said, "wild child!" He told me that in Germany it used to be a common (and affectionate) >nickname for a little boy or girl that was very talkative or active (I was -- an am -- both). My sister's nickname was "Schnecki" which means snail in German (she's obviously my opposite). > >My dad didn't know the exact meaning of "Schnickelfritz" but vaguely recalls an old German tale about a child that was too talkative / active. His father used to call him Schnickelfritz as well and he's 85... so, the name may go way back in >time... Hope this helps! I confess to having a childhood name as well. It is Putzwackl(e). I do not know the real spelling although my father spoke some German from family members and WWII. He had only oral German and could not help me when I studied German in high school. (It was very sad - he felt he let me down regarding my heritage.) Oddly enough, I asked German colleagues in my language department and finally one from Bayern said it was like the other nicknames people have mentioned - refers to a lively, overactive child (which I was!) Has anybody heard of mine? If I ever heard it again I would break into tears from nostalgia... Kathleen March (Mörz)