Editing Border reivers (section)

== Elaborate nicknames ==
The Border reivers are well known for their distinctive and often colourful nicknames, which likely emerged due to the widespread use of common surnames and first names such as John, Jock, or Will among the Border clans. These nicknames served as a practical means to distinguish individuals in a society where shared names were prevalent.<ref name="auto14"/><ref name="auto23"/>

These monikers often reflected a strong emphasis on lineage and close kinship, adhering to patterns of patrilineal descent, such as  Dick's Davy,<ref name="auto14"/> Rowy's Will<ref name="auto14"/> and Will's Jock Graham.<ref name="auto23"/> Sometimes this was extended to three names Gibb's Geordie's Francis could be matrilineal like Bessie's Andrew.<ref name="auto23"/>

Physical traits or injuries inspired other nicknames, such as Jock "Half-Lugs" (Half-ears) Elliot,<ref name="Moffat, Alistair 2011, p23">Moffat, Alistair. The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers. Birlinn, 2011, p23</ref> "Sweet Milk" (beautiful),<ref name="Moffat, Alistair 2011, p23"/>"Fingerless" Will Nixon,<ref name="Moffat, Alistair 2011, p23"/> "Nebless" (Noseless) Clem Crozier<ref name="Moffat, Alistair 2011, p23"/> or "Gleed John" (gleed meaning blind or partially blind) <ref name="Moffat, Alistair 2011, p23"/> or "Wynking Will."<ref name="auto14"/>

Nicknames like Jock "a God's Name" Elliot,<ref name="auto14"/> "Skinabake",<ref name="auto14"/> "As-it-Looks"<ref name="auto23"/> or Archie "Fire-the-Brays,"<ref name="auto14"/> or "Hodde" Hall<ref>Etty, Claire. "Neighbours from Hell? Living with Tynedale and Redesdale, 1489–1547." In Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles, edited by Michael Prestwich, 124. Boydell & Brewer, 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-84383-374-1}}.</ref> cannot be easily be explained.

At times, a nickname could be applied multiple times to different individuals, creating confusion or ambiguity. For instance, the moniker Black Jock was used for two different men named Johnny Armstrong,<ref>Robb, Graham. The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021., p122</ref> while Black Ormiston referred to two possible distinct Ormistons.<ref>Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, 1995., p301</ref>

Others, like "Buggerback," "The Lady Elliot," "The Lady Scott," "The Lady Kerr," "Bang-tail," and "Sym 'the Lady'," remain subjects of speculation. These names may have reflected an alternative sexuality - as we understand it today or held layered meanings tied to identity, humor, or camaraderie within the close-knit, often male-dominated culture of the Border Reivers.<ref name="auto14"/><ref name="auto23"/>