Pledge names
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pledge names are a tradition in American college fraternities whereby prospective members who have been invited to join the house (often called pledges) are given a nickname to be referred to during their pledging period. The names are most often selected by the brotherhood just prior to the new member's pledge period. The names often reflect a trait or interest that the pledge has, often resulting in a derogatory reference, but not always. For example a pledge who plays baseball may be named “Slugger”, while another pledge with a shaved head may be referred to as “Mr. Clean”. The degree to which a pledge is associated to his name throughout his orientation period varies from chapter to chapter. Some houses will insist that a prospective member always be referred to by his pledge name; others may treat it only as a nickname which in some cases may fade from the consciousness of the brothers, leaving the pledge most often being called by his real name for the duration of pledging.
Pledge names can also be a source of tradition within the house especially within a particular line of big-little brothers or pledge fathers-pledge sons; meaning that the selection of pledge names reflects a theme or logical progression to reflect an already established tradition. A family line's name could be anything, for example all members dating back several years were named after characters in the movie Animal House.
