Nicknames

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It is common in naming of nicknames to create abbreviations by using the first two sounds of two words. Perhaps the most popular of these examples would be, KimuTaku, the nickname of super famous Japanese actor and singer, Kimura Takuya of SMAP fame.The same practice is also applied to foreign celebrities such as Brad Pitt who is more commonly known as Burapi, Jimi Hendrix becomes the rather cute sounding Jimihen and Leonardo DiCaprio shortens to Dikapuri.
Furthermore, for any given female name or male name there are one or more affectionate nicknames. These are created by adding the suffix "-chan" to a stem. There are two types of stem. One consists of the full given name. Examples of this type are Tar�-chan from Tar�, Kimiko-chan from Kimiko, and Yasunari-chan from Yasunari. The other type of stem is a modified stem derived from the full given name.
Examples of such names are: Miki-chan from Mikiko, Kii-chan from Kimiko, and Y�-chan from Yasunari. "-kun" is used to address men who are younger or the same age as the speaker. A male might address female inferiors by "-kun" usually in schools or companies. It can be attached to both surnames and given names. It is less polite than "~ san." It isn't used between women or when addressing one's superiors.
Overall suffixes such as chan and kun soften the nickname giving it an affectionate, younger tone. However, it's not uncommon to see women address each other as -chan well into their later years of life - a secret to a long happy life perhaps !