My name is Brittany. Growing up in my small Appalachian town, I had a sweet, elderly neighbor who had a mental disability and could not pronounce Brittany. She always called me Brittlee instead. It stuck with me throughout life because my middle name is Leann so everyone thought it was just a mashup of my two names. I would legally change my name to Brittlee if it wasn’t a hastle. I loved and adored my neighbor dearly and on her deathbed in the nursing home she left me a pair of her socks with her name written in marker from the nursing home staff on the bottom for my birthday. It was all she had to offer and it was the greatest gift I could’ve ever received - besides my nickname, of course. Her name was Lula Belle and I love to speak of her any time I get a chance.
The Bee part is because my last name starts with a B, so my other nicknames are BB/Bumble Bee.