What's In A Name
A little history inspired by the first paragraph of this piece.
Science Fiction's Hugo award, voted on by attendees of the annual World Science Fiction Convention (as opposed to the Nebula, which is voted on by members of SWFA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a U.S.-based though global organization), was named after Hugo Gernsback, a Luxembourg native who emigrated to the States, early 20th century magazine editor, avid lover of science and all things gadget, and huge radio buff. (His radio station WRNY was the second to broadcast a TV signal to the public, in 1928, from the station's home in New York.)
Common lore is that he was the one who coined the phrase "Hi-Fi", a shortening of Hi-Fidelity, though it is difficult to track down the veracity of that claim.
What is know, though, is that in the early 50's, Forrest J. Ackerman, renowned science fiction fan, agent, and all around great guy (we called him "Uncle Forrey") coined the phrase "Sci-Fi" as an homage to Gernsback. (In 1953, Ackerman became the only recipient of a Hugo award in the category of "#1 Fan Personality".)
The phrase caught on, though many hard-core science fiction folk prefer to see it spelled and pronounced "skiffy".
He was also a devotee of Esperanto, so "bonan togan" to all who read this!