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Nicknames...

The Tradition

HR King
Apr 23, 2002
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Why is Dick a nickname for Richard?

Or Jack a nickname for John?

Things that don't make any sense for $500 Alex.
 
Why is Dick a nickname for Richard?

Or Jack a nickname for John?

Things that don't make any sense for $500 Alex.
The interwebs tell me..

Going back to the Middle Ages, there weren't that many first names yet. And so many people were named Richard that everyone needed nicknames to tell one another apart. Richard was shortened to Rick, and then people would rhyme it with something else to become an entirely new name — so Rick became Dick.

In the Middle Ages the generic word for an Englishman was “John.” To change the name on occasion, the suffix of “kin” (meaning “little”) was added to the end. “Johnkin” then became shortened to Jack.
 
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The interwebs tell me..

Going back to the Middle Ages, there weren't that many first names yet. And so many people were named Richard that everyone needed nicknames to tell one another apart. Richard was shortened to Rick, and then people would rhyme it with something else to become an entirely new name — so Rick became Dick.

In the Middle Ages the generic word for an Englishman was “John.” To change the name on occasion, the suffix of “kin” (meaning “little”) was added to the end. “Johnkin” then became shortened to Jack.

Well that's dumb.
 
Jack is a nickname for John? I did not know that.
My grandfather’s legal name is John, named after his father. But everyone calls him Jack. I’m assuming it’s a way to differentiate between he and his dad instead of John Jr.

Oddly, my grandmother’s given name is DarLynn, but she goes by Patricia or Pat.
 
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