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(15,265 posts)Docreed2003
(16,907 posts)Fullduplexxx
(7,880 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Jack was a common nickname for John at one time. Never understood why.
JI7
(89,289 posts)czarjak
(11,345 posts)Hekate
(91,055 posts)...from the Bristish Isles.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Often these nick names are to shorten a name, often to a single syllable. But John to Jack? Anyone heard a Jack being called John?
Hekate
(91,055 posts)John has widely-dispersed variations around the world, as John (Ioannis, in Latin) was one of the Apostles. In Scotland, Ian; in Wales, Ewan; in France, Jean; in Spain, Juan -- and that's only part of Western Europe and the UK.
But France also has the name Jacques, which shows up in Scotland as Jock, etc etc. Jacques to Jack is easy. My BIL's given name is Jacques, but when he got to America at age 5 he changed that to Jack for common use.
All I can think of for John to Jack is that in England and Ireland "Jack" in essence means "Everyman." Jack of All Trades. Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack Be Nimble. Lumberjack. Car-jack. There's a book about folktales called "Jack Seeks His Fortune," because so many stories start out with a young commoner named Jack.
It's a tradition of great antiquity. Might as well ask how Mary becomes Molly or even Polly.
orangecrush
(19,678 posts)Interesting and informative post!
OnDoutside
(19,988 posts)kids are straight called Jack on their birth cert.
PS In Ireland you had to be baptised using a Saint's name.
orangecrush
(19,678 posts)For a beloved President...
something Trump will never, ever have.
rainin
(3,011 posts)orangecrush
(19,678 posts)Days of Camelot.