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Why is jack a nickname for John?In: Name Meanings, Baby Names [Recategorize] |
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Answer
Because Jack is the nickname for John; i.e. "Jack Kennedy". It comes from the French name "Jaques", which is the same name as "John" in English.
Edit in response to tattoohead: Way back in 1066 AD England was conquered by french-speaking Normans. For hundreds of years after that, England was a bilingual nation; they spoke both French and English. That is how "John" and "Jaques" came to be interchangeable.
The answers above are totally incorrect. Jacques is not related to John at all - the French form of the name John is Jean.
I believe this is the correct answer.
Before the 17th century or so, the most common diminutive endings were the Norman/English "in" or "kin"
Jack, for instance, was originally from the name Jakin, a corrupted form of Jenkin (John+kin). And the name Hank is short for Han-Kin, or Hen-kin, or Henry-kin.
First answer by ID0000000000. Last edit by Keeman. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 20 [recommend question]
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