# Opie...short for what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372 "2008-10-03T21:07:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/1 "2008-10-03T21:07:00Z")
What was Opie Taylor’s full name? For what name could Opie be a nickname? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/2 "2008-10-03T21:20:22Z")
Supposedly he was named after bandleader Opie Cates. The Social Security Death Index shows about 700 people with given names of Opie. Rare name, but not unprecedented. Now, as to who was the _first_ Opie, that’s a good question. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/3 "2008-10-03T21:27:44Z")
Oprah.😃 ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/4 "2008-10-03T22:03:45Z")
Or it’s possible that his given name was something like Orville Periwinkle Taylor, and they called him O.P. or Opie for short. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/5 "2008-10-03T22:05:25Z")
Original Post, of course. Could be Original Poster, too. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/6 "2008-10-03T22:38:28Z")
[Word on the street](http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=opie) is that “Opie” is an actual surname of Cornish origin. Apparently it was also occasionally used as a first name, at least in the Southern US: [Opie Read](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opie_Read) was a Nashville-born journalist of some note. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/7 "2008-10-03T22:41:08Z")
Again, it is a Southern thing. We use weird names. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/8 "2008-10-04T01:07:23Z")
I thought it was [Opie Cunningham](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/82/82cfilm.phtml)… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/9 "2008-10-04T01:13:57Z")
Opus? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/10 "2008-10-04T02:37:38Z")
1. Opium 2. Opprobium 3. Hi, Opie! ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/11 "2008-10-04T03:42:19Z")
Do we ever see how Opie spelled on the series? Like we see Aunt Bee is spelled “B-E-E” and not “B-E-A” on signs and such the “gang” has made for her. As in “Welcome Home Aunt Bee.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/12 "2008-10-04T04:15:04Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Do we ever see how Opie spelled on the series? Like we see Aunt Bee is spelled “B-E-E” and not “B-E-A” on signs and such the “gang” has made for her. As in “Welcome Home Aunt Bee.” The ending credits? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/13 "2008-10-04T13:01:59Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > [Word on the street](http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=opie) is that “Opie” is an actual surname of Cornish origin. Apparently it was also occasionally used as a first name, at least in the Southern US: [Opie Read](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opie_Read) was a Nashville-born journalist of some note. This site seems to suggest a Norse origin, which would be odd (though not, of course, impossible) for Cornwall. It’s surely not from the Cornish language. Iona and Peter Opie are famous folklorists (as such things go). The name doesn’t appear in any of the reference works I have on names. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/14 "2008-10-04T15:04:01Z")
From: [http://www.tagsrwc.com/faq/index.php?cat=2#a14](http://www.tagsrwc.com/faq/index.php?cat=2#a14) > [@](#): > > What was the origin of the name Opie? Was it short for something? > Jim Clark once told me that Opie Taylor was most likely named for Opie Cates, a prominent bandleader of the '40s or ‘50s whom Andy Griffith and Sheldon Leonard both admired. I have never figured out if Mr. Cates’ name was short for something else, or if it was really “O.P.” Opie Taylor did spell his name O-P-I-E. It can be seen on the love note he wrote to Miss Crump in “Opie Loves Helen”, and on the board he burned his name into in “Barney’s Sidecar.” --Paul Mulik ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/15 "2008-10-04T18:15:53Z")
oppenheimer? S^G ---
**Author:** ![danetanner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@danetanner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danetanner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/16 "2012-11-13T01:57:24Z")
**Opie Name Meaning** -Cornish: from the medieval personal name Oppy, Obby, a pet form of various personal names such as Osborn, Osbert, and Osbald. > **[Opie Name Meaning & Opie Family History at Ancestry.com.au®](https://www.ancestry.com.au/name-origin?surname=opie)** > > Discover the meaning of the Opie name on Ancestry®. Find your family's origin in the United Kingdom, average life expectancy, most common occupation, and more. ---
**Author:** ![danetanner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@danetanner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danetanner)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/17 "2012-11-13T02:39:13Z")
apparently Andy Griffith and Sheldon Leonard named Opie Taylor after a radio personality Opie Cates that Andy listened to growing up . Cates , according to Wikipedia, was a clarinet player,band leader and radio actor whose real name was Opal Taft Cates - so it would seem that for Cates, Opie was an affectionate form of Opal although Opie is still a genuine name in its own right as evidenced by my preceeding blog. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KVcYr1ivaxU/hqdefault.jpg "TCNW 129: Where Opie Got His Name") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVcYr1ivaxU) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/18 "2012-11-13T02:43:12Z")
> [@danetanner](#): > > apparently Andy Griffith and Sheldon Leonard named Opie Taylor after a radio personality Opie Cates that Andy listened to growing up . Cates , according to Wikipedia, was a clarinet player,band leader and radio actor whose real name was Opal Taft Cates - so it would seem that for Cates, Opie was an affectionate form of Opal although Opie is still a genuine name in its own right as evidenced by my preceeding blog. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVcYr1ivaxU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVcYr1ivaxU) That was answered in the second post…four years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/19 "2012-11-13T03:46:47Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Note that this thread was started in 2008. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![RockytheflyingS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RockytheflyingS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RockytheflyingS)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372/20 "2012-11-13T04:25:10Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Oprah.😃 LMAO. I was tempted to write that. I asked my mom once, who for some reason hated Ron Howard, what’s Opie short for? She said DOPIE! :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opie-short-for-what/466372.md?page=2)