# Origin of "That's my name; don't wear it out!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837 "2008-09-23T14:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/1 "2008-09-23T14:51:15Z")
What’s the origin of the expression “That’s my name; don’t wear it out!”? It sounds like it’s a catchphrase from some sitcom or movie character. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/2 "2008-09-23T14:58:53Z")
The first time I recall hearing it was on PeeWee’s playhouse. Can someone come up with something earlier? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/3 "2008-09-23T15:01:55Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > The first time I recall hearing it was on PeeWee’s playhouse. > > Can someone come up with something earlier? Sure–my schoolyard back in the 1970s. Seriously, it’s an old expression. PeeWee was using it in a retro fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/4 "2008-09-23T15:03:26Z")
Heard it in the 60s. No cite. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/5 "2008-09-23T15:23:52Z")
It’s used in \*Grease \* (set in 1959, made 1978) I guess it was late 50’s usage. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/6 "2008-09-23T15:38:08Z")
Again heard it as a kid, late 50s or 60s. I have to assume it’s way older than that. Passed down through big brothers and older kids forever. Not a media catch phrase originally. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/7 "2008-09-23T16:59:25Z")
Take a picture, it’ll last longer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/8 "2008-09-23T17:03:23Z")
I think Elizibeth I, Rex, used something like the phrase or was that only in a movie? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/9 "2008-09-23T17:55:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I think Elizibeth I, Rex, used something like the phrase or was that only in a movie? Queen Judi Dench I used it in **Shakespeare in Love** : > [@](#): > > Mr. Tilney! Have a care with my name, you will wear it out. Not exactly a historical document, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/10 "2008-09-23T20:21:56Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > Take a picture, it’ll last longer. I know you are but what am I? ---
**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:** [September 23, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/11 "2008-09-23T20:26:47Z")
I remember it from the mid-to-late 50s. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/12 "2008-09-23T20:27:50Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I know you are but what am I? Say it. Don’t spray it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/13 "2008-09-23T20:32:10Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Say it. Don’t spray it. 😃 Yeah. Gimme the news, not the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/14 "2008-09-23T21:05:52Z")
Sounds like an Ernest T. Bassism, but I don’t have a cite. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-thats-my-name-dont-wear-it-out/464837/15 "2008-09-23T21:50:44Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Sounds like an Ernest T. Bassism, but I don’t have a cite. It definitely predates the \*Andy Griffith Show, \*which debuted in 1960. It sounds more like something from \*Dobie Gillis, \*but I’m sure I heard it before then, too.