# Presidents who went by their initials **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955 "2008-12-06T04:35:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/21 "2008-12-06T23:35:23Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > And Truman’s middle initial didn’t stand for anything. He’s the only person I know of who had a middle initial but no middle name. Actually, turning a piece of historical trivia into a nitpick, it “stood for” both Shippe, surname of ancestors on one side of the family, and Solomon (Young), his grandfather on the other. You’re correct, though, in meaning that it didn’t abbreviate a name – the initial, standing alone, was chosen by his parents to honor both ancestors without choosing between them. And yes, “Ike” was far more common than “DDE” – I specified the one and not the other to respond to the OP, seeking other examples of Presidents known by initials. Nobody ever refers to Hoover as HCH, Polk as JKP, or Garfield as JAG – But DDE, HST, and RMN (quite rare but existent) were used from time to time. Except for TR (as noted a personal preference of the man), it seems to have been the custom from FDR through LBJ, rare for Nixon, then dying out until revived for GWB. ---
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/22 "2008-12-07T00:21:50Z")
Going way back, I’ve heard JQA for old John Quincy. [Google agrees](http://www.google.com/search?q=JQA&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/23 "2008-12-07T01:08:54Z")
I am not sure JFK was commonly used before he was assassinated. After, there were so many things named after him (airport in NY, blvd in Philly, many other things) and people probably tired of talking about John F Kennedy airport (although “kennedy airport” was–and is–occasionally heard) and just started calling them JFK Airport, JFK Blvd and so on. To hijack this a bit, most of us remember that a great many keyboards in the White House were missing their Ws on Jan. 20, 2001. Will the Bushites retaliate by removing the Os? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/24 "2008-12-07T01:09:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > To hijack this a bit, most of us remember that a great many keyboards in the White House were missing their Ws on Jan. 20, 2001. Is this actually true? I got the impression that story turned out to be made up. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/25 "2008-12-07T01:33:15Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I am not sure JFK was commonly used before he was assassinated. I’m pretty sure it was. I just checked a memorial volume on the assassination, and one of the people in the crowd for his arrival at the Dallas airport that day is holding a sign saying “Welcome to Dallas J.F.K.” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/26 "2008-12-07T07:08:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Many people don’t know this but Abraham Lincoln prefered to go by his initials and often humorously told people to “Call me Al.” Tragically, this was decades before Paul Simon’s birth and there is no record of anyone getting the President’s joke in his lifetime. Tragically, that meant nobody would be his bodyguard, even if he would agree to be their long-lost pal. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/27 "2008-12-07T14:19:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderating] > > Let’s leave the political commentary out of this please, and stick to the OP. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator sorry, **Colibri** - forgot which forum we were in. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/28 "2008-12-07T14:23:34Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I am not sure JFK was commonly used before he was assassinated. After, there were so many things named after him (airport in NY, blvd in Philly, many other things) and people probably tired of talking about John F Kennedy airport (although “kennedy airport” was–and is–occasionally heard) and just started calling them JFK Airport, JFK Blvd and so on. There was a joke hereabouts when he died that Newtownmountkennedy, one of the longest place names in Ireland was to be renamed Newtownmountjohnfitzgeraldkennedy in his honour. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955/29 "2008-12-07T15:50:01Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > All of the above having been said, I think Lyndon Johnson went out of his way to be known as LBJ. His spread in Texas was the LBJ Ranch. His wife, the former Claudia Taylor, was known as Lady Bird Johnson. His daughters were Lynda Bird Johnson and Luci Baines Johnson. He truly loved his initials. Don’t forget his dog – Little Beagle Johnson\* \*No, this is not a joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-who-went-by-their-initials/475955.md?page=1)