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.
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?
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.”
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.