# Where did the term "Yankee" come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868 "2002-07-14T03:15:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnjdopey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@johnjdopey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnjdopey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/1 "2002-07-14T03:15:37Z")
? ---
**Author:** ![domina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/96bed5/32.png) [@domina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/domina)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/2 "2002-07-14T03:20:36Z")
There are different theories. The most common one is that it’s from Janke, the Dutch version of Johnny. A lot of early settlers of the Northeast were Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/3 "2002-07-14T05:02:28Z")
Search is your friend. Remember to search both the archive for Cecil’s original column and then search the SDMB for follow-up threads. [What is the Origin of the Word “Yankee?”](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_260.html) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/4 "2002-07-14T14:52:14Z")
If you’re outside of the US, a Yankee is from the States. If you’re inside the US, A Yankee is from north of the M-D line. If you’re north of the M-D line, a Yankee is from New England. If you’re from New England, a Yankee is from Maine. If you’re from Maine, a Yankee is someone who eats pie for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/5 "2002-07-14T15:35:31Z")
Unless you’re playing baseball; then a Yankee is from New York City. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2002, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/6 "2002-07-14T22:39:50Z")
The link omits the point that OED says that “The most plausible explanation is that it comes from the Dutch ‘Janke,’ diminutive of ‘Jan.’” That is, a common name used to apply to all of “them,” in this case the Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/7 "2002-07-15T02:16:17Z")
Why is “yankee” always a derrogatory term though??? I’m from western NY, but I go to college in Louisiana, so I’m ALWAYS being called a yankee as if it’s a bad thing. And as TELEMARK mentioned, it seems everyone wants to “place the blame” elsewhere! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/8 "2002-07-15T03:10:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Why is “yankee” always a derrogatory term though??? One word… **Steinbrenner**!! ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/9 "2002-07-15T03:21:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mandielise \* > \*\*Why is “yankee” always a derrogatory term though??? I’m from western NY, but I go to college in Louisiana, so I’m ALWAYS being called a yankee as if it’s a bad thing. And as TELEMARK mentioned, it seems everyone wants to “place the blame” elsewhere! \*\* In 1949, my family moved from Dayton, Ohio to Atlanta, Georgia. I was called a “damn yankee” and after a number of fights my dad said I’d better become a southerner or put up with it. In Georgia it was a bad thing and in Louisana it is a bad thing. Accept it and smile, because as long as it gets your goat, they will continue using it. ---
**Author:** ![mazzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@mazzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazzer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/10 "2002-07-15T03:46:41Z")
Hey, Yankee’s no big deal. I’m a Texan who relocated up north. I’m called a hick, a “Suthna,” or a cowboy. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-yankee-come-from/118868/11 "2002-07-15T04:00:01Z")
On the contrary, round these parts it’s a great honor to be a true Yankee. We don’t take to flatlanders moving up north and calling their children real Yankees. If your cat had kittens in the oven, you wouldn’t call them bisquits. I guess there’s always someone in Maine or NH or VT whose family has been here more generations than you, can say fewer words in a day, or can work harder and for less reward. Yankee might be an insult elsewhere, but here it’s a compliment. 'Cept for that baseball team down NY. Go Sox!