# Who's Opie? (A question about Opie Taylor)! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [September 24, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343 "2026-09-24T15:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/1 "2026-09-24T15:39:06Z")
The Andy Griffith show. What the heck is _Opie_ short for? The show never says. It’s open to interpretation by the viewer, namely _Me._ I’m going with _Oppenheimer_. Hey I’m just a girl who loves Andy, you know? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/2 "2026-09-24T15:47:04Z")
I like the idea that it is the initials of his First & Middle name. Like O.P. Taylor. Apparently, Ron Howard did mention in an interview with Jay Leno that Opie is named after a forgotten bandleader Opal “Opie” Taft Cates. [https://www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article124542689.html](https://www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article124542689.html) ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/3 "2026-09-24T15:47:12Z")
My very own take on Opie’s backstory: Opie isn’t short for anything. It’s a nickname derived from “Ope”, the backwoods expression that generally is the same as “oops”. Opie Taylor, therefore, was an accident. That’s my version and I’m sticking with it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/4 "2026-09-24T15:49:55Z")
I like it. Oops, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/5 "2026-09-24T15:51:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Ron Howard did mention in an interview with Jay Leno that Opie is named after a forgotten bandleader Opal “Opie” Taft Cates. So you’re saying: 1. There is an answer to the question 2. Opie is a nickname derived from a unique first name. 3. Hi Opal! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/6 "2026-09-24T15:52:54Z")
And you’ve been waiting how long to use that? (Well played) ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/7 "2026-09-24T15:58:52Z")
Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/8 "2026-09-24T16:54:06Z")
My first thought was of Hi, Opal. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/9 "2026-09-24T17:17:12Z")
I’ve always liked to imagine that _Opie_ is short for _Opossum_. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/10 "2026-09-24T18:55:49Z")
Actor Walter Clarence “Dub” Taylor Jr. was on season 1, episode 3 of the Andy Griffith Show. Dub Taylor also played a recurring character named Opie Swanson across multiple episodes of the Dennis the Menace television series. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/11 "2026-09-24T19:01:37Z")
Hey. Slides right into my life story, possums and all. 😄 And just think, yesterday Andy was out “pinging crows”. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/12 "2026-09-24T20:02:53Z")
Interesting (to me, anyway) that the radio character Opie Cates played was a good-natured country bumpkin, possibly inspiration for Gomer? And a couple of other Opies thru history: [Author Opie Read (1852-1939)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opie_Read) [Philanthropist Opie Turner (1961-1962)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opie_Turner_Open) More commonly found as a last name. Actress \*Miyoshi Umeki was married to director Winfield Opie. \*TV “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” and movie “Sayonara.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/13 "2026-09-24T20:04:53Z")
Well, at least in this thread, _you_ are OP. mmm ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/14 "2026-09-24T20:14:21Z")
If Opie was a girl I’d say it could be short for Ophelia. BJ Hunnicutt of MASH said he was named after his mother Bea and his father Jay. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/15 "2026-09-24T20:14:57Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Hey I’m just a girl who loves Andy, you know? 🐝 🪚 🐕 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/16 "2026-09-24T20:17:49Z")
This is an Eopie: > **[Eopie](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Eopie)** > > Eopies were quadruped mammalian herbivores native to the planet Tatooine. These tough creatures were adapted to their homeworld's endless deserts, and as a result were domesticated by the planet's inhabitants. They often worked as transports or beast... ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/17 "2026-09-25T02:15:12Z")
Many years ago in a local message board I went by the handle One Person. Other users soon began referring to me as “OP” which soon became Opie. My girlfriend at that time had the handle La Boheme on that same board and we became known as “Opie and La”… ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/18 "2026-09-25T03:45:34Z")
This thread reminds me of the “My Favorite Orkan” episode of _Happy Days_. At one point in the episode, Mork from Ork turns on the TV at the Cunningham house, and _The Andy Griffith Show_ is on: Mork: “I like that boy Opie! But why does Earth boy have Martian name?” ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/19 "2026-09-25T13:41:18Z")
If Opie were a girl, I’d think it was a nickname for Opal. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343/20 "2026-09-25T13:58:32Z")
And then there’s [Opal Opie (1915-2000)](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176882213/opal-b-opie). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-opie-a-question-about-opie-taylor/1033343.md?page=2)