# Why is JFK called Jack **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2000, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966 "2000-12-04T17:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bserum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@bserum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bserum)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/1 "2000-12-04T17:28:46Z")
JFK stands for John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Why have I sometimes heard him referred to as Jack Kennedy? Or am I confusing him with another of the Kennedy clan? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/2 "2000-12-04T17:34:47Z")
Jack is a conventional nickname for people called John, just like Harry for Henry. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/3 "2000-12-04T17:35:39Z")
Well, Jack is a fairly common nickname for John. Witness Tom Clancy’s books: Jack Ryan is really John Patrick Ryan. As for JFK specifically, I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/4 "2000-12-04T17:35:50Z")
“Jack” is a nickname for “John.” (Or perhaps “Jonathan,” if we’re being formal.) Possible tangent #1: what possible use is it to have a nickname that’s exactly as long as the original name? Possible tangent #2: Remember when parents knew that “Jack” was a nickname, not a full name, and didn’t name their kids that? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/5 "2000-12-04T17:49:35Z")
Ace, FYI Jonathan is not another version of John, “formal” or otherwise. They are two totally different names. John comes from Hebrew _Yo Hanan_, ‘God is Gracious’. Jonathan comes from Hebrew _Yo Nathan_, ‘God’s Gift’. The _Yo_ in both cases, spelled _yod vau_, is an abbreviation for the Tetragrammaton (four-letter Name of God) Yod He Vau He, which the King James Bible rendered as “Jehovah.” Blokes named John do not appreciate it when people confuse their name with Jonathan, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/6 "2000-12-04T18:09:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _Tomh wrote:_ > Jack is a conventional nickname for people called John, just like Harry for Henry. Harry is a nickname for Henry? AFAIK, Harry is short for Harold and Hank is short for Henry… And yes, it’s always bothered me that a nickname like Jack serves no real purpose - it’s no shorter in terms of sylables or letters then the original name. Someone have any more information on it? ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/7 "2000-12-04T18:10:32Z")
Believe it or not, a whole book has been written on the subject: The Pedigree of Jack and Various Allied Names by E.W.B. Nicholson. The history of Jack as a pet name for John is a long and tangled one, as these things usually are. Most people assume that Jack is derived from the French Jacques, and that Jack should therefor be short for James rather than John. Nicholson debunked this notion, claiming that there is no recorded example of Jack ever being used to represent Jacques or James. Jack is actually derived from the name Johannes, which was shortened to Jehan and eventually to Jan. The French were fond of tacking the suffix -kin onto many short names. French nasalization resulted in a new combination being pronounced Jackin instead of Jankin. The name Jackin was shortened to Jack. By the fourteenth century, Jack had become a synonym for man or boy , and later was also used as a slang name for sailors. In the United States, Jack became a popular Christian name. Jackie, for a short period, even became a unisex name. For a short time, the name Jack gained much prominence, especially after the U.S. elected a popular president named John, whose pet name was Jack. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/8 "2000-12-04T18:17:10Z")
C. S. Lewis’s name was Clive Staples Lewis. He hated the name Clive, so he had everyone call him “Jack.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/9 "2000-12-04T18:24:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Harry is a nickname for Henry? AFAIK, Harry is short for Harold and Hank is short for Henry… In Shakespeare’s _Henry V_ Henry is called “Harry”. > [@](#): > > Then should the warlike **Harry** , like himself, Assume the port of Mars > [@](#): > > KING OF FRANCE: Think we King **Harry** strong > [@](#): > > MESSENGER: Ambassadors from **Harry** King of England Do crave admittance to your majesty. > [@](#): > > KING HENRY V: …Follow your spirit, and upon this charge Cry ‘God for **Harry** , England, and Saint George!’ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/10 "2000-12-04T18:58:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by frogstein \* > > Harry is a nickname for Henry? AFAIK, Harry is short for Harold and Hank is short for Henry…\*\* I always thought of Hal as short for Harold and Harry or Hank as short for Henry. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/11 "2000-12-04T19:13:31Z")
Call him whatever you want; he won’t answer! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/12 "2000-12-05T06:01:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Harry is a nickname for Henry? AFAIK, Harry is short for Harold and Hank is short for Henry… > > In Shakespeare’s _Henry V_ Henry is called “Harry”. > \*\* In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part One, the man who would someday be Henry V is called “Hal” by his associates, Poins and Falstaff: > [@](#): > > PRINCE HENRY > What, a coward, Sir John Paunch? > > FALSTAFF > Indeed, I am not John of Gaunt, your grandfather; > but yet no coward, Hal. (From Act 2, Scene ii) However, his father calls him “Harry”: > [@](#): > > Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, > Which art my near’st and dearest enemy? (From Act 3, Scene ii) Within the same play there exists a Henry Percy, a.k.a. “Hotspur”. He is called both “Harry” and “Henry”, mostly the former. John Falstaff is referred to more as “Jack” than “John” in the same play, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![melchizedek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@melchizedek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melchizedek)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/13 "2000-12-05T07:22:03Z")
I heard Jack as a nickname for James, as James is the English version of Jacob, but Jack for John? So was Jack Shit really called John? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/14 "2000-12-05T11:02:30Z")
I have never heard Jack used for James, but if it is, it’s probably due to the French version of James, “Jacques”. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/15 "2000-12-05T11:13:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Possible tangent #1: what possible use is it to have a nickname that’s exactly as long as the original name? It’s quite handy if you have John L. Smith, and John D. Smith, for instance, in the same family. One or the other can be Jack, which helps immensely when they live in the same house, and share a phone. ---
**Author:** ![melchizedek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@melchizedek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melchizedek)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/16 "2000-12-05T13:05:51Z")
Yes Matt, Jacobean period in English history was King James, the Union Jack, the British flag is so nicknamed as it was King James tht first unified the falg as such. It should be called the Union of King James, but we shortened it to Union Jack. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/17 "2000-12-05T13:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by melchizedek \* > \*\* > Jacobean period in English history was King James, the Union Jack, the British flag is so nicknamed as it was King James tht first unified the falg as such. It should be called the Union of King James, but we shortened it to Union Jack. \*\* Whoever told you this was wrong. Go and kick them on the shin for letting you make a fool of yourself in public. King James did not unify the flag. The Union took place in the “Augustan” period when King James I, II and III were all dead. The flag should therefore not be called the “Union of King James”. In any event, the flag is not correctly called the Union Jack, but the Union Flag. ---
**Author:** ![melchizedek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@melchizedek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melchizedek)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/18 "2000-12-05T13:36:08Z")
That was the Act of Union. James I 1603-1615 combined the Cross of St Andrew with the Cross of St George then added the Cross of St Patrick ( who shouldn’t have a cross as he was never martyrd. Who was James III? ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/19 "2000-12-05T13:56:01Z")
hibernicus is right, at least about the Union Flag. The Union _Jack_ properly refers to the small verion of the flag flown from ships. “Jack” in this context is a naval term for the flag which indicates the ship’s nationality and has no connection with anybody called John, James or Jack. I’m not so sure about the “Augustan” period, though. I had always taken this to refer to a period of literary, rather than constitutional, history. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966/20 "2000-12-05T14:06:57Z")
According to [Flags of the World: United Kingdom](http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb.html): - The crosses of George and Andrew were placed together by royal edict in 1606 _for use as the Navy standard_. - The cross of Patrick was not added until 1707. This happened as part of the Act Of Union of 1707, joining England and Scotland. (Prior to 1707, the king (when he wasn’t being executed or run out of the country) was the sovreign of both nations, jointly, but they were not joined as a single country.) - No on knows exactly why the Union Flag is known as the Union Jack, although it is thought that “Jack” as a diminutive (and term of endearment) is the most likely cause. - The Union Flag has never been adopted as the official flag of the Nation (although its traditional use has given it the weight of law). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-jfk-called-jack/43966.md?page=2)