My brain...

[tencrush]

I'm so fucking tired, I can't see straight.

ANYWAY:

Need to know why Americans call people who are called John "Jack" instead of "John," which is their name. Don't ask, I seem the be watching the Kennedys. But seriously, WHY IS THAT?

Comments

[off_coloratura]

The British started it LOOOONG before us.

The Internets seem to say it's from Jankin (John-kin) which became Jackin.

[tencrush]

Yes, but the British also seem to have stopped doing it ages ago, when Jack became a name in its own right, whereas it seems to me Americans still do it sometimes, or do they not? Is it a generational thing? Is John Kennedy the last guy that did it (that guy played by Billy Zane in Twin Peaks notwithstanding)?

[off_coloratura]

Americans do it all the time, but I thought Brits did it too.

[shaggydogstail.livejournal.com]

We still do it. Former Home Secretary Jack Straw was born John f'rinstance.