What does the S in Harry S Truman's stand for?

Answer 1

i think it was just an 'S' just for looks ...idk...im probably wrong though

Answer 2

Truman did not have a middle name, but only a middle initial. It was a common practice in southern states, including Missouri, to use initials rather than names. In Truman's autobiography, he stated, "I was named for...Harrison Young. I was given the diminutive Harry and, so that I could have two initials in my given name, the letter S. was added. My Grandfather Truman's name was Anderson Shippe Truman and my Grandfather Young's name was Solomon Young, so I received the S for both of them." He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but official documents and his presidential library all use a period. Furthermore, the Harry S. Truman Library has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his own use of a period after the "S" is conspicuous.

Answer 3

Oddly enough, it stands for absolutely nothing. Harry S. Truman did NOT have a middle name. Only an initial— which was a common practice at the time in some Southern states.

In his autobiography, HST stated, "I was named for Harrison Young. I was given the diminutive Harry and, so that I could have two initials in my given name, the letter S was added. My Grandfather Truman's name was Anderson Shippe Truman and my Grandfather Young's name was Solomon Young, so I received the S for both of them."

Supposedly, he once joked that since the S was theoretically a name rather than an initial, it should not have a period, but official documents from his presidential library signed by Harry S. Truman himself all use a period.

Answer 4

Truman did not have a middle name, but only a middle initial. It was a common practice in southern states, including Missouri, to use initials rather than names. In Truman's autobiography, he stated, "I was named for...Harrison Young. I was given the diminutive Harry and, so that I could have two initials in my given name, the letter S. was added. My Grandfather Truman's name was Anderson Shippe Truman and my Grandfather Young's name was Solomon Young, so I received the S for both of them." He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but official documents and his presidential library all use a period. Furthermore, the Harry S. Truman Library has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his own use of a period after the "S" is conspicuous.

Answer 5

Truman did not have a middle name, but only a middle initial. It was a common practice in southern states, including Missouri, to use initials rather than names. In Truman's autobiography, he stated, "I was named for...Harrison Young. I was given the diminutive Harry and, so that I could have two initials in my given name, the letter S. was added. My Grandfather Truman's name was Anderson Shippe Truman and my Grandfather Young's name was Solomon Young, so I received the S for both of them." He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but official documents and his presidential library all use a period. Furthermore, the Harry S. Truman Library has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his own use of a period after the "S" is conspicuous.

Answer 6

His parents, John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Truman, couldn't decide on a suitable name for their baby, and when the attending doctor finally registered the child's birth with the county clerk a month later, the infant still had no name.

Eventually the Trumans chose to name their boy "Harry" after his maternal uncle, Harrison Young. Unable to decide between a middle name honoring Harry's maternal grandfather (Solomon Young) or his paternal grandfather (Anderson Shipp[e] Truman),

John and Martha opted not to give little Harry a middle name at all and settled on something that could represent either grandparent: the letter 'S' by itself. (As Truman biographer David McCullough noted, using a single letter that stood for nothing specific was "a practice not unknown among the Scotch-Irish, even for first names.")

Answer 7

Nothing. Both of Harry Truman's grandfathers' first names began with S and his parents didn't want either of them to feel slighted if Harry wasn't named after them, so they just gave him an S. And, you are absolutely correct in your punctuation of his name--there's no period after the S, because it doesn't stand for anything!

Answer 8

His parents chose the letter "S." , but they gave him no middle name so that both his grandfathers, Solomon Young and Anderson Shippe Truman, could claim that he was named for them.

I did not know that until today. Where have I been all my life?

Answer 9

sir truman of course, or maybe S H I T who knows who cares, its only an initial.

Answer 10

Nothing, just an S. Did you know Ulysses S Grant's name is really Hiram. What a country.

Answer 11

It "S" for his 2 grandfathers. 1 named Shipp & 1 named Solomon
His parents couldn't decide, so they just used "S".