What is the deal with older men named John being referred to as “Jack”?

Answer 1

“Jack” has been a nickname for “John” since the days of Middle English around A.D. 1200.

It’s not only applied to older men, but in some areas may be dying out and retained only by relative old-timers. As a “John” myself, dating to the 1970s, I’ve never been called “Jack.” But President John Kennedy, for example, born in the 1920s, was famously known as Jack.

Originally written as “Jacke” (or any other similar spelling variants), it was initially pronounced something like “Jack-eh,” with two syllables, before settling into its snappy one-syllable modern form.

Where it came from is a matter of scholarly debate. The traditional assumption was that it came directly from the French name Jacques, itself a rendering of the Biblical Greek Jacob (or James, in English usage).

Very early on, “Jack” was used as a generic name to refer to any (usually male) peasant or commoner—just like “Jacques” was in France. (This sense is retained in the more recent US slang usage of “Jack” meaning a generic name to call a male stranger, and in generic workman terms like lumberjack and steeplejack. And, it must be said, in generic names for male animals, such as “jackass.”)

But in English, “John” was also used as a generic name in the same way. So “Jack” could just derive from that.

And indeed, there is a solid case for “Jack” being derived from “John.” In the earliest known uses of “Jack,” it is clearly being used as a nickname for “John.” (It’s worth noting that Jack and John sound much more similar in British pronunciations than they do in American; and that “Jan” was a common rendering of “John” in the era.)

Also, it is known for a fact that one diminutive endearment form of “John” around the same time was “Jackin” (also “Jankin” and other forms). By the same token, “Dickin” was a nickname for Richard and “Robin” a nickname for Robert. Those nicknames became shortened through time to “Dick” and “Rob.” It is logical to think “Jackin” followed the same course to “Jack.” (Though language is rarely logical.)

An interesting sidelight is the word “jacket,” which indeed came to us from French. It’s the diminutive form of “jaque,” meaning any kind of outerwear for the upper body. Similar terms existed in a variety of European languages, including the Germanic “jacke” and Dutch “jak.” The origin of the term is unknown, but the Oxford English Dictionary says the French term seems to have inspired the rest, and that it may have originated as a reference to some garment typically worn by “the Jacques,” the French peasantry.

This sheds little light on our discussion, however, because no one has found any direction connection between “Jack” and “jacket.” The nickname origin seems persuasive.

Whatever its source, “Jack” was widely used enough to be treated as a name in its own right as early as the late 1200s.

Answer 2

Well, I never got it, buy Jack is a nickname for John John Kennedy goes by Jack Kennedy Yes, since some people use Jack as a Nickname still for John, I would say yes Other form of John: Evan, Shane, Sean, Hank Jack and Joey(Joseph) Jack and Jimmy(James) Jack and Joel

Answer 3

Jack, believe it or not, is a common nickname for John. ☺

Answer 4

It's just a nickname that's common among Johns, that's all.

Answer 5

I have always heard this but never could figure out why.
Let me introduce you to Jack Schitt


For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt?

We find ourselves at a loss when someone says,

'You don't know Jack Schitt!'

Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt.

Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack.

In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt.

Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout.

After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced.

Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt,

And they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt.

Two of the other six chidren, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony.

The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials.

The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse.

Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world.

He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.

Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can correct them.

Sincerely,
Crock O. Schitt

Answer 6

Nicknames are as old as names themselves. I have never been called Jack, but my father was, and his name was Lionel. You work it out.

Answer 7

They like "Jack" better then "John"? What I don't get is how they get Dick from Richard

Answer 8

People call me "Jack", but that is cause I like to Jack it.

Answer 9

well probably there were other members of his family named john, so to avoid confusion, they wanted to be called jack...

Answer 10

I don't know what it is with shortened versions and nicknames...My moms best friends real name is Margaret, and everyone call her Betty? where do you get that out of Margaret?