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ArchivesRe: How did we get "Chuck" from "Charles"?
in reply to a message by NameLoverUSA
I personally don't think Chuck as a pet form of Charles is from the Shakespearean term of endearment.
Here is a link to the newspaper column I wrote on this a while ago for my nephew's birthday. As you can see the first famous Chuck was the original Chuck Connors (1852-1913). Although he was actually born "George", when he died his obituaries called him "Charles", showing that Chuck was then accepted as a pet form of that name. In Connors' case the nickname either comes from chuck steak (which is what he himself claimed) or is, (more likely, I think) a use of the Chinese name Chuck for a man who was called "The Mayor of Chinatown."
http://www.omaha.com/living/cleveland-evans-popularity-of-charles-grows-from-charlemagne/article_c138c7ea-16f8-5a65-ba64-5584ebb3a42b.html#cleveland-evans-popularity-of-charles-grows-from-Charlemagne
Whatever its origin, I agree that Chuck was taken up as a pet form of Charles because there wasn't a short one syllable nickname for it like Jack for John and Frank for Francis, and Americans around 1900 thought Charles needed something like that. :)
Here is a link to the newspaper column I wrote on this a while ago for my nephew's birthday. As you can see the first famous Chuck was the original Chuck Connors (1852-1913). Although he was actually born "George", when he died his obituaries called him "Charles", showing that Chuck was then accepted as a pet form of that name. In Connors' case the nickname either comes from chuck steak (which is what he himself claimed) or is, (more likely, I think) a use of the Chinese name Chuck for a man who was called "The Mayor of Chinatown."
http://www.omaha.com/living/cleveland-evans-popularity-of-charles-grows-from-charlemagne/article_c138c7ea-16f8-5a65-ba64-5584ebb3a42b.html#cleveland-evans-popularity-of-charles-grows-from-Charlemagne
Whatever its origin, I agree that Chuck was taken up as a pet form of Charles because there wasn't a short one syllable nickname for it like Jack for John and Frank for Francis, and Americans around 1900 thought Charles needed something like that. :)
This message was edited 11/24/2015, 11:09 AM
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Replies
I met an American (lawyer from California) once who was Charles IV and known as Chip. His dad was Chuck and his grandfather had been Charlie; presumably Charles the First was just that.
He was unmarried then, and would be in his sixties now. I've often wondered if he ever had a son, and if so, what he'd have named him.
He was unmarried then, and would be in his sixties now. I've often wondered if he ever had a son, and if so, what he'd have named him.
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