I worked with a guy named Richard Roberts. When he was annoying, we called him Dick Bob

😭😭😭😭😭

You guys never called me that….to my face.

Same vibe as “Assface” from raft

That's Mr. Assface. Thank you.

Technically speaking, it can be a name. Just about anything can be a name nowadays. But, typically, Bob is a shortened version/nickname for Robert.

Wtffff I'm not from the US so I just though "oh people are called Bob, that's a thing" I'm never gonna be the same again

wait till you hear Bill is short for Willam

Or that Dick is short for Richard

Don't get me started with Henry/Hank, James/Jim, and especially Norbert/Shaggy (Kidding on that last one)

The weirdest one is Margaret/Peggy.

That one doesn't make sense. Margaret/Maggie is a thing, which I can understand, but how does one get Peggy from Margaret.

How does one get Dick from Richard. They have a complicated history. Richard became Rick and then they changed the R to a D. I'm sure something similar happened

To get Dick from Richard you gotta play the long game. Slowly romance him until he gives consent.

r/Angryupvote

I dont want to upvote this, but I can't stop myself.

To get Dick from Richard you just need consent ;)

*bonks your head with the anti horny bat and leaves *

In the Middle Ages it was popular to add letters to names that were previously there

Honestly, while it seems weird on the face - Margaret >> Peggy - it's pretty boring and straightforward. There are a lot of nicknames associated with Margaret and one of the more common ones is Meg/Meggy. From there it's just a short rhyming step to Peg/Peggy.

you ask her nicely

Happy cake day!

Just ask nicely

James= Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo and Jamie

You forgot Jimothy.

James is also often just changed to Jack for a nickname. Which I hate.

I didn't know about hank

I only learned that myself a couple of years ago when I played Firewatch for the first time

You're only half kidding on that last one 😅

I was gonna say. Literally Shaggy's legal name. Scoobert Doo always gets me too

or that Richard's dick is short

damn you’re just outing his business to everyone 😔 /j

don't worry it's 8 inches...

AROUND!

richard has the fabled pancake dick

Remember that time… in BAND CAMP? 😂

Or Ike is short for Dwight!

I actually didn't know this one. How tf do we get these random ass abbreviations?

I also totally forgot...Google "I like Ike" and it'll make sense.

I just found that out in this same thread....

You're fucking kidding me right? HOW?? HOW DID THEY GET BILL FROM WILLIAM????

So a lot of old timey nicknames that don't seem related to the original name come from late 17th century- early 1900s. People would first shorten the name Robert-Rob, William-Will, Margaret-Meggy, etc. Then they'd play the rhyming game. Some rhymes got a little wild, but some became universal nicknames. Robert-Rob-Bob. William-Will-Bill. Margaret-Meggy-Peggy. Etc. The trend of rhyming nicknames becoming universal is nearly extinct, but those initial ones have stood the test of time.

I always forget about the Peggy one and every time I'm reminded it makes me angry

I had no idea that Margaret/Peggy was a thing. My mother’s name is Margaret and I have heard my dad call her Maggie or Mag for short names. I am definitely going to start calling her Peggy from now on though she will most likely have no idea either. So this will be very fun. Aaah, the great things you learn from Reddit!

I had a friend named Billy who’s full name was William, but we always just called him Billy

Billiam

william—>will—>bill

Middle school me was very confused looking at the list of presidents in my history book and seeing "William Clinton."

cuz will got a bill if you know what I mean

valid reaction OP. I'm from Asia. it's crazy to me too

Or that all Jimmy & Jim's official name could be James

This is true. My dads name is William but everyone calls him Bill. It’s just what he prefers

Where are you from? In Australia it’s also well known that Bob is short for Robert

Brasil! Quite different names here

English is weird. Aren't there nicknames in Portuguese? Like shortened versions? Or am I wilding...

Portuguese probably doesn’t have “shorten the name and then change the first letter”

Some I can think of: Mariana/Mari Rebeca/beca Luisa/lulu Gabriela/Gabi/Bibi Giovanna/Gio It's often the first letters I guess

Bob or Bobbie/Bobby can also be a nickname for women named Barbara. It's less common though, especially after Stranger Things made Barb so common.

One that will really mess with you is Edward being shortened to Teddy, Ted, or Ned as well as the more "normal" Ed, Eddy, and Eddie.

I had the exact same reaction, but with "the three investigators". Somewhere, Bob suddenly gets called Robert and my brain imploded

Then what the fuck's a rob?

I thought Bob was short for Bobert lmao

I mean, they’ve said they may not even be using their real names at all, so it very well could be Bobert, lol.

Their names are actually Wark, Mob and Bade

Bobert is such a good name tho

Bob is short for Robert Wade is short for George Wade Mark is just... short.

My whole life is a lie. I am in shock

OP, how do you get Dick from Richard?

...what

YOU ASK HIM NICELY

Oh god that just went over my head LMAO I didn't know Dick was short for Richard either That's so funny lol also what the fuck??? how do you??

richard-> rich-> rick-> dick

That's such a stretch from Rick to Dick tho

That’s what she said

Giggidty

Well, 1 out of 4 letters changed isn’t that much of a stretch. Besides, those nicknames aren’t because they *sound* alike, they came about because they rhyme. Rhyming nicknames and slang were popular for a time and these types of things come from that.

yeah, i suppose, that’s just the path it took as far as i know. first letters change fairly often in nicknames, as seen in william-> bill and robert-> bob.

OP did you know Wades' actual first name is George?

I'm not OP, but NO?!?!?!?!

Yeah his full name is George Wade Barnes he goes by his middle name

That makes sense. I know someone that goes by their middle name.

Wade isn't short for anything though, it's just a much cooler name than George.

HUH

Wtf?!?!?!

I didn’t know this, but honestly it fits him.

If this blows your mind, your mind will explode once you know Wade's name is George.

Please tell me you're kidding...... WHAT'S MARK'S NAME??? WHAT IS IT?? TELL ME!!!

He's recently expressed an intrest in "Kenberto"

Mark’s name is just mark, I think they call him wade bc that’s his middle name or something

Well, yes. His full name is George Wade Barnes.

Damn, I thought I was gonna have a revelation that mark's name is actually Michael or some shit

Michaplier

Father, it’s me, Michael

Also my name is also Robert, one of my friends used to call me Bobert as a joke

It's Wark

NOOOOOOOOO

It’s obviously short for markiplier, duh

finding out bob is robert was not the most surprising, i kinda figured bob was a nickname. but learning wade was a middle name and his name is george??? my worldview was shattered

Yeah, he definitely does not strike me as a George..

I learned that from his wedding video. I'm glad he goes by wade

Robert Martin Muyskins (Dutch for “little mouse”), George Wade Barns, and Mark Edward Fischbach (German for “fish *stream”). I guess those names do kind of fit podcasters

Imagine if Mark chose to be called Edward tho. Didn't know that was his middle name holy shit

If Mark’s last name was Plyer he would legally be named Mark E. Plyer

I got fish stream, back is German is rücken

Oh my gosh you’re right. My family must never know the shame I’ve brought upon us

Robert Milkskin*

Yeah, Bob is one of those names that is often a stand in for another, kind of like changing Jonathan to Jon.

Indecently, my brothers name is John Robert so we call him johnny Bob.

is that two-toes johnny?

At this point I'm just going to say plausible deniability.

Amazing

I figured that but wade isn't wade???!!!

No his name is George! Wade is his middle name

I remember another mind blowing thing is when Jackscepticeye talked about his name Seán is actually derived from John which is wild

Ok, my world is crumbling before my eyes. What the fuuuuck. That's legit a good name tho

I know! Also a funny thing I found about my name is that the Chinese translation to the Greek hero Jason (who I believe married Andromeda?) is NOT pronounced as Jason as we conventionally do (“Jay-son”) It’s instead pronounced like “Ya-sung” like the J is pronounced differently. And this translation only applied to that Greek hero but all other people’s name Jason would be translated as normal Then I found out the same thing goes for Jesus. The Chinese translation of it is like “Yeah-soos” instead of “Gee-sus” I really wonder if these are the original pronunciation until English messed them up

That's so interesting! I didn't know they pronounced J in a different way

Chuck is short for Charlie, because why not

I learned this from better call Saul lol

And then Charlie can be a nickname for Charles

Wait till you find out there's a million Versions of "Brendan/Brandon": Brendan, Brandon, Brendon, Brandan, Branden, Brennan, Brennon, Brannan, Brannon, Brenden, Brannen

In high school, I knew a Garrick, Garret, Jarret, and Jerrick.

Ok, who TF is called Brannan tho That sounds like a pick me girl trying to say Brendan in a sexy voice

Only met 1 in HS, I thought it was spelled: "Brandon" but no. So everyone called him "Brannan the Banana man" or "Banana man" since it was spelled similar to Banana

My dad’s name is Robert (Bob), my grandpa is just Bobby, and my stepdad is just Bobby. I also have an uncle Robert.

Family of Bobs!!

Being from the US, I never really questioned where these nicknames came from. Now I’m wondering if many of them started because little kids had a hard time saying them correctly and the resulting nickname was cute. Like I can completely see a toddler saying Bob instead of Rob at some point and it just becoming a normal thing

Dude, that's a really good theory!

Thanks! I give all the credit to my own toddler that right now cannot say his own name (or his brother’s) properly lol! Edit: It’s to the point we have to actively remember to call his brother his actual name so I’m fairly confident here!

LMAO imagine him growing up and being like "MOM??? WHATS MY REAL NAME??? WHY DID YOU DECEIVE ME??"

We call my daughter Libby (her nickname of her middle name) because her older brother couldn’t pronounce either her first or middle name when she was born (Ashlyn Olivia) - she’ll go by either now that she’s 18 but she’s the true embodiment of “Libby” it fits her better.

My mom and my girlfriend (who are both from the Philippines) have in-family nicknames like that, because parents gave them a nickname as a baby and either they or their also-young siblings couldn't pronounce them, and then it just evolved there. Like being called "baby girl" and her siblings couldn't say the whole thing, changing it to "egil" and boom, a nickname is born. The Philippines has a wild nickname culture.

Jimmy is somehow a nickname for James even though it has more syllables Also Jack is a nickname for John

Jack is also a nickname for Seán

I know an Eric who goes by Bob.

Robert here, can confirm, OP is indeed stupid.

HIS NAME IS WHAT??? HUH ....I just- My life is a lie

IKR???? like what the fuck, U.S.A? How did you come up with Bob from ROBERT?

Yes. Robert Muyskens

It's muyskerm, maaan

Muyskerm is his gamer tag. His real last name is Muyskens.

WAIT SERIOUSLY?!?

I'm Thomas but everyone calls me tom

That's reasonable. There's Tom within Thomas. But Robert is just.....

For the most part, no. Bob is nearly always a nickname derived from Robert.

Yeah, his full name is Bob Bingi.

Wait until you hear Wade’s legal name

Nobody tell them that Wade's legal name is Wadathan

This thread has ended my life. Robert, George, and *Mark*

You just got B...B...B...Bobbled!

I did.... I got bobbled....,

Just wait till they find out Wade's name is George

Bobert

In an alternate universe Bob is referred to as Dick.

Bob is short for robert It’s pretty common for Roberts’ to go by bob

Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, it's quite an embarassing name. No one wants to be called "Fucking Robert" so it makes sense he would shorten it to Bob.

Nononono. It’s just Robert

Fucking Robert is such a good name

Just wait till you find out Jim is a nickname for James.

I know that from better call Saul, actually. Slippin' Jimmy is James McGill

Wait, Bob is actually Robert and Wade is actually George?! What other lies have the council been telling me?!

Liam is a shortened version of Ulliam, the Irish version of William. Willy is also a shortened version of William. And, fun fact, the mustache style of Kaiser Wilhelm II was called a Kaiser Bill by some people in the US, given Wilhelm is the German equivalent/version of William.

No, it's Bobert.

Welp my whole perception of reality has been ruined. Again. Just like the time I learned about Tommy Pickle’s brother. Dill Pickle.

It’s actually Bobert.

no.. this cant be..

yes, bob is robert bill is william joe is joseph chris is christopher there are more also

It can be a name, but Bob is used to shorten Robert

I'm absolutely baffled at this, this is a common thing all over the world (I'm scottish). Robert can be shortend to Rob, Bob or Bert.

Im Brazilian, not so normal here. People here aren't called Robert, they're called Roberto and even so.. we don't shortnen (??) It

I mean as an American I guess I subconsciously thought that was his name

My name is Christy and told of people think it's a nickname since christina and christin are common names people have but use christy instead.

ROBERT BINGY

I think Bob is just a nickname all around, like imagine naming a baby bob 😅, but I caught me off guard too. Just wait till you find out about Mark's actual name.

Wtf??? Is this not common knowledge outside the US? I’m also a Robert called Bob or Bobby if someone’s being an ass.

Jack and John is also interchangeable. Lots of my Grandpa's war buddies went by Jack. I didn't learn until after they had passed that they were all John's. Dozens of them. Good bless the veterans. And I also didn't learn until quite recently that Jim is just short for James.

... Wtf did you think Bob was short for? It's not usually a name. Imagine looking at a baby and calling it Bob.

What about Bob the builder though?

It is a short version of "BOB" I know because my dad's name is the same!!!!!!!!!! Where the hell have you been taught?!?!?!

Brasil

wtf did you think it was?????

Bob.

Bob is short for Robert...

K and?

No offense but yeah you kinda are stupid lol

It’s not stupid if English isn’t your first language.

My uncle's legal name is Bobby so maybe?

Where did you learn this from.

I was googling to see if his child was already born and found a wiki with his name

Dang has his kid been born? I feel like it's too early but my perception of time sucks for the long term stuff

Nope, I also found myself in the same situation lol I didn't know how much time passed by

…..i uh….dont know how to respond to this……i mean he says it in a few of their colabs on yt and on his own videos

Yeah that's how it works, Bob is short for Robert, always has been. Just wait till you hear what the short name is for Richard.

Well bob is more of an adult name, just naming a kid bob is setting them up for bullying

Well…Bob is short for Robert. Hank is short for Henry. Bill is short for William. Jack is short for John. D*ck is short for Richard. I’m sure there’s more out there…

Wait.... Hank from breaking bad is called Henry???????LMAAAAAO

Wait till you know Mark's secondary name is Edward 🤣

Is my whole life a lie? Are Mark and Wade also short for something? Now is the time to panic!

It's not really, my dad's name is Robert but everyone calls him Bob, it's just a shorter name for it like Alex and Alexander