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in reply to a message by )(
It's a rhyme. At one time in England it's said about two thirds of the males had one of 5 names:
William
John
Henry
Robert and
Richard
As a result there was a lot of confusion as to which William you were talking about or talking to.
So nicknames that rhyme were created.
William: Will, Bill and to a lesser extent Gill
Richard: Rick, Dick and formerly Hick. The last one was once so common it became synonymous with a non-sophisticated man.
Robert: Rob, Bob and formerly Dob and Hob. The last two spawned surnames like: Dobbins and Hopkins.
William
John
Henry
Robert and
Richard
As a result there was a lot of confusion as to which William you were talking about or talking to.
So nicknames that rhyme were created.
William: Will, Bill and to a lesser extent Gill
Richard: Rick, Dick and formerly Hick. The last one was once so common it became synonymous with a non-sophisticated man.
Robert: Rob, Bob and formerly Dob and Hob. The last two spawned surnames like: Dobbins and Hopkins.
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Replies
This is mostly true but one should add that Bill developed as a short form of William several centuries after Dick/Hick did for Richard and Dob/Hob did for Robert. We know this because of the existence of common surnames like Dix, Hicks, Dobbs, and Hobson based on those forms. If Bill had been common back in medieval times we'd have a lot of people with surnames like Bills and Bilson, which we don't. Bill only developed later, and most experts believe it probably started off as an Irish form that only later spread to England.
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Thank you both. Very interesting.
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