35%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage Popular Culture Meaning & History Created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 for a sailor character in his comic strip Thimble Theatre, later renamed Popeye. He presumably based it on the English words pop and eye. Categories body parts, cartoon characters, fast food chains, invented, NBA players, popular culture, R.E.M. lyrics, rugby union Springboks, TV show titles