Why?
"I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five?" Dirty Harry
Probably the same reason why President JOHN F. Kennedy was called Jack by his friends and relatives, too.
shareI presume that Jack is not commonly used as a nickname for John in your country, but it's quite common in the US.
shareNo, it is common for John to be called Jack in Britain. The OP is clearly confused.
'Wendy, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna bash your brains in!'
-Jack Torrance, The Shining
If the OP is British and if they are younger they easily may not be aware that Jack was often a nickname for John.
John used to be a very common name forty and more years ago in Britain but it is now relatively unusual for a young man to be called John. Even when John was common, it was far less usual for a John to be called Jack in the UK than it was in the US.
On the other hand, Jack (not as a nickname) is a much more common name for boys now than it ever was, so a young person might not realize that most older people referred to as Jack were actually formally a John.
Jack is common nickname for men who are named John, Jacob and James.
"Just remember, you have a friend in the Nightcrawler!"
"Jack is common nickname for men who are named ..... James."
No, it is not.
Well, it was. And it certainly was 50 or 100 years ago. As someone named Jon, it has always pissed me off royally that John or Jon needs a nickname at all. What's wrong with the name John (Jon) that you've gotta use Jack for it? It's not any shorter. And Jack is its own name.
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
It's like Dick being a nickname for Richard, or Molly or Polly as nicknames for Mary--very, very old naming conventions. They can confuse people not used to traditional English names.
share