Billy and Johnny?

[major bill]

Where did the terms Billy Yank and Johnny Reb come from? There must have been many Williams in the South and many Johns in the North so why the nicknames?

 

[TerryB]

Interesting question. John or Johnny may be an old American name for the foe. I read in the book on Custer called
Son of the Morning Star that the cavalry troopers of the West referred to Indians as "John." One of Reno's badly wounded troopers kept repeating "Oh, John! Oh, John!"

 

[major bill]

I believe the song When Johnny Comes March Home was a hit in both the Union and the Confederacy.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

There must have been many Williams in the South and many Johns in the North

I wish it were that simple.
Quite a few Johns in the South too . . . along with many guys having the rare name of James.

Thomas, Edward & Phillip are also names that never appear in records.

 

[major bill]

I believe that Johnny was a nickname for a man especially one whose name one does not know or a generic term for a common man. I believe it was uses in kind of the same way we use Joe. We still use the the name John Doe and John Q. Public for someone whose name we do not know. But where Billy came from is unknown to me. Note the we still use the terms terms Johnny-come-lately and Johnny-on-the-spot.

 

[nextcity]

I remember reading an ACW book about 25 years ago (but cannot remember the name) where the author had pointed out that the use of the name Billy in the North and Johnny in the South for newborn boys had EXPLODED in the years following the ACW.

 

[donna]

Book I recommend is "The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank" by Bell Wiley.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

"Brother Jonathan" was a reference to a New Englander... hence Oliver Wendell Holmes' "Brother Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline," written after South Carolina adopted its ordinance of secession.

"John Bull" was, of course, the personification of the bourgeois Britisher.

"John" was frequently used in a number of other ways to mean "some guy," such as a "sailor John." Probably it was in this sense that "Johnny Reb" came into use. "Billy Yank" is more of a puzzle; I guess I've always assumed Bell Wiley made it up.

 

[alexjack]

I would imagine that, as through most of modern history 'John' is a very common name and so as such someone applied it to the generic Rebel soldier, then needing a name for the generic Union soldier they used another very common name, 'Bill' adding the 'y' so the name rolled off the tongue.

 

[RebYell64]

Billy Yank....I think it was just the Southerner's version of Johnny Reb. Someone probably just said it, and it caught on like any 'trend', as it were.

 

[major bill]

I had to wonder if Billy was a term for a male such as billy goat vers nanny goat. I am not an expert on were words came from but have seen the term John or Johnny use prior to the Civil War while I do not recall seeing the term Billy being used before the Civil War except as a someone's name.

 

[TerryB]

I believe the song When Johnny Comes March Home was a hit in both the Union and the Confederacy.

I think you're right. But there's also one that goes back to the Revolution, "Johnny's Gone For a Soldier." Then there's the famous line from another one, "Johnny, we hardly knew ye."

 

[Greg Taylor]

I believe that Johnny was a nickname for a man especially one whose name one does not know or a generic term for a common man. I believe it was uses in kind of the same way we use Joe. We still use the the name John Doe and John Q. Public for someone whose name we do not know. But where Billy came from is unknown to me. Note the we still use the terms terms Johnny-come-lately and Johnny-on-the-spot.

And of course, "John" is a common name for a prostitute's customer

 

[lilbow73]

Interesting question. John or Johnny may be an old American name for the foe. I read in the book on Custer called
Son of the Morning Star that the cavalry troopers of the West referred to Indians as "John." One of Reno's badly wounded troopers kept repeating "Oh, John! Oh, John!"

I also read that the cavalry called the Indians Mr Lo.Not sure if that was the case or not.

 

[TerryB]

My grandmother used to read to us from books that were published around the turn of the century. They were full color illustrated and concerned the adventures of a goat named "Billy Whiskers."

I also read that the cavalry called the Indians Mr Lo.Not sure if that was the case or not.

That's a new one on me. John for an Indian really surprised me, though.