Why was Ted Kennedy called "Ted"?
Asked by
se_ven (
789
)
August 27th, 2009
His name was Edward Moore Kennedy but he went by “Ted”. I looked through wikipedia, but didn’t seem to find an answer. Does anybody know?
my guess it was some childhood association with a teddy bear and/or relating to Teddy Roosevelt?
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23 Answers
It is a normative diminutive for Edward.
Richard is to Dick as Edward is to Ted
because “big head” was considered too rude.
Thanks everyone! I had never realized Ted was a nickname for Edward.
now if I can just figure out why people named John are called Jack…;)
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because he just doesn’t look like a “Susan”
I never knew “Ted” was an Edward nickname, just a Theodore one
It’s probably because people always called him “The Edward” and then they started getting lazy, went with “The Ed”, and then just dropped the H and an E.
“if I can just figure out why people named John are called Jack”
Jack is a nickname for John and has been since the days of Middle English around A.D. 1200.
And for those who have mentioned Teddy Roosevelt, were you aware that the “Teddy Bear” was named after him, whichever story is true?
as “chuck” is for charles
“dick” for richard
“marge” for margaret
“billy” for william
“larry” for lawrence
“jimmy” for james
“joe” for joseph
“ricky” for derrick
“hank” for henry
“vince” for vincent
“sexy” for eponymoushipster
When he was little, his older sibs called him Teddy. He was the last of the nine Kennedy children.
Topher for Christopher
@charliecompany34 MOST of those cases, all of those names are very similar, one or two letters off. Richard -> Rich -> Rick -> Dick; William -> Will -> Willy -> Billy.
I had never heard that Jimmy is a nickname for James, nor Hank for Henry.
@Darwin Thanks, but that was my attempt at a little humor after realizing it was something semi-common and rather simple :)
It is a recognized nickname for Edward, and also helps keep him from being confused with various other men in the Kennedy family with the same name.(Uncle, cousin, son, etc)
Must come from an early Anglo derivation of the word endorsement.
@Garebo, are you unable to adhere to the ancient injunction De Mortuis Nihil Nisi Bonum?
“the tribute that vice pays to virtue”
I thought it was Ted.
Living in Boston for 5 years I grew to appreciate him. What I will miss most about him is his genuine concern for the common or little guy.
My hunch is; you were probably weren’t quite as respectful towards the death of Ron Ron, now were you?
Casue that was his first name, thats like saying se instead os se ven
Ted has long been a diminutive for Edward.
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