When is a name not just a name? There have always been names that stem from existing words, like River or Rose. But there is another category of those that began as names and have transformed into slang words for something else – for better or worse. Let’s dig in.

Food and Object Names

On a lighter note, several names are tied to foods. A Reuben is a sandwich, named after its creator Arnold Reuben.

Emmy and Oscar are both names for major show business awards. Academy Award librarian Margaret Herrick saw the golden statue in 1931 and remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar, which led to the affectionate nickname. As for the Emmys, these awards were originally named after the Image Orthicon Tube used in early TV cameras. First called the IMMY, it was later changed to Emmy because the statuette is female.

The name Penny comes from the British term “pence,” while Jackson is often a slang term for the $20 bill due to Andrew Jackson’s appearance on the bill.

Jean was once a common woman’s name, but also refers to denim (jeans). The pants are named after the city of Genoa, Italy, where cotton corduroy was manufactured. Jeans were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873.

Drug Names

Mary Jane is a common slang term for marijuana. The etymology is argued, although it could have come from translating the name elements Mari and Juana into English. A Mary Jane is also a style of shoe, after a character in the comic strip “Buster Brown” named Mary Jane who wore that style of shoe.

Another name that means marijuana is Bud. Slipping someone a Mickey refers to drugging a drink. The origins of this term come from Mickey Finn, the keeper of Chicago’s Lone Star Saloon in the late 19th and early 20th century, who was alleged to have drugged and robbed his customers.

Other drug names include Molly or Adam (meaning ecstacy), Addy (for Adderall), Snow for cocaine, Crystal for crystal meth, and Lucy for LSD.

Sexualized Names

People often wonder how the Dick became a nickname for Richard and then a reference to a penis. This type of nickname comes from Cockney Rhyming Slang, wherein someone might assign a nickname based on what the original word rhymes with. For example, saying “Barney Rubble” to mean “trouble.”

The name Richard comes from the Germanic Rikharthu, meaning literally “hard ruler,” or likely “brave ruler” figuratively. From there, it evolved into Ricohard (Old High German) to Richeard (Old English) to today’s Richard. Of course, it didn’t stop there. The first short-form nickname for Richard was Ric, which – you guessed it – rhymes with Dick.

Now, to be fair, originally it was simply your run-of-the-mill rhyming slang. Dick didn’t become a reference to a penis until the mid-late 1800s, thanks to the British army. It was also a common term to refer to an investigator or detective in the noir days of the 1930s and 40s.

A few others…

If you’re looking for other names that mean penis (hey, we don’t judge), we’ve got Willy, Peter, Johnson, and Rod. And we can’t forget Woody or Jack. 

Other sexualized names include Cherry (in line with the slang term “popping one’s cherry” to mean losing one’s virginity) and Fanny (which means rear end in the U.S. but vagina in the UK).

Gay originated as a gender-neutral given name, and was also a dictionary word meaning “happy, carefree joy.” But by the 1920s the word started to be used in common vernacular to mean “homosexual.” As early as the 1700s the word meant “sexually carefree” or “uninhibited by moral constraints,” which led to the current cultural meaning.

Initial names have always been around, but some of them are less popular these days. One example is B.J. Sure, it’s an easy nickname for someone named Billy Joe or Bobbi Jean, but has come to mean more than that in pop culture (see UrbanDictionary.com).

Along those lines, the name Randy seems simple, but can also mean “ready for sex,” as in the famous Austin Powers quote, “Do I make you randy, baby?”

Bodily Function Names

Other bodily functions show up in nicknames, too. Aunt Flo has long been used as a euphemism for a  menstrual cycle.

The name Deuce has come to mean “poop” – from the old French meaning the number 2. Deuce is also a term used in tennis, gambling, and currency (meaning $2).

And while the traditional pronunciation of the name Colin is still solidly in “name” territory, pronouncing it like Colon (as in Colin Powell) invites another association.

Plus, names like Ralph or Chuck connote vomiting.

Everyday Slang Names

Jerry

Referred to a German soldier in World War II.

Roger

In the U.S. military, it’s common to reply to messages with “Roger that” to mean “I understood.”

Abigail

Used to mean “lady’s maid,” coming from the term for servants “Abigails and Andrews.”

Merry-Andrew

An old slang term for “clown.”

Aunt Sally

A term for a person or thing that’s set up as an easy target for criticism or blame.

Pollyanna

Stemming from the film and novel of the same name, Pollyanna has come to mean someone who is overly optimistic.

Bobby

An English street cop.

Betty

An attractive woman.

Homer

A home run in baseball. Most notably identified with the cartoon character Homer Simpson, named after creator Matt Groening’s father.

Jimmy

To wiggle something to open it.

Lolita

Refers to a hyper-sexualized young girl, largely by people who missed the true theme of Nabokov’s novel (Humbert Humbert was not, in fact, the hero).

Gil

In Poland, means “booger.”

Lou

Loo means “toilet” in British English.

John

“Toilet” in the U.S.

Joey

A baby kangaroo – aww!

Joe

Coffee or average guy.

John Doe or Jane Doe

Names used for unidentified individual. John or Jane may also refer to the client of a sex worker.

Prissy

Short for Priscilla and can mean fussy or overly neat.

Frank

Means honest or truthful, can be a nickname for Francis.