Bill Weasley

[GulPlum <hp@plum.cream.org>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50973

Susan Atherton wrote:

<much snipped>

> However, I'd say I know about five or six lads my own age called 
> William, and all their names are abbreviated to "Will". Why? 
> Because Will Young, Will Smith, etc are all young role 
> models. "Will" is now the stylish abbreviation - you'd NEVER catch 
> a boy my age who used "Bill", any more than you'd catch a woman in 
> her fifties using the abbreviation "Caz" for "Caroline". OK, that's 
> a bad example, but I can't think of any other names - it's way too 
> early to engage my brain ~g~

Absolutely. I had intended but forgot to mention in my previous 
message that nicknames or abbreviations of names have fashions, and 
role models have a large part to play in this. In my 40 years, the 
popularity around me of the various possible abbreviations of my own 
name has changed several times, between Dick, Dickie, Rick, Ricky and 
others (personally, I prefer and exclusively use the full version 
about myself, but will respond to Rick or Rich which a few of my 
friends use; the others I hate and ignore people who use them about 
me). 

The point, though, regarding Bill Weasley, is that by whatever 
Potterverse chronology one wishes to follow, he grew up in the 
70s/80s, at which time I can't think of any big name Wills who could 
have served as role models. William certainly wasn't a particularly 
popular name then, but even so anyone who called themselves "Bill" 
would have been assumed to be a William, and conversely, most 
Williams would have called themselves Bill.

> And as for the Old Bill - where the hell did that name even come
> from anyway? LOL! (It means the police, for those of you currently 
> scratching your heads!)

Nobody knows for sure, but as with many things in life, the best 
person to ask is a policeman...:

http://www.met.police.uk/history/oldbill.htm

-- 
GulPlum AKA Richard, who seems to be thinking a lot about names today