Brother Jonathan, the popular nickname of the United States, arose out of the person of Jonathan Trumbull, the Governor of Connecticut, whom General Washington never failed to consult in cases of emergency. “We must refer the matter to Brother Jonathan!” he was wont to exclaim when no other officer could offer any practical suggestion to aid him out of a difficulty; and true enough, “Brother Jonathan” proved himself in every instance equal to the confidence reposed in him. Another stock nickname for the United States is Uncle Sam. This originated from a vulgar misconception of the initial letters “U. S.” (United States) for those of the well-known sobriquet of an official whose business it was to mark them on all Government property. The numerous acquaintances of this person understood that the goods so marked had passed through the hands of “Uncle Sam,” and the joke becoming public it spread far and wide, until in the end it was considered far too good to be allowed to drop. The term Yankee finds its origin in the native attempt to pronounce the word “English,” but approaching no nearer to the sound than Yengees, the name bestowed upon the English colonists by the Indians of Massachusetts, and afterwards given to the New Englanders by the British soldiers during the American War.

The nickname of the typical Englishman, John Bull, was derived from Dr. Arbuthnot’s satire of this title published in 1721. There was also a real person of the name of John Bull, well known as the composer of “God Save the King”; but he died just a hundred years before Dr. Arbuthnot’s performance was heard of. Of a still later date is the national English nickname, Mrs. Grundy, which arose out of the passage, “What will Mrs. Grundy say?” from Thomas Morton’s drama, “Speed the Plough,” produced in 1798. The proverbial prudishness of the English people in matters affecting art, could scarcely be better expressed than under the style of The British Matron. The British soldier is popularly referred to under the general designation of Tommy Atkins, because “Thomas Atkins” was a fictitious name that figured in the soldiers’ monthly statement of accounts.

The Irish as a nation are invariably alluded to as Pat or Paddy, being short for Patrick, their most common Christian name, selected in honour of St. Padhrig, or Patrick (born 373, died 466); the Scots as Sandie or Sawney, a contraction of Alexander, their most popular Christian name; and the Welsh as Taffy, a corruption of Davy, and short for David, the name of their Archbishop and Saint (born 490, died 554).

The national nickname of the Chinese is John Chinaman, in imitation of our own characteristic “John Bull.” Even now a Chinaman addresses every Englishman he meets as “John,” which is his idea of our most popular name. Hence, British sailors in the Chinese waters from the first returned the compliment, so to speak, by alluding to each Celestial with whom they came in contact as “John Chinaman.”

The Chinese are also called Pigtails, on account of their Tartar tonsure and braided queue. By the Indians of North America Europeans are styled Pale Faces; while the Europeans designate the Indians Red Skins, both terms having reference to the complexion. The word Nigger is a corruption of Negro, derived from niger, the Latin for black. The reason why a negro generally bears the name of Sambo is because Zambo is the native term used to designate the offspring of a black person and a mulatto. The word Mulatto is Spanish, derived from the Latin mulus, a mule, and signifying a mixed breed. A Mulatto may be either the offspring of a negress by a white man, or of a white woman by a negro.