Is That Your Real Name?
What's Jip Short For?

   I am going to go on about this a bit, as it is probably the question I am asked more frequently than any other. Jip is not short for anything, and is my legal name, yes. I was named after my father, who was named after his father, who was named after my great-grandfather's foreman at Pruden Coal & Coke Company. His name was Jip Manring and was a favored "uncle" of my great-grandfather's family. I suspect it may have been his nickname and possibly based on someone's initials, though I have no hard evidence of that.

   Jip was a common name in England in the late 1800's. But for canines. Ha! The stories Dr. Doolittle and The Dollmaker both have dogs named Jip. I've seen grade school reading primers with dogs named Jip instead of Spot. I'm told that in today's England the word "jip" is used in describing something acting up, as in "My arm is full of jip!" if it has a twitch. And no, though you may think you are the first to speak it, "So, are you going to gyp me?" is a quip I have heard hundreds of times. The word gyp comes from the word gypsy.

   Even after seeing it in print, many people insist on changing my name, evidently thinking I have spoken or written my own name wrong. Old Mainers call me Jeb. The sailboat crowd call me Jib. The average person often calls me Jim. I've heard Kip on many occasions. People from the Midwest call me Chip. My real name is Jip, thank you.