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What was the full name of former President Eisenhower, and how did he get his nickname 'Ike'?
Question
#43848. Asked by robboy. (Jan 29 04 9:16 PM)
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jbean
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Dwight David Eisenhower....name at birth David Dwight....most historians claim that DDE and his six brothers carried the moniker Ike, probably from the rough translation of the German Eisenhower to 'Iron' and 'Hewer'
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Senior Moments
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I found a possible explanation for the nickname from somebody qualified to know, Kim Barbieri, an Education Specialist in The Eisenhower Foundation. Her answer is as follows: -
I thought everyone might want to hear my "answer" to the question about how
Dwight D. Eisenhower got the nickname Ike so I'm posting to the list.
Dwight's older brother, Edgar, was nicknamed "Ike" and, in turn, he became
"Big Ike" and Dwight was "Little Ike." (In fact, I've heard that all six
brothers were, at one time or another, referred to as "Ike.") No one knows
for sure where or why this particular nickname developed except that it is a
common one. (My guess is that it sounds like the first syllable of
"Eisenhower." My brother-in-law's name is Isaacson and he is often called
"Ike" as well.)
John Long, a close boyhood friend, states in his oral history interview
that Dwight Eisenhower's friends always called him "Dwight." His serious
girl friend, Gladys, always referred to him as "Dwight" in her diary and
another friend, Ruby, also called him "Dwight." I read many letters and
oral histories and didn't find "Ike" used much. In his senior yearbook
(1909) for a class program, he's actually listed as "Swede" Eisenhower.
For those who aren't aware of it, Eisenhower was named "David Dwight" and
that's how it's listed in the family Bible and in the Abilene High School
yearbook of 1909. His mother began calling him Dwight early because his
father's name was David and he was called "Dave." She decided to avoid
confusion and the use of a nickname. Ironic!
I don't know that this really answers your question, but it's all I know
after extensive research on his boyhood years.
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