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From: colonel@gloria.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: where did the 'B' come from?
Message-ID: <733@gloria.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-May-85 22:53:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: gloria.733
Posted: Mon May 13 22:53:51 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 16-May-85 05:17:42 EDT
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> I've been wondering for a while what the entymology of the name "Bill" is.
> I can see Will deriving from William, but where'd the 'B' come from?
> 
> -eli

Just a convention - perhaps related to the "B" in boy.  Consider "Bob"
for "Robert." Some people think "Bob" sounds better than "Rob."

Some of my young chess friends used to do this to everybody
indiscriminately.  For instance, a veteran chess player named "Erich"
(short e, hard ch) became "Berich" (long e, soft ch)!
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel