Yanci

The origin of this name is still quite uncertain today. The theories include: 1) Linguist Jan de Vries notes that there was mention of a pirate named “Dutch Yanky” in the 17th century, which would have radically influenced the term. 2) Another theory surmised that the word was borrowed from the Wyandot (Iroquoian-speaking peoples of North America) pronunciation of the French “l’anglais,” meaning “the Englishman” or “the English language,” which was sounded as “Y’an-gee.” 3) Michael Quinion and Patrick Hanks argue that the term refers to the Dutch feminine diminutive name “Janneke” or masculine diminutive name “Janke,” which would be Anglicized as “Yankee” due to the Dutch pronunciation of “J” as the English “Y.”