I've been re-reading Harry Sucher's excellent book "The Milwaukee Marvel" for the third time in about 10 years. I love the early history of motorcycling in general and Harley in particular. Anyway, in that book and others I've read, there are always guys named "Hap" in the in the first half of 20th century motorcycling. Hap jones, Hap Sherer, etc. A real popular nickname. You don't meet too many guys called Hap these days...although there is a dealer in Sarasota with that name. Why was that such a popular nickname, and what (if anything) was it short for? It's got nothing to do with their real first names, which can be Bill, Charles, whatever.

 

Maybe they were always happy, so they got the nickname happy, and Hap was a shortened version?

Seems that is correct. Just Googled "History of the nickname Hap", and came up with a number of people who got that nickname because of their overall happy mood or smile.

 

They all ran off and eloped with their high school squeezes named Trixie, Bettylou and Kricket,,, never to be heard from again."You" may possibly be a direct desendant of the interactions betwix a (Hap and a Trixie). But be careful how you confront your parents or grandparents and do it in a tactful manner just in case they want to claim plausible deniablity.

 

I had a buddy in the Navy who went by "Hap" ( Happy Belisle) real name was Albert. That's exactly how he got his nickname, from his grandma who called him "Happy".

 

I worked with a guy called Hap while I was in college. This was a summer job for me; he worked as a mechanic in a truck shop. Since this was in 1976 and he was maybe 55 at the time, he would have picked up this nickname in the early part of that century.

I'd have to say that even though he worked a hard, greasy job for no money at all, he always had a pleasant outlook and something nice to say.

Oh, yeah, his real name was Frank.