St. Patty’s Day or St. Paddy’s Day
Marketers struggle with it every year: How to abbreviate "St. Patrick's Day" to make ad copy seem conversational or funny. Do you know the correct way? 🤔
What is the proper way to abbreviate "St. Patrick's Day"?
St. Patty's Day
St. Paddy's Day
1 and 2 are equally correct.
The correct answer is option two, “St. Paddy’s Day.” The name “St. Patrick’s Day” originates from the Irish name “Pádraig,” from which the anglicized version “Patrick” is derived. "St. Patty's Day" arose either as a misunderstanding of the name’s origin or as a play on words for the masculine nickname “Pat.” But when used as a nickname for Ireland's patron saint, “Patty” is considered by many to be disrespectful or just plain wrong, because it’s generally associated with the feminine nickname for “Patricia.” At the same time, a smaller group considers "St. Paddy's Day" inappropriate because “Paddy” has been used as a disparaging name for a person of Irish descent since the 18th century. In any case, you can always play it safe with "St. Patrick’s Day" or even "St. Pat's Day."