Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice).
In older usage Patsy was also a nickname for Martha or Matilda, following a common nicknaming pattern of changing an M to a P (such as in Margaret → Meg/Meggy → Peg/Peggy; and Molly → Polly) and adding a feminine s...
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Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice).
In older usage Patsy was also a nickname for Martha or Matilda, following a common nicknaming pattern of changing an M to a P (such as in Margaret → Meg/Meggy → Peg/Peggy; and Molly → Polly) and adding a feminine suffix.
While usually a feminine diminutive name, from the 18th century Patsy also came to be used as a nickname for men and boys called Patrick.
The popularity of the name has waned with the rise of its meaning as "dupe" or "scapegoat". This usage comes from the early 20th Century vaudevillian Billy B. Van, whose character, Patsy Bolivar, was more often than not an innocent victim of unscrupulous or nefarious characters.
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