# Patsy

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" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice). Among Italian Americans, it is often used as a pet name for Pasquale.
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.
President George Washington called his wife, Martha, "Patsy" in private correspondence. President Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter Martha was known by the nickname "Patsy", while his daughter Mary was called "Polly".

## Women with the name

* Patricia Patsy Adam-Smith (1924–2001), Australian author, historian, and servicewoman
* Patricia Patsy Aldana, Canadian children's book publisher
* Patsy Biscoe (born 1946), Australian children's entertainer
* Patricia Patsy Burt (1928–2001), British motor racing driver
* Patricia Patsy Byrne (1933–2014), English actress
* Patsy Chapman (born 1948), British newspaper editor
* Patsy Cline (1932–1963), American country singer
* Patsy Pat Danner (born 1934), American politician
* Patsy De Forest (1894–1966), American actress
* Patricia Patsy Elsener (1929–2019), American diver
* Patricia Patsy Ferran (born 1989), Spanish-British actress
* Patricia Patsy Gallant (born 1948), Canadian singer and actress
* Virginia Patsy Garrett (1921–2015), American actress and singer
* Patsy Hazlewood (born 1949), American politician
* Patsy Jo Hilliard (born 1937), African-American educator
* Patsy Jorgensen (born 1943), New Zealand bowler
* Sarah Patsy Kelly (1910–1981), American actress
* Patricia Patsy Kensit (born 1968), British actress and singer
* Patsy Knight (born 1938), American politician
* Patricia Patsy Lawlor (1933–1997), Irish politician, nurse and businesswoman
* Patricia Patsy Lovell (born 1954), English cricketer, member of the 1988 World Cup team
* Patsy Lynch (born 1953), American photographer
* Patricia Patsy May (born 1947), Australian cricketer 1968–1976
* Patricia Patsy Ruth Miller (1904–1995), American actress
* Patsy Mink (1927–2002), American politician
* Patsy O'Connor (1930–2017), American actress and entertainer
* Patsy O'Leary (1910–????), American actress
* Patsy Palmer (born 1972), English actress and DJ
* Patricia Patsy Parsons (1931–2006), American character actress
* Gladys Patsy Pulitzer (1928–2011), American model, socialite and philanthropist
* Patsy Quick, English motorcycle racer
* Patricia Patsy Ramsey (1956–2006), mother of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey
* Patricia Patsy Reddy (born 1954), Governor-General of New Zealand
* Patsy Robertson (1933–2020), Jamaican diplomat and journalist
* Patsy Rodenburg (born 1953), British voice coach, author and theatre director
* Patricia Patsy Rowlands (1934–2005), British actress in the Carry On films
* Patsy Seddon, Scottish harpist, violinist, and traditional singer
* Patsy Sörensen (born 1952), Belgian politician and social activist
* Patsy O’Connell Sherman (1930–2008), American chemist and co-inventor of Scotchgard
* Patsy Ford Simms (born 1946), American composer, arranger, and educator
* Patricia Patsy Smart (1918–1996), English actress
* Patsy Stephen, Australian actress
* Patricia Patsy Ticer (1935–2017), American politician
* Patsy Terrell (1961–2017), American politician
* Patricia Patsy Torres (born 1957), American singer
* Patsy Vatlet, Belgian politician
* Patsy Widakuswara, Indonesian-American radio and broadcast journalist
* Mary Patricia Patsy Willard (born 1941), American diver
* Patricia Patsy Wolfe, Australian lawyer and judge
* Patsy Yates, Australian nursing academic and palliative care specialist
* Patricia Patsy Yuen (born 1952), Jamaican designer and beauty pageant titleholder

## Men with the name

* Francis Patsy Boylen (1878–1938), English professional rugby league footballer
* Patsy Bradley (born 1984), Gaelic footballer from Northern Ireland
* Patsy Breen, Gaelic footballer
* Patrick Patsy Brophy (born 1970), Irish retired hurler
* Patrick A. Patsy Brown (1872–1958), Irish-American maker of uilleann pipes
* Francis Patsy Callighen (1906–1964), Canadian National Hockey League player
* Patsy Conroy (1846–????), American burglar and river pirate
* Patrick Patsy Corcoran (1893–1967), Scottish professional footballer
* Patrick Patsy Donovan (1865–1953), Irish-American Major League Baseball player and manager
* Patrick Patsy Dorgan (1936–2021), Irish footballer
* Patrick Patsy Dougherty (1876–1940), American Major League Baseball player
* Patrick Patsy Durack (1834–1898), Australian pastoralist
* Patsy Fagan (born 1951), Irish retired professional snooker player
* Patrick Patsy Flaherty (1876–1968), American baseball player
* Patrick Patsy Flannelly (1909–1939), Irish Gaelic footballer
* Patrick Patsy Foley (born 1943), Irish retired hurler
* Patrick Patsy Gallacher (1891–1953), Irish footballer
* Patsy Gerardi, American football player
* Edward Patrick Patsy Gharrity (1892–1966), American professional baseball player and coach
* Pascal Patsy Giugliano (1900–1976), American football player
* Patrick Patsy Gormley (1932–2022), Gaelic footballer
* Patrick Patsy Groogan, Irish politician
* Patrick Patsy Guzzo (1914–1993), Canadian ice hockey player
* Patsy Harte (born 1940), Irish former hurler
* Elias Henry Patsy Hendren (1889–1962), British cricketer
* Patrick Patsy Houlihan (1929–2006), English snooker player
* Patrick Patsy Keefe (1878–1941), American football coach
* Pasqualino Lolordo (1887–1929), Italian-American mobster
* Mark Patsy McGaffigan (1888–1940), American baseball player
* Patsy McGarry, writer and newspaper editor
* Patsy McGlone (born 1959), Irish politician
* Patrick Patsy McIlvenny (1900–1931), Irish professional footballer
* Patsy McLarnon, Gaelic footballer
* Patsy Moran (born 1951), Irish hurler
* Patsy O'Hara (1957–1981), Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army
* Joseph Patsy O'Rourke (1881–1956), American baseball player
* Patsy Dan Rodgers (1944–2018), Irish painter, musician, and King of Tory
* Joseph Patsy Séguin (1887–1918), Canadian professional ice hockey player
* Patrick Patsy Sweeney (1879–1948), American boxer
* Oliver Patsy Tebeau (1864–1918), American baseball player and manager
* Patrick Patsy Touhey (1865–1923), American comedian
* Patsy Vidalia (1921–1982), American female impersonator, singer, and entertainer
* Patsy Watchorn (born 1944), Irish folk singer

## Fictional characters

* Patsy (Monty Python), in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and also the 2005 Monty Python inspired musical Spamalot
* Patsy, the title character in the newspaper comic strip The Adventures of Patsy (1935–1954)
* Patsy Parisi, in HBO series The Sopranos
* Patsy Pirati, in the film Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn (2013)
* Patsy Sewer, a singer on the Canadian television program Instant Star
* Patsy Smiles, a mongoose who is in love with Lazlo in the 2005 American animated television series Camp Lazlo
* Patsy Stone, one of the main characters in the 1992–2005 British television series Absolutely Fabulous, played by Joanna Lumley
* Patsy Walker, also known as "Hellcat", a Marvel Comics superhero

## Victim of deception

The popularity of the name has waned with the rise of its, chiefly North American, meaning as "dupe" or "scapegoat". Fact, Fancy and Fable, published in 1889, notes that in a sketch performed in Boston "about twenty years ago" a character would repeatedly ask "Who did that?" and the answer was "Patsy Bolivar!" It may have been popularized by the vaudevillian Billy B. Van, whose 1890s character, Patsy Bolivar, was more often than not an innocent victim of unscrupulous or nefarious characters. Van's character became a broad vaudeville "type", imitated by many comedians, including Fred Allen, who later wrote, "Patsy Bolivar was a slang name applied to a bumpkin character; later, it was shortened to Patsy, and referred to any person who was the butt of a joke."
Lee Harvey Oswald, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, denied he was responsible for the murder, and stated: "No, they are taking me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I'm just a patsy!"
Byron Smith, after killing Haile Kifer and her cousin, Nicholas Brady, also claimed he was a patsy.