Sherlock Holmes’ Original John Watson Name Explained (& Why It Changed)

Sherlock Holmes is always accompanied by his friend and partner Dr. John Watson, who originally had a very different name. Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and made his first appearance in A Study in Scarlet in 1887, after which he appeared in a number of short stories published in The Strand Magazine, beginning with “A Scandal in Bohemia” in 1891. The Great Detective appeared in a total of four novels and 56 short stories, all of them displaying his peculiar logical reasoning and deduction skills.

The stories of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson became very popular right away, to the point where, when Conan Doyle decided to kill the detective, he was heavily pressured by fans to bring him back, which he eventually did. Sherlock and Watson’s adventures have been adapted to all types of media for over a hundred years and their stories continue to be fairly popular, and there’s not one person who doesn’t know the names of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, though the latter was almost not named like that.

Both Sherlock Holmes and John Watson originally had different names, as shown by the surviving notes of Conan Doyle. The famous detective was initially named Sherrinford Hope (though some claim it was “Sherrinford Holmes”, sometimes written as “Sherringford”), but Conan Doyle was convinced to change it. Sources vary as to what made him change the name to “Sherlock Holmes”, with some saying it was his wife who told him “Sherrinford Hope” wasn’t a good name while others explain that the stories of “Sherrinford Holmes” were rejected. Dr. Watson, on the other hand, had an even weirder name, far from the final one everyone knows.

According to Conan Doyle’s notes, Dr. John Watson was initially named “Ormond Sacker”, but Conan Doyle changed his mind before the publication of A Study in Scarlet. Exactly why he changed Watson’s name is unknown, but many sources explain the name “John Watson” was most likely inspired by one of Conan Doyle’s colleagues: Dr. James Watson. Some sources claim that James Watson was the inspiration for the character of John Watson and that he wasn’t happy with the character being named “Ormond Sacker” but he didn’t want his real name to be used either. Conan Doyle then changed it to John Watson and added a middle name starting with “H”, which has been speculated to be “Hamish”, the Scottish Gaelic for “James”. In fact, Watson’s wife Mary Morstan called him “James” in the story “The Man with the Twisted Lip”, so it’s very possible that Conan Doyle was inspired by the real James Watson and hid some clues in John’s name.

As for “Ormond Sacker”, it’s unknown how Conan Doyle came up with such a peculiar name, but it definitely wouldn’t have had the impact that a simpler name like John H. Watson had. Exploring different names is part of the creative process, and as has happened with Sherlock Holmes and Sherrinford, it wouldn’t be surprising if other artists have taken the name Ormond Sacker and created their own character within the Sherlock and Watson universe, though obviously not as part of the Sherlock Holmes canon.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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