 Academics refer to the Geordie dialect as "Tyneside English".A number of rival theories explain how the term "Geordie" came about, though all accept that it derives from a familiar diminutive form of the name George, "a very common name among the pitmen" (coal miners) in North East England; indeed, it was once the most popular name for eldest sons in the region.One account traces the name to the times of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715.