 The name "joystick" is thought to originate with early 20th century French pilot Robert Esnault-Pelterie.There are also competing claims on behalf of fellow pilots Robert Loraine, James Henry Joyce, and A. E. George.Loraine is cited by the "Oxford English Dictionary" for using the term "joystick" in his diary in 1909 when he went to Pau to learn to fly at Bleriot's school.