The five Marx brothers got their
nicknames during a poker game. The Marx family comedy act was made
up of Julius, Adolph, Leonard, Milton, and Herbert Marx. The five
characters became better known as Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and
Zeppo. Four of the five were given their new names in 1915.
The boys were involved in a poker game with monologist Art Fisher.
It was a popular fad around this time to give everyone a nickname
that ended in “o”. Common nicknames were “Jingo” or “Bongo” or
“Ringo, etc.
In this poker game, Fisher was dealing out the cards to the four
Marx brothers and he gave them each their nicknames as he dealt.
“First, here’s a card for ‘Harpo’.” Adolph Marx played the harp.
“Here’s one for ‘Chicko’.” Leonard Marx was a notorious ladies’ man
and, in those days, women and girls were often referred to as
“chickens”. Later the slang term became “chicks.” Supposedly, a
typesetter accidentally left the “k” in “Chico” out in one town the
brothers were performing in, and his name became “Chico.”
Next was Julius, “And here’s a card for Groucho.” The name derived
from Julius’ not-so-friendly demeanor. Julius denied this for most
of his life.
The fourth was Milton, “And here’s a card for Gummo”, Fisher said.
This one has two popular theories behind it. The one the family
(except Harpo) is because Milton often wore gumshoes (rubber soled
shoes), hence “Gummo.” The alternate from Harpo is that Gummo was
sneaky and would creep up on people like a gumshoe detective.
Gumshoe detectives received their name for the same reason, rubber
sole shoes.
A few years later, the youngest of the five brothers entered the
act, replacing older brother Gummo. Herbert Marx became “Zeppo.”
Harpo said Zeppo was named in honor of a wild monkey who played on
the bars and ran around named “Zippo”. Groucho said in 1972 that
Zeppo was named after the Zeppelin airships.