31

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales it is revealed that Captain Salazar named Jack as ‘Jack the Sparrow’.

But Salazar was destroyed in the Devil's Triangle after some moments. So he couldn't have told anyone about naming Jack, Jack Sparrow.

So how does everyone know Jack's name as Jack Sparrow?

Improve this question
3
  • 61
    It's Captain Jack Sparrow!
    – Bergi
    Jan 6, 2019 at 19:29
  • 1
    i assume his reputation precedes him?
    – hanshenrik
    Jan 8, 2019 at 6:54
  • Because a good honest pirate would never make a story like that up
    – candied_orange
    Jan 8, 2019 at 12:16

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
53

Jack probably told everyone himself

In the first film, Jack announces his preferred name to his would-be captors:

This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!

It’s not hard to imagine that he created his own reputation through self-promotion.

Edit:

In Dead Men Tell No Tales, Salazar states that Jack ‘earned himself a name’ due to his appearance in the crow’s nest:

One ship was trying to escape through the smoke. And there, in the crow’s nest, there was this young pirate boy. He stood there, looking like a little bird... And from that day he earned himself a name that would haunt me for the rest of my days... Jack the Sparrow.

My reading of the line is that out of both crews in the area, more than one person saw him ‘looking like a bird’.

It’s not hard to imagine that Jack, the man who had just taken control of the ship and outwitted their opponents, might be seen as a hero and be given some nickname as a result of his actions.

‘Jack the Sparrow’ would, through time and promotion, become Jack Sparrow.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    Even then , the title sparrow given to him by Salazar went straight into deveil's triangle. So who called him sparrow?
    – user63699
    Jan 6, 2019 at 18:16
  • 7
    When Salazar is telling Barbosa his origin, he says (roughly) that “He stood there looking like a little bird. And from that day he earned himself a name that would haunt me... Jack the Sparrow”. It’s probable that more than one person thought he looked like a bird in the crows nest, and gave him a nickname. Perhaps men on both crews? Either way either Jack heard it, was told it, came up with it himself, and then promoted it.
    – Longshanks
    Jan 6, 2019 at 18:29
  • 3
    Note that most "the ..." names are given by situation, and later used as an identifier to distinguish yourself from all other Jacks and Johns and Williams of the world. These identifiers can be spread in many ways, but for pirates specifically, it's not far fetched that when a pirate uses this name for themselves, that the authorities put this name on a wanted poster in order for people to find and identify the pirate. The wanted posters themselves also spread the name and infamy of the pirate.
    – Flater
    Jan 7, 2019 at 14:21
12

Jack Sparrow was a legendary pirate of the Seven Seas, and the irreverent trickster of the Caribbean. A captain of equally dubious morality and sobriety, a master of self-promotion and self-interest, Jack fought a constant and losing battle with his own best tendencies. Jack's first love was the sea, his second, his beloved ship the Black Pearl.

The son of Captain Edward Teague, Jack Sparrow was born on a pirate ship in a typhoon. Before he was known as "Captain Jack Sparrow", he was simply known as Jack, a teenage stowaway who, even then, had a desire for adventure. Jack first sailed on the Barnacle with a young ragtag crew on a quest to locate and procure the legendary Sword of Cortés.

As the other answer very well explains, it's no secret that Jack is a shameless self-promoter, but seemingly he earned the name after he trapped Salazar in the Devil's Triangle...

As a young pirate he earned the name Jack Sparrow when he trapped the notorious Spanish pirate hunter Capitán Salazar in the Devil's Triangle.

Some Additional Information as for whom "Jack" is named,

Jack Sparrow was born to Edward Teague and an unknown woman on a pirate ship caught in the middle of a typhoon. He was named Jack after his uncle and Teague's brother, Jack. Jack grew up in a tumultuous household full of outlaws at Shipwreck Cove.

But, he did use his full Pirate name, "Jack Sparrow" when he was still a boy, as Bill Turner refereed to him as such in the young Jack Sparrow novel, Jack Sparrow: Poseidon's Peak

"Jack Sparrow..." "Yes. Yes. You know my name. What do you want, a blue ribbon?" ―Bill Turner and Jack Sparrow

After acquiring a new boat, Jack sets off to find the fabled Poseidon's Peak and the treasure it holds. He arrives on a deserted island and runs into a sailor who is badly hurt and has amnesia. Following a night of fitful dreams the sailor remembers that his name is Bill and the two of them trek inland to find any clues to where Poseidon's Peak might be. (Note: this passage is still from "Jack Sparrow" wiki page)

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .