What is J. D. Salinger's full first name?

J. D. Salinger's full first name was Jerome.

He was born Jerome David Salinger in Manhattan on January 1, 1919. The initials “J. D.” therefore stand for Jerome David, although he was sometimes known informally as “Sonny” during his youth. He became one of the most private major American authors of the twentieth century.

Salinger began publishing short fiction in the 1940s and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. His best-known work, The Catcher in the Rye, appeared in 1951 and made Holden Caulfield an enduring symbol of adolescent alienation. He later published Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and other Glass family stories.

The distractors James, Jonathan, and Joseph are plausible because “J. D.” is often assumed to represent more familiar names. In this case, the initials are not a pseudonym: Jerome David is the author’s documented birth name.