Psych: Every Nickname Shawn Has For Gus

On nearly every episode of Psych, Dulé Hill’s Burton “Gus” Guster would receive an embarrassing new nickname courtesy of his best friend and partner, Shawn Spencer (James Roday). It became almost a weekly tradition for Shawn to introduce Gus with a false – but funny – nickname that would usually earn him a frustrated look from Gus. The Psych Gus nicknames are one of the show’s highlights for fans, and fans often anxiously awaited the next nickname, plus the Gus reaction after Shawn sprung it on him.

Psych stars Roday and Hill as Shawn and Gus, childhood best friends who become private detectives. Shawn uses his keen observation skills and eidetic memory to solve cases for the Santa Barbara Police Department, much to the chagrin of Detective Carl Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). However, Shawn hides his true talents by pretending to be a psychic, a farce he and Gus must keep up to avoid prosecution. In each episode, Shawn and Gus use unconventional tactics to solve a new case, usually with hilarious results, with Gus getting a new name every time.

All Psych Gus Nicknames In The TV Show

There Were 124 Nicknames Throughout The Series

Like the TV detective duos that Psych satirizes, Shawn and Gus’ methods in investigating a case follow a formula. When talking with suspects and witnesses, Shawn has a habit of introducing himself as “Shawn Spencer” and Gus with either an alias or a strange new nickname, like “Gus ‘Silly Pants’ Jackson,” which was in one of Psych‘s earliest and best episodes. He’d look at Shawn with surprise, frustration, or embarrassment.

Regardless, Gus would usually remain silent rather than correct Shawn, which made their introductions even more humorous. Below is every one of the Psych Gus nicknames from across all eight seasons (and the movies, like Psych 3′s Burton Guster Rodriguez) and which episode of the series they were given to Gus.

There were times when the Psych Gus nicknames did more than just provide brief moments of light humor. On occasion, Shawn would introduce Gus in a way that would lead them into trouble, and when this happened, it was usually Gus who suffered the most. In Psych season 1, Shawn introduced Gus as African veterinarian Dr. McTook (a name which included various tongue-clicking sounds). Due to Shawn’s lie, Gus was put in a situation where he was forced to deliver a warthog baby.

Many of Shawn’s Psych Gus nicknames used were larger pop culture references. For example, “Trending Ontwitter” was a reference to the later seasons encouraging fans to live-tweet the episodes as they watched with the cast and creative teams. The social media platform was used to help fans “spot the pineapple” in each episode as well.

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Other pop culture references were simply nods to other celebrities, like Shawn calling Gus, “Yasmine Bleeth,” who was one of the stars of Baywatch during the series’ run, or calling him “Blue Ivy Carter,” the name of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter. Shawn also referenced Gus’ ethnic background and their detective work with names like “Chocolate Columbo,” as a nod to another TV detective.

Of course, some of the nicknames didn’t provide a wider pop culture nod at all, but were simply used to make the situation just a little more awkward, like “Gus ‘Sillypants’ Jackson.” Those nicknames could test whether the person they were speaking with would go along with Shawn’s line of questioning willingly, but also a test of Gus’ patience with his best friend.

Shawn and Gus’ friendship was filled with these kinds of moments throughout Psych‘s eight-season run. Shawn’s Psych Gus nicknames and weird, made-up stories designed to embarrass Gus were all part of the show’s charm and what made their relationship so unique to TV.

How The Psych Movies Addressed The Name Gag

Gus Finally Started Taking Control Of The Nicknames

Psych has had three movie spin-offs so far — Psych: The Movie, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, and Psych 3: This Is Gus. The movies continue the same pop-culture reference-laden humor of the show, and many of the running gags continue. Shawn has more Psych Gus nicknames across the trilogy, including in the first movie when Gus flips the script and introduces the pair, “My name is Burton Guster, and this is my partner: White Privilege” to which Shawn responds “Hey, that’s my bit!”

Psych 3: This Is Gus includes more nicknames for the titular Burton Guster, including Birdindahand Anddabush, Burton Guster-Rodriguez, and Black Jack Arnold. It’s Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, which has the most interesting take on the Psych Gus nickname gag. In the second movie, Gus finally has enough of the Psych Gus nicknames. He takes particular umbrage with the unwanted pseudonym “Bill Poopington.” Much to Shawn’s annoyance,

Gus wrangles the arrangement so that all nicknames must be approved, which leads to a hilarious list of potentials. The Psych Gus nicknames vetoed and approved in Psych: Lassie Come Home 2 are as follows:

In addition to the above, Gus refers to himself as Jermajesty on occasion, and it’s revealed that his adult Dodgeball league nickname was “Black Jello”

There’s no news on whether a Psych 4 movie is coming, but the creators haven’t ruled it out. Neither has Psych: The Movie star Jazmyn Simon, who gave a promising update about a possible fourth Psych movie (via Variety). Psych ended in 2014, and since the latest movie arrived in 2021, fans of Psych are quietly optimistic that Gus, Shawn, and the rest will return for another direct-to-TV feature-length adventure. If there is another movie from the franchise in the future, there’s no doubt it will contain many more hilarious Psych Gus nicknames for fans to enjoy.

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Shawn’s Best Nickname For Gus, According To The Psych Stars

James Roday Really Liked A Vetoed Nickname The Best

After Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, People sat down with Maggie Lawson, Dulé Hill, and James Roday to discuss the feature film — as well as which ridiculous Psych Gus nicknames were the star’s favorites. After speaking about their time returning to the set, including a hilarious anecdote about greeting guests and starting off the day with a rounding chorus of the “Happy Birthday” song, People asked Roday which of the Psych Gus nicknames really stuck with him. He mentioned “Bill Poopington” specifically, despite the name being vetoed.

People then turned their attention to Hill to inquire what Psych Gus nicknames fans had called the actor over the years. He mentioned “Gus ‘Sillypants’ Jackson,” “Lavender Gooms,” “MC ClapYoHandz,” “Dequan ‘Smallpox’ Randolph,” and he also mentioned that “Dequan Randolph” was actually the name of one of his cousins. There is an extensive laundry list of Psych Gus nicknames to choose from, with obviously some having real-life inspirations, like that of “Dequan Randolph.” With the Psych 4 movie being teased along with possible Psych character returns, there will assuredly be more hilarious Psych Gus nicknames to add to the list.

Shawn Isn’t The Only TV Character Known For Giving Out Nicknames

Dr. Cox On Scrubs, Sawyer On Lost, & The Entire Grey’s Anatomy Cast

Shawn Spencer isn’t the only fictional television character who loves giving out nicknames. A show that compares well to Psych for several reasons is Scrubs. Both series focus on a pair of close friends who have a job to do, but can never seem to do it without causing problems along the way thanks to their immaturity. However, one of the other similarities comes with Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), who always makes fun of J.D. (Zach Braff) with several nicknames.

Among the more memorable were Grace (inspired by Will & Grace), My Little Precious, Pumpkin, Rainbow, Carol (five different times), and Wonder Bra. He calls J.D. by several girls’ names throughout the series, and in the episode “My Karma,” he actually calls J.D. literally by the nickname “Girl’s Name.” There are also times that Dr. Cox lumps Turk in, such as when he calls J.D. and Turk by the names “Laverne and Shirley.”

It is also not just comedies that play the nickname game. In the drama series Lost, Sawyer gave just about everyone on the show nicknames rather than using their actual name. In some cases, it was offensive, such as with Sayid (based on his nationality) and Hurley (based on his size). With Jack, it was often combative, such as calling him “The Hero,” “Saint Jack,” and “Dr. Do-Right.” For Kate, it was always flirty, calling her “Freckles,” “Puddin,” and “Sweetcheeks.”

The show that might be best known for its nicknames is Grey’s Anatomy, as everyone on that show loves to give out nicknames to each other. The “Mc” nicknames are the most famous, with the biggest going to Derek Shepherd’s nickname of McDreamy. Others have to do with the doctor’s skills, such as Lexie’s “Lexipedia” and Cristina’s “Cardio God.” However, the most complex has to be Addison’s nickname of “Meryl Streep Of Maternal-Fetal Medicine,” which rivals anything Psych came up with.

Psych

Shawn Spencer happens to possess some uncanny powers of observation thanks to his father, Henry, a former police officer who taught his son to remember even the smallest details of his surroundings. When Shawn is accused of committing a crime that he actually solved, he convinces the cops that he’s a psychic — and with the reluctant help of his best friend, Gus, Shawn starts solving cases for a skeptical but increasingly impressed police force.

Cast

Dule Hill , Kirsten Nelson , Corbin Bernsen , James Roday , Maggie Lawson , Anne Dudek , Timothy Omundson

Release Date

July 7, 2006

Seasons

8

Showrunner

Steve Franks