[Nowhere Man]

"Nobby" and "Nob Hill" have the same root word ("Nob" or "swell" or "toff" or whatever slang you want to use for fashionable rich man!). But 'nobby' in English slang well predates the establishment of Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Yeah, I did a quick search on www.dictionary.com and they seem to point out the English origin of the word "Nobby" so I think nopardons is probably more correct. Maybe Nob Hill got it's name from "Nobby" or "Nob" so it could be in reverse too. B-)

[nopardons]

Yes, I do think that Nob Hill got its name from an old slang word, rather than the other way around.

I have studied slang and euphemisms and word derivation for almost all of my life and my hunches are usually right. :-)