I recall hearing conjecture that cc was already a routine, and that "copy and convert" became dd as a result in a really old system that may have been pre-unix.

Researching, it appears that there are multiple attributions, because it's just that obvious and necessary a routine.

https://www2.cs.duke.edu/csl/docs/unix_course/intro-98.html

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/6804/what-does-dd-s...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dd_(Unix)

Yeah disk destroyer or data deleter or whatever is the old joke, not it's actual name. For those unaware, dd has often been used for stuff like overwriting a file with random noise as a homespun secure delete function, and it can do a lot of damage with small typos in the command.

Could have used a \s or something to clarify.

You're right! I was planning to tell a story about some bulk file changes using dd, but then I saw it was a giant "you had to be there" story so I posted with half a context.