UPDATE: Still Only Know One Person That Calls These Bumpers

A year ago I asked this question...and still, my co-worker Tracy N. is the only person I know that calls 'em Bumpers!

Bumpers? I was about to say, "C'mon! That's my sister and my mom!", but she didn't mean it that way...she meant shoes. The Chuck Taylors? Yep. Also know as, "Converses", "Chuck Taylors", "Chucks", "Cons", and "All Stars"...and now, bumpers?

Bumpers. But not everywhere. Back in 2009, this former Minnesotan tried to find all the "names" for Chuck Taylors...

What generic term do you (or did you) use for these shoes, and where are you from? Are they sneakers, tennies, tennis shoes....what? If you are from the states, what did/do you call them? I'm interested to see which states/regions use which terms. I called them tennis shoes (and sometimes I called them "tennies") and I'm from Minnesota. Since residing in England, I have learned to call them trainers. Wherever you're from (not just from the USA) what do you call them?

In that guys comments section there area all sorts of names, including High Tops (that's what my high school friends called 'em). And the ONLY reference to "bumpers" I could find on the internet machine. .

I love learning new-to-me regionalisms. But now, I wanna know...why? Why do people here around Olmsted County and in Ireland call them "bumpers"?