Talk:Keychain

Unsectioned material
The description on this page does not match the photos, which illustrates a question I have:

The photos are really showing key fobs, not chains. There's a clear difference between the two which is well explained in the text of the keychain and key fob articles.

However, I how regional the usage of the word "fob" is. I live in the Southern US, and have never heard the phrase "key f

ob." And I've always heard fobs reffered to as keychains or keyrings.

Does that usage vary in other countries? If so, perhaps regional common usage should be made clear in both articles. Skylark 00:38, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard the word key-fob, and I also live in the US. We use key-chain for the key-fob, as you say. I'll add a section explaining that to the article later, unless you would like to do so. | A ndonic O  Talk 09:56, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

In the UK we tend to use "keyring" as opposed to fob, and keychain refers to an associated chain rather than a decoration. These three articles should probably be merged as they are all repeating the same information. --Rej8 (talk) 23:30, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Really,the word keychain is a general term used for any key retention mechanism. The term comes from the beaded chain that was used for a long time to hold groups of keys together. Even though there are many different mechanisms to hold keys (i.e beaded chain, split ring,levered clasp, lobsterclaw, etc. I have over 60 different key retention mechanisms in my personal collection) it would be very tiresome to have to reffer to each kind seperately. The article says a keychain is added to a keyring to attach the fob (which is derived from the watch fob). This is mostly incorrect. So a key fob is the dangley bit that attaches to your ring with keys and keychain/keyring is the generalized term used for the actual method of attaching your keys. [user:Keychainguy] ~

keychain vs keyring
I always thought that keychain referred exclusively to a chain used to attach keys to a belt, whereas keyrings were just split ring type devices --UltraMagnus (talk) 19:00, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * True. I will remove the merge request on keyring. Inverse Hypercube  00:54, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Merger proposal
See above discussion and major US and UK dictionaries:, , , .--Espoo (talk) 19:35, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Can a keychain be only one link?
I usually think of a keychain as being a collection of objects. Just as it takes more than one link to make a chain. A single key ring or fob is not a keychain.

On the other hand, I see no problem with a group of keys on a ring being called a keychain, as it is a group of round or perforated objects held together into one unit. Go figure.

I see a keyring as a fob (or fobs and rings) plus keys. On the other hand, a fob with multiple links is also a keychain IMHO. If I saw a decorative item being sold in a souvinier show as a keychain I would understand it as only a slight exageration. It is really a keychain, but without keys. Does this make sense? WonderWheeler (talk) 01:42, 15 April 2010 (UTC) california, US.


 * I used to have my electronic-FOB connected to my electronic-key with one link, but it fell apart; hence, I have my FOB in my pocket with no link nor chain. -- AstroU (talk) 23:42, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Proposed merge with Key tags
Appears to cover same topic,especially in "Key fob" section. Pam D  22:24, 16 November 2015 (UTC)

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Confusion of terms
OK folks, this has been mentioned by several commentators above, but nobody has done anything about it. Whoever is looking after this page needs to get the distinctions between the terms sorted out.


 * This is a key ring:
 * This is a key chain:
 * This is a key fob:

The ring is the literal split-ring that the keys can be attached to. The fob is the decorative item hung onto it to make it easily identifiable, which might also have other functions (pen-knife, coin-holder for supermarket trolleys, USB stick...). The chain attaches it to a trouser belt or similar. It may well be that there is some variation in the semantic fields, and in particular I think people do say "key chain" sometimes to refer to a complete set of ring, fob and keys, even when there is no actual chain there. That is fine and should be noted. But these words are not synonymous, and this article just mixes it all up. --Doric Loon (talk) 19:15, 30 October 2018 (UTC)


 * I've just rewritten the broken, self-referential definition that A keychain, or keyring, is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring., but don't feel confident enough to rewrite the lead section more than that. The article implies that it's possible to have keys which are on a keychain with no keyring involved, but I can't find any obvious sources (even images) to support that. --Lord Belbury (talk) 10:02, 10 September 2020 (UTC)