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Older usage appears primarily to be as a nickname for Norman.

• Retric 2y ago
  Sometimes like in Cheers, but plenty of references are using the modern version. Family guy season 2 used it in 1999 4 years before 4chan launched let alone became popular. Now not everyone is going to use something just because it was on TV, but it definitely played a role.
  • mlyle 2y ago
    I looked over use of Normies in books before 2000: - Earliest use: shortening of "Norman". - Lots of use by the disabled to refer to people who aren't disabled. - A little use that happens to be like the article, from substance abuse communities referring to people with normal relationship with substances. - Some use in monster/vampire fiction. Then it started to be used a little bit in the present prevailing sense on the internet in the late 90's. Usage exploded from 2000-2015, rising >10x, and almost all of the current use is in the current form of referring to people derisively for having normal tastes, hobbies, and viewpoints.
    • drcongo 2y ago
      Yeah, the usage in the article has been common for decades - certainly in the UK. I remember it being used in the 1980s by weed smokers to refer to non-smokers, essentially replacing the word "straights".