What is "hootie"

"Hootie" is a nickname for the following people:

• Hootie Ingram (born 1933), former Clemson University head football coach
• William "Hootie" Johnson (born 1931), former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club
• Jay McShann (1916-2006), American jazz pianist and bandleader
• Darius Rucker (born 1966), lead vocalist of Hootie & the Blowfish