I posted a longish response here that said among other things that this rhyme was a put-down response to the question "What's your name?" and that Puddin" was a female or male nickname given to African Americans {and others I presume and that "Tane" was a rhyming last name.

However, after doing some online searching, I need to ammend my comment to say that the name "Puddin Tane" may have originally come from the sexually explicit phrase poontang.

See this excerpt from:
http://www.peterme.com/poontang/ What I Know About Poontang

"It began as my dad drove me home. He played a tape given to him by a friend, a scratchy recording of a woman crooning, "Oh, Mister Mitchell, I'm crazy 'bout your sweet poontang."

Though supposedly referring to a dessert Mister Mitchell has baked, Dad and I knew there was a double entendre at play. But one that confused us. We'd known "poontang" to be a slang vulgarism for "vagina." But here was a woman singing about a man's poontang. What could that mean? Which lead me to wonder, What's the etymology of "poontang"? For some reason I had suspected African origin, as with the word "goober.

That night, I started trawling the Web. Unfortunately, a search for "poontang" turns up less-than-academic resources. Publishing the etymological question on my site, I received some great responses. This list of definitions and etymologies is the most helpful.

But. None of them were definitive. The leading contender (and OED-certified), that the word is "probably" derived from the French putain, meaning "prostitute", doesn't ring true--"poontang" always refers to a vagina (even when used synecdochically), and, as the song lyrics to the left show, in the late 1920s it was used as a double entendre for a kind of dessert--nothing to do with whores.

Which leads us down another path. Is there a dessert called "poontang"? My dad is tracking down a lead with a chef in a Southern restaurant, about a dessert called "pudding tang." The idea being it could have been contracted as "pu'n tang."

A search on the Web for "pudding tang" doesn't turn up a dessert, but it does point us to this page on the etymology of sexual slang * which features the children's rhyme, "What's my name?/Pudding Tang/Ask me again and I'll tell you the same." (Other versions use the name Puddin' Tang or Puddin' Tane.)...

So, there's a fair amount to suggest poontang is related to this thing called "pudding tang," though it's not certain which came first. And, if "pudding tang" were some kind of traditional Southern dessert, I find it odd you can't find any recipes for it online.

So, where does that leave us? Well, in an unfortunate state of inconclusivity. I'm pretty confident it's not derived from the French putain, but the jury is still out on any American South derivation."

-snip-


Here's the song that the author of the article referred to {an Mp3 of this song is available on that page}:

"Here are the lyrics to "Oh! Mister Mitchell", as transcribed by BJ Merholz. Song recorded between 1927 and 1929. Found on Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 (1927-1929).

Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'm crazy about your sweet poontang.
Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'll tell the world that it's a wang.

I like your (gooey parfait - ?) and your apple pie,
But when I get your poontang you will hear me cry:

Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'm crazy about your sweet poontang

Mr. Mitchell owned a sweet confectionery stand
Way down south in Loosiana.
Mr. Mitchell always had his pies and cake on hand
Served in a pleasing manner.

Miss Lindy Lou she tasted his brand new confection
Mr Mitchell called his sweet poontang.

And when Miss Lindy Lou with it made good connection This is what she yelled before the gang.

Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'm crazy about your sweet poontang.
Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, it's got me going with a bang

Your cherry pie is juicy, so is your jelly roll
But when you give me poontang I just lose control

Oh, oh, Mr. Mitchell, I'm crazy about your sweet poontang
Give me lots of poontang

Please don't make me plead
Can't you see you've really got just what I need?

Oh, oh, Mr. Michell, I'm wild about your sweet poontang! "

-snip-

* See my next post for information from that article