Image: A kippah or yarmulke with the logo of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, including “Athletics” transliterated in Hebrew letters. Photo by Linda Burnett.
You can call it a kippah (in Hebrew) or a yarmulke (in Yiddish) but a Jew will seldom refer to it as a “skullcap” or a “beanie.” It signifies respect: respect for the One who is greater, or respect for the community in which it is a custom.
For some, it may also be a fashion statement or a small personal billboard on which to express one’s passions.