Aptronym

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An aptronym (also: aptonym) or charactonym is a name aptly suited to its owner. Fictional examples of aptronyms include Mr. Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wiseman in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), Truman Burbank (true-man), the lead character in the 1998 film The Truman Show, the principal cast of the Mr. Men (1971), and all the characters in Marc Blitzstein's 1937 play The Cradle Will Rock.

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Examples [edit]

Other examples [edit]

The medieval Latin poem Eupolemius uses aptronyms based on Greek words to allegorise the story of the Gospel. In the book What's in a Name? (1996), author Paul Dickson cites a long list of aptronyms originally compiled by Professor Lewis P. Lipsitt, of Brown University. A sampling from the list:

Inaptonyms [edit]

Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive, being called inaptonyms by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post[3]. The former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime L. Sin known as "Cardinal Sin," is a notable example. Lance Armstrong, a cyclist who became famous because of leg, not arm, strength. Dickson's book also lists a Rev. Richard Sinner of Fargo, North Dakota. The British barrister Christmas Humphreys was not only born on 15 February rather than 25 December, but was known as a theosophist and later Buddhist. Actress Tuesday Weld was born on a Friday.

Place names can also be aptronyms, perhaps unintentionally, such as the former Liberty Jail, so called because of its location in Liberty, Missouri, USA.

Other issues [edit]

Aptronyms may be called "aptonyms" by other writers. San Francisco columnist Herb Caen used the term "namephreaks". Washington Post columnist Bob Levey prefers the term PFLNs, or Perfect Fit Last Names.

There does not yet seem to be a standard terminology for this linguistic curiosity, although it appears that aptonyms is winning out.

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ "Andrew Fast". La Sportiva. Retrieved March 18, 2013. 
  2. ^ Stone, Deborah (March 2, 2013). "Exploring new terrain via human power". Ends Unknown. Retrieved March 18, 2013. "...an elite trail runner and triathlete with an oh, so apropos last name..." 
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ "Just for the record, Rodman only has 28 siblings". NBC Sports. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 28 Mar 2012. 
  6. ^ Story, Louise. The New York Times http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/louise_story/index.html |url= missing title (help). 
  7. ^ Lattman, Peter (3 May 2006). "Law Blog Lawyer of the Day: Sullivan & Cromwell's Sue Yoo!". The Wall Street Journal. 

References [edit]

  • "aptronym". Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Online ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-19. 
  • Dickson, Paul. What's in a Name? Reflections of an Irrepressible Name Collector. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996. ISBN 0-87779-613-0

External links [edit]

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