Aptronym
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Aptronym, aptonym or euonym are rarely-encountered neologisms for the concept of nominative determinism, used for a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner; essentially, when someone's name describes what they are or what they do.[1]
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.[2] Psychologist Carl Jung wrote in his book Synchronicity that there was a "sometimes quite grotesque coincidence between a man's name and his peculiarities".[3]
Contents
Notable examples[edit]
- Jules Angst, German professor of psychiatry, who has published works about anxiety[4]
- Allan Argue, Scottish Solicitor[5]
- Jack Armstrong, retired MLB (Major League Baseball) pitcher[6]
- Jeff Bagwell, retired MLB firstbaseman[citation needed]
- Colin Bass, British bassist in the rock band Camel[citation needed]
- Lance Bass, bass singer for American pop band NSYNC[citation needed]
- Sara Blizzard, meteorologist (television weather presenter) for the BBC[citation needed]
- Lorena Bobbitt, arrested for "bobbing" her husband's penis[citation needed]
- Doug Bowser, VP of Sales at Nintendo (where Bowser is one of its most famous characters)[7]
- Russell Brain, neurologist[citation needed]
- Marc Breedlove, neuropsychologist involved in experimentally modifying the prenatal environment in rats to produce female rats who exhibit male sexual behavior (mounting), and male rats who exhibit female sexual behavior (lordosis)[citation needed]
- George de Forest Brush, American painter who worked with camouflage[8]
- Novella Carpenter, author, urban farmer[citation needed]
- Dr. Richard Chopp, urologist known for performing vasectomies[9]
- Rich Coleman, British Columbia's Minister of Energy and Mines[citation needed]
- Barry Commoner, Citizens Party candidate for President of the United States in 1980 (The liberal Citizens Party focused on the rights of average or "common" people)[citation needed]
- Reggie Corner, cornerback for the Buffalo Bills[citation needed]
- Thomas Crapper, manufacturer of Victorian toilets (note that the word crap predates Mr. Crapper)[citation needed]
- Mansfield Smith-Cumming, advocated the use of semen as invisible ink[citation needed]
- Mark De Man, Belgian soccer defender (who is likely to "mark the man")[citation needed]
- Creflo Dollar, American minister and advocate of prosperity theology; also criticized for his extravagant lifestyle[citation needed]
- Paddy Driver, former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and race car driver[citation needed]
- Tim Duncan, F/C of the San Antonio Spurs, who often dunks the ball[citation needed]
- Elie During, professor of philosophy, working on issues of temporality[10]
- Josh Earnest, the third press secretary for the Obama Administration (Stephen Colbert observed, "What a name for a press secretary. Josh Earnest. His name literally means, 'Just kidding, but seriously.'"[11])
- Nicholas Economides, professor of economics, New York University, Stern School of Business[citation needed]
- Stuart Fell, BBC stunt coordinator[citation needed]
- Storm Field, meteorologist[citation needed]
- Cecil Fielder and son Prince Fielder, baseball players[citation needed]
- Allen Forward, rugby forward[citation needed]
- Amy Freeze, meteorologist[citation needed]
- Alexander Garden, naturalist after whom the Gardenia was named[citation needed]
- States Rights Gist, Confederate Army brigadier general[citation needed]
- Go Seigen, considered the greatest modern Go champion (the Go Master)[citation needed]
- Eiichi Goto, computer scientist (goto or "go to" is a common piece of code in many programming languages)[citation needed]
- Armand Hammer, businessman; served on the board of the Arm & Hammer company, which was so named 31 years before his birth
- William Headline, bureau chief for CNN[citation needed]
- Jim Horn, saxophonist and woodwind player[citation needed]
- Chip Jett, professional poker player[citation needed]
- Igor Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales[citation needed]
- Chuck Long, former NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams[citation needed]
- Ryan Longwell, NFL placekicker who holds the record for longest field goal in Green Bay Packers history[citation needed]
- Bernie Madoff, who "made off" with a lot of other people's investment money[citation needed]
- John W. Marshall, former United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia[citation needed]
- George McGovern, former South Dakota politician and presidential candidate[citation needed]
- Jim McGovern, Scottish politician[citation needed]
- Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series of Poker champion[citation needed]
- Josh Outman, Oakland Athletics pitcher[citation needed]
- James Cash Penney, businessman, entrepreneur, retailer[citation needed]
- J.P. Pickens, musician, writer, banjo and guitar player[citation needed]
- Dallas Raines, chief meteorologist at KABC-TV in Los Angeles, California[citation needed]
- Bob Rock, rock music producer whose clients have included Metallica and Bon Jovi[citation needed]
- Philander Rodman, father of Dennis Rodman and 28 to 46 other children[12]
- James Roe, Paralympic rower[citation needed]
- Richard Smalley, Rice University pioneer in nanotechnology[citation needed]
- Larry Speakes, presidential spokesperson under President Ronald Reagan[citation needed]
- Lake Speed, former NASCAR driver[citation needed]
- Scott Speed, NASCAR driver, formerly in Formula One, GP2, and A1GP[citation needed]
- Margaret Spellings, a former United States Secretary of Education[13]
- Marina Stepanova, former Soviet hurdler, first woman to run under 53 seconds in the 400 m hurdles[citation needed]
- Douglas ("D.") Terman, author of several Choose Your Own Adventure books, where the user determines the ending[14]
- Eugène Terre'Blanche, South African white nationalist (Terre'Blanche is French for "white land", and Eugene means "born well"; compare eugenics)[citation needed]
- Willie Thrower, former NFL quarterback; first African-American quarterback in NFL during modern era[citation needed]
- John Tory, former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (Tories)[citation needed]
- Tommy Tune, Broadway singer, dancer, and choreographer[citation needed]
- Marilyn vos Savant, a columnist famous for her extremely high IQ and penchant for puzzle solving[citation needed]
- Anthony Weiner, U.S. Congressman embarrassed in a 2011 sex-scandal by a self-taken snapshot of a closeup of his underpants ('wiktionary:weiner' can be a slang term for a man's penis)[citation needed]
- Sam Whitelock, New Zealand Rugby Union player whose name reflects his race and position[citation needed]
- William Wordsworth, English poet and advocate for the extension of British copyright law[15][16]
- Early Wynn, baseball pitcher; recorded two wins in Opening Day games for the Cleveland Indians (1952, 1954) and two no-decision Opening Day games for the Chicago White Sox that resulted in wins (1960, 1961)[citation needed]
Inaptronyms[edit]
Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive, being called inaptronyms by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post.[17] A notable example is the former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Sin who in 1976 was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI, thus becoming known as "Cardinal Sin".
- Lance Armstrong, a Tour de France-winning cyclist, became famous because of leg, not arm, strength[citation needed]
- John Balance, English musician, died after falling from a two-story balcony at his home[citation needed]
- Grant Balfour, MLB pitcher (closer), although as a pitcher ball four is generally not a good thing[citation needed]
- Frank Beard, the only member of ZZ Top to not have a beard[citation needed]
- Don Black, White supremacist[citation needed]
- Peter Bowler, cricketer (in fact, primarily a batsman)[citation needed]
- Samuel Foote, a comic actor who lost a leg in a horseriding accident in 1766, and made jokes on stage about "Foote and leg, and leg and foot"[18]
- Dexter Fowler, MLB outfielder (a batter can't get a hit if all he hits are foul balls)[citation needed]
- Brothers Winner and Loser Lane became a criminal and detective, respectively.[19]
- Larry Playfair, NHL defenseman known for his fighting[20]
- Bob Walk, retired MLB pitcher[citation needed]
- Taijuan Walker, MLB pitcher[citation needed]
Place-names can also be aptronyms or inaptronyms, perhaps unintentionally, such as the former Liberty Jail, so called because of its location in Liberty, Missouri, USA. Business names can be aptronyms too, such as Brownie Septic Systems (now Brownie Environmental Services) of Orlando, Florida, named after the owner.[21]
Aptronyms in other languages[edit]
- Vlade Divac, basketball player; "div" means "giant" in Serbian[citation needed]
- Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese astronaut; "Hoshide" means "go out to the stars"[citation needed]
- Prof. Giuseppe Vespasiani, Italian urologist;[22] "Vespasiani" means "urinals"[23]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "The term aptronym was allegedly coined by the American newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams, by an anagrammatic reordering of the first letters of patronym (to suggest apt) [...]. Both aptronym and the synonymous euonym are rarely encountered." "aptronym". Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Online ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-19. According to Frank Nuessel, in The Study of Names (1992), an aptonym is the term used for "people whose names and occupations or situations (e.g., workplace) have a close correspondence."
- ^ Dickson, Paul (1996). What's in a Name? Reflections of an Irrepressible Name Collector. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-613-0.
- ^ "When the name fits the job" BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Speaker Biographies". International Review of Psychosis & Bipolarity. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Allan Argue".
- ^ "Jack Armstrong". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Peterson, Andrea (20 May 2015). "A guy named Bowser is now a Nintendo executive. Yes, really.". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "George de Forest Brush – American Master (1855-1941)". Monadnock Art. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "Dr. Richard Chopp". The Urology Team, P.A. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Elie During, Professor of Philosophy at The European Graduate School / EGS.". The European Graduate School. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Topaz, Jonathan (24 June 2014). "Stephen Colbert to ‘quitter’ Jay Carney: Man up!". Politico. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ "Just for the record, Rodman only has 28 siblings". NBC Sports. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 28 Mar 2012.
- ^ "Margaret Spellings". George W. Bush Presidential Center. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (19 November 2014). "R.A. Montgomery, 78, Dies; Published Choose Your Own Adventure Series". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Wordsworth, WIlliam. The Prose Works of William Wordsworth. Ed. Alexander B. Grosart. London: Edward Moxon, Son and Co., 1876, p. 21.
- ^ Swartz, Richard G. "Wordsworth, Copyright, and the Commodities of Genius." Modern Philology 89.4 (1992): 482-509. JSTOR. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/07/11/DI2006071100616.html
- ^ Clarke, Norma (28 December 2014). "Samuel Foote, the one-legged wonder". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Gardiner, Sean (31 July 2002). "In name game, Loser wins and brother Winner loses". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "6 Biggest Goons In Buffalo Sabres’ History". Rant Sports. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Lundin, Leigh (5 January 2014). "What's in a Name?". Aptonyms. Orlando: SleuthSayers.
- ^ "U.O.C. Urologia Dipartimento di Chirurgia". Fondazione PTV - Policlinico Tor Vergata (in Italian). Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Goldfield, Barbara (27 January 2014). "Vespasian’s Legacy". ItalianNotebook. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
External links[edit]
- Aptonyms-wiki was Canadian Aptonym Centre
- "Charol Shakeshaft, Topped!", a list of reader-submitted aptronyms by Slate's Timothy Noah
- Car Talk Fictional Show Credits from the radio show Car Talk
- Lists of real and fictional aptonyms and occupational names
