Subject: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 11 May 02 - 04:13 PM sort of link to/ from 'funny names of business' individuals can have funny names thrust upon them, esp. when they're babbies, & can't express an opinion that's one' ve the things i like about mc forum- you can choose yer own name. i read somewhere, back in the racist & uninformed '50's that a child in china doesn't get a name until they are able to make some sort of informed choice i've chosen my name here- i would've preferred to always be Mr Happy, but i'm stuck with perpetual happiness!
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: wysiwyg Date: 11 May 02 - 04:19 PM Not at all-- you can change your name here. See FAQ for how. ~S~ |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,MMario Date: 11 May 02 - 04:20 PM acxtually - you can go into your personal information and change your name into anything that doesn't duplicate someone else! just don't dreate another ACCOUNT. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 11 May 02 - 04:23 PM telephone call to Mr Smellie hello, hello, are you Smelly? yes
Well, why don't you do something about it?
this suks ikno |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 11 May 02 - 05:23 PM And in the big world you can always change your name if you want. Most of us have several names when you get dfown to it, which are used by different people in different situations - nicknames, abbreviations, private-family-only-names, and so forth.
A lot of people change the name they choose to be called by when they go to college for example, or when they leave.
I knew a Bob whose mother always insisted on referring to him as Robert to the day she died. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Robin2 Date: 11 May 02 - 09:36 PM I had a friend named Joe Stinks. Couldn't stand it, got teased, all of that. So he changed his name to John. :>) Robin |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Sorcha Date: 11 May 02 - 10:18 PM My dad's nick name for me was Cockroach because I skittered all the time! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Banjer Date: 11 May 02 - 10:27 PM I get called for so often at work to solve other shop problems I have threatened to change my name so no one can call me. I have even threatened to not let ME know my new name so's I can't tell anyone else what it is for them to use to call me again! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Liz the Squeak Date: 12 May 02 - 05:29 AM Chinese children get named when they reach their first birthday. I suppose they reckon that if the child is still there at 1, it stands a fair chance of surviving further. I have a whole page of wierd names I've picked up in the course of my Genealogy studies. It's the ones that marry into names I feel sorry for, you'd think they'd notice? Like the girlfriend of the guitarist Graham Edge. She was called Sue. She would never marry him because that would make her Sue Edge. Some of my favourites from my collection:~ Eli Pester and his wife Hester Tirzah Fever Amaziah Payne and his wife Jane Joel Rocket Arabella Gerina Bachatina Megal Govin - and this is in rural Dorset! Parthena Staple Christian Gibbons (and just who converted them?) Unity Abbot Francis Goforth, priest Hipolett Mockett Speaze Tizzard and my all time favourite, Erasmus Cox (yes, they are all real names, mostly 19th Century) LTS
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Peg Date: 12 May 02 - 09:19 AM there is a tombstone in a little cemetery in rural Vermont which honors WONDERFUL COLBY, who lived to a ripe old age.
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: CapriUni Date: 12 May 02 - 10:01 AM When one of my highschool classmates was born, her parents asked her then (toddler or pre-school-aged, I forget) older sister for a name. The name the sister chose was: Sunshine. And it fit, too. Which leads to a question: How much influence does a name have on your personallity? |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: DMcG Date: 12 May 02 - 10:11 AM CapriUni: I don't know about the effect on personality, but a change of name can certainly affect someones attitude to life. Someone I know had a bad stutter and, like most stutterers, found saying his own name one of the hardest things to do. [This is because you say your name when you meet new people, which is a comparatively stressful situation especially when a teenager as you are very concerned about the impression you make on others] When he married, they took the wife's surname rather than his, jettisoned all that anguish and is far happier as a result. A serious response to a light-hearted thread - sorry about that! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: tooligan Date: 12 May 02 - 10:33 AM When I was in a Folk club in Germany, an American guy did a floor spot for us. His name meant nothing in his home town I am sure, but we Brits found the name Randy Hoare quite amusing. Now I realise he is most likely still around and could be a 'catter, so I must add that we enjoyed his company and this was no disrespect. We were on an Royal Air Force base and I also remember Flying Officer Flucker causing a few smiles. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: CapriUni Date: 12 May 02 - 12:34 PM DMcG -- Don't appologize. Just consider your post "serious fun" ;-) I do. I actually think your comments about attitude get to the heart of what I was aiming at. Our names are what people call us, and how they think of us, and therefore are often at the core of how we see ourselves. Our attitudes toward that self-image are what our personality grows out of. Using my high school friend as an example, I often wonder if she was just naturally cheerful because every time she entered a room, people would say: "Hello, Sunshine!" (either that, or she could have gotten defensive and grown into a grouch) And to turn this into a quasi-music thread, here is a link to one of the most famous names in children's songs (at least, here in the States): JOHN JACOB JINGLEHEIMER SCHMIDT |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: jimlad Date: 12 May 02 - 01:02 PM My late father-in-laws best mate was Percy Vere I was at College with Lincoln Green My chidhood sweetheart was Ann Reck and I once worked with a guy whose surname was Sidebotham on answering the phone he pronounced it Siddybothame. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 12 May 02 - 01:24 PM My aunt, deceased about five years ago at the age of maybe 95 or so, used to love to recite this little poem from her childhood: Little Isaac Izenheimer Dave Oesterreich |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: mack/misophist Date: 12 May 02 - 03:00 PM Boston's Old North Church is said to be the resting place of John Praisegod Smallbehinds. I always loved that one. Also knew a fellow with a fine old southern family name, Stroad Manley. Hard to live down or up to, either way. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: C-flat Date: 12 May 02 - 04:49 PM My younger brother is married to a lovely girl called Beverly. Unfortunately her maiden name was Hill. What made it worse is the fact that my brother happens to be a policeman, which makes him....Beverly Hills' Cop! Another funny name I come across every week at work is a customer called Nora Leyshone. I swear it's true! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Bullfrog Jones (on the road) Date: 12 May 02 - 05:07 PM When I was at school (in Birmingham, England) there was a kid a couple of years below me called Sidney Gidney. A few years ago I was working as a radio producer and the DJ I was producing did a piece on funny names so I told him about poor Sidney and he mentioned it on air. A little later we had a phone call from a guy called Sidney Gidney, wanting to know if it was him I'd been at school with, and it wasn't --- he was ANOTHER Sidney Gidney! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Robin2 Date: 12 May 02 - 09:22 PM OK, two more I knew one woman whose last name was Mann, and she named her son MaMayne. On a sad note, one girl went to school with my daughter. Her parents thought it fun to name her a name they pronounced as "Sha theid", but was spelled "Shithead". There can be no limit to cruelty sometimes. Robin |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: catspaw49 Date: 12 May 02 - 09:28 PM I went to school for years with this girl and we never noticed her name was funny because we hadn't reached the right age. Then one day, my friend Mike's dad heard her name and said, Sharon Peters? What the hell is that? Some kind of bathroom game?" After that of course.............. What kind of parent does that to a kid? Were they so naive about the name? Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: MBSLynne Date: 13 May 02 - 07:23 AM I used to collect names from the births column in the local paper. (Obviously too much time on my hands in those days) My favourite was a couple whose surname was Trenchpole, who named their poor little baby son Albert Shipstone. And sorry, Spaw, but I don't get the Sharon Peters one. Am I naive too? My sister went to school with a Debbie Reynolds and a Gary Cooper and I used to work with Robin Hood! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Scabby Douglas Date: 13 May 02 - 07:51 AM I don't understand the Sharon Peters one either... Maybe a UK/US thing... Although it's too easy and borderline raist to laugh at names from other cultures because they sound strange in our own context - I have to mention the REAL name Sukdeep Chokhar Cheers
Steven |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Crazy Eddie Date: 13 May 02 - 08:40 AM There are no excuses for the parents of: Miles Long Ita Kidney The parents of the following may have SOME excuse: |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: CapriUni Date: 13 May 02 - 11:45 AM I'm in the USA, and I don't get "Sharon Peters" either... The closest thing I can think of is a link between "Sharon" and "Shower on" and "Peters" and "Pee", but the pronounciations are different enough to make the connection a really big streatch. Maybe its a regional accent thing... And talk about cruel names -- imagine hearing that you're No relation to your parents! Ouch!!! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: jeffp Date: 13 May 02 - 01:43 PM Try viewing Sharon as Sharin' and see if that helps. jeffp |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: CapriUni Date: 13 May 02 - 03:00 PM Sharin'... okay... And is "peter" slang for something like male genitalia? (I think I may have heard that, but it's not a term I use, so I didn't catch it). |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: jeffp Date: 13 May 02 - 03:09 PM Now you've got it. High class it may not be, but remember where it came from originally. *G* jeffp |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Liz the Squeak Date: 13 May 02 - 04:42 PM I used to go out with an Andrew Simon Smith.... he never put his monogram on his briefcase. And the Bratling was very nearly Phoebe Olivia until I realised that would make her POD. I just pray she never changes her surname to anything beginning with T or S... her first two initials are PM..... LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 13 May 02 - 04:52 PM well, my own initials are JCS Jesus Christ Superstar??
mr happy |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,DonD - where's my cookie? Date: 13 May 02 - 05:28 PM Professor Erneest Hooton of Harvard named his son Newton. I wonder if he's been calling himself N. Something Hooton all these years. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 13 May 02 - 05:31 PM something='rootin', tootin' perhaps |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Penny S. Date: 13 May 02 - 06:32 PM My sisters were at school with Cherry Orchard and Pearl Button. Sometimes I think the French system of bureaucratic veto is an awfully good idea. Penny |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: AliUK Date: 13 May 02 - 06:41 PM I used to go to school with a girl called Nicola Gotobed, and she was extremely prim and proper. I also had a mate called Peter Piper, then there was my mate Martin whose surname was Banks and his brother was a copper called Robin...I kid you not. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Sonnet Date: 13 May 02 - 06:43 PM When I taught in Sheffield, one of my pupils was Pat Pitter. Our class lists always had surnames first... Pat's friend was Hyacynth Green. JMcS |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 13 May 02 - 06:50 PM many years ago, i worked with a betty cash and my sister had a man in her office called cec poole these aren't jokes- they were real people |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Peter from Essex Date: 13 May 02 - 06:54 PM A school friend of mine did go out with a Sue Edge I have also come across a John Thomas. To quote Woodehouse "there's some raw work pulled at the font"
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Snuffy Date: 13 May 02 - 06:55 PM Back in the 70s the staff in one of our Ipswich shops included Lawrence Thick and Christine Fogg, while Tony Looney was in Bury St Edmunds. WassaiL! V |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: artbrooks Date: 13 May 02 - 08:29 PM I knew a couple back during the first Tolkein craze who named their son Bilbo...one guess what he was called once he started school. I understand that he came home one day, aged about nine, and announced that "my name is now John". It stuck, too. I had a friend named Larry Sargent, who was Sargeant Sargent when he was in the army. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Bullfrog Jones (on the road) Date: 25 May 02 - 11:27 AM For much of last season the back three of the Charlton Athletic team read Fish, Costa, Fortune. I remember a Wolves game a few years back where their scorers (in order were Downing, Street, Bull. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: allanwill Date: 25 May 02 - 11:58 AM On Australian television back in the 70's, there was a fitness guru by the name of Michael Hunt. He was never introduced as Mike! Allan |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 May 02 - 01:46 PM My favorite honest-to-goodness name of an old friend of mine was Romer Klebesaddle. He was named for Sax Romer who wrote the Fu Man Chu books. He lived in my rooming house when I was in college. Norb Jaworsky lived there, too. I like the name of the author of a famous children's book, Wanda Gag. Well, do you?
Many years ago I was teaching a class of kids at the Newark Museum in New Jersey, and we got talking about cats. I had a brother and sister in the class and they said that they had cats. When I asked them the name of their cats, they were the same name as the brother and sister. I said, "Oh, isn't that nice... your parents named your cats after you..," and the kids answered, "Oh, no! We were named after our cats!" Honest! No, their names were not Fluffy and Pookums.
There was a family by the name of Katz in my home town.. ran the local junk yard. They named their kids Tom and Kitty, and thought that they were terminally cute. They were. Jerry |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Celtic Soul Date: 25 May 02 - 02:05 PM I met a woman working at a McDonalds who's name was "Barbara Jean Rabbitt" (Not Bernadette). She did go by "Bunny", however. I knew a girl named "Rosa Mendoza" growing up. I heard about a family with the last name Hogg, who named 2 of their kids "Ima" and "Ura". My honey read in the Dogbert Newsletter about 2 girls who's Mothers decided to name them "Latrine" and "Ampersand"...because they "sounded pretty" (evidentally not caring about what the words meant). The rest may or may not be urban legends, but they're funny. I think my eldest sister told me about this one: Someone named their girl "Rhia". Their last name was "Dia". Which aint bad until you're in school and they call you last name first. My honey heard a story about a man working at a DMV (where they get to see all sorts of names). He had to call the next person to his window, but he was very hesitant to say the name over the loudspeaker. Finally, he just went ahead and called out "Will Mr. Shithead Jones please come to window #(whatever)?" When the gent shows up, he is obviously distressed, and says "That's pronounced Shathayed!!"
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 25 May 02 - 03:12 PM I taught a little girl named Hilda Montezuma. I secretly kept singing, "From the Hilda Montezuma, to the shores of Tipoli." Another kid was named Zolton Horvath. :-) Jerry |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,hilary, not logged in Date: 25 May 02 - 06:19 PM All true : I was at college with John Wain. Knew a Mr & Mrs Holmes who named their son Sherlock (that's cruel) , & I live round the corner from John Thomas. Years ago I saw a newspaper announcement of the forthcoming marriage of Miss Plant to Mr Pot. Hilary :) |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Crane Driver Date: 25 May 02 - 06:32 PM I knew a Mr & Mrs Haddock who called their daughter Amber - good job it wasn't a boy, they might have called him Finnan .... Andrew |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: catspaw49 Date: 25 May 02 - 07:06 PM Hey jeff....Thanks for bailing me out on Sharon Peters. Sorry gang for the confusion but, uh..........like jeff said, consider the source. I used to enter contests with addresses of my friends and hokey sexual names. Many of these were no more than ways to collect names for mailing lists. I have a friend (and he is still a friend believe it or not) who still gets loads of junk mail addressed to Hugh G. Rection. I entered a parts store contest because our rep had left us about 50 entry forms....and naturally I used some for us and the rest for other folks using their addresses and the funky names. My rep knew me well and when the the president of his company drew the name for third place (Connie Lingus) he just said it was one of his customers. The pres never got the joke and made several references to "Connie." Spaw--and please don't make me explain either of these |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Eclipse Date: 25 May 02 - 07:20 PM I went to high school with Seea Sunshine Persons Christmas Snow and Micheal Jackson (whom I don't think was named after the star) -Eclipse |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,firínne Date: 25 May 02 - 07:25 PM A couple of years ago, in England, some woman gave birth to twin girls. When it came to the christening she wanted to call them Kate and Duplicate. The vicar refused to christen them. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Hans Date: 26 May 02 - 07:15 PM Vat about Vilikins and his dinah? |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Hans Date: 26 May 02 - 07:15 PM Vat about Vilikins and his Dinah? |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Celtic Soul Date: 26 May 02 - 10:18 PM Here's one for ya: Barry Emenima |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: JennieG Date: 26 May 02 - 10:58 PM My mother's maiden name was Mavis Davis - she was born in 1924 and I know Mavis was a popular name for girls then - but coupled with Davis??!!!! At the age of 22 she married and changed her name, I'm surprised it took her that long. Cheers JennieG |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Pete Jennings Date: 27 May 02 - 07:28 AM Whilst staying with friends in Bath a couple of years ago, my wife was treated at the local hospital by a Dr. Reckless. Our local GP thought it was hilarious until I pointed out that her initials were J.A.B. Pete |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Nigel Parsons Date: 27 May 02 - 07:38 AM Then there was the Gunn family, Tommy, and his sister Bren. And of course their Aunty, Aircraft... |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: RoyH (Burl) Date: 27 May 02 - 12:16 PM IN primary school my son had a classmate called Isla Mann. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,petr Date: 27 May 02 - 01:31 PM I went to school with a Harry Savage. (in the yearbook they put 'ambition = lawyer' fate = hairy savage) which is not as bad as a friend of a friend in Lethbridge called Harry Dick. another friend is named Graham Bell, it did take him a while to forgive his parents. one of my friends' dad went to a Dr. Death once, he said he sat at Deaths Door for a while. petr
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Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: annamill Date: 27 May 02 - 03:26 PM Ok, Ok! I've got the best one, IMHO, of course. I went out with a man who worked for the fated Lucent technologies. His boss' name was, ready, Eberhardt Wonderlich. Pause..... I always told him that if I ever met him I would have to ask him "Is that was true??" I knew a guy in San Fransisco once, named Dicky Horne. Gee... I think I've done this before.. Annamill |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Red Date: 27 May 02 - 05:22 PM I was told of a Mr & Mrs Rider who after many childless years finally were accepted as adoptive parents and it was the social worker who pointed-out that calling their bundle of joy - Joy - was not a good idea! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Red Date: 27 May 02 - 06:59 PM I too knew a Robin Banks, still have his business card. Also in the collection is a French one for Jacques Ardon (pronounced Jack) and one from New Zealand bearing the name Wayne K. King - how I kept the straight face I will never know - maybe in truth I didn't. Also in the collection is a job advert from the company "Worcester Screw Specialists" and replies were to be sent to Mr Makepeace (Not Thackery?). An Uncle went to school with a couple of lasses glorifying in the names Kysiah Crump and Eva Onions. He penned the rhyme - Kysiah Crump had a bump which made her Eva Onions. genealogy? I came across the name Thirza Eliza - sort of stuck in my mind ever since. When mum named me I think she wanted an extrovert - I fear it may be beginning to kick-in. ***BG*** |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 27 May 02 - 07:50 PM you didn't like being Mr Brown? |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Pete Jennings Date: 28 May 02 - 06:15 AM Burl, let's hope that Isla never meets Brian Ferry... Pete |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Wolfgang Date: 28 May 02 - 08:18 AM A small selection from "Put the blame on the name" (Psychological Reports, 1975, p. 467ff), a paper on the correlation between authors' names and their field of study:
Birchenough published on history of education And the most famous of all, one of the first Big Bang theories about the origin of the world: Alpher, Bethe and Gamov, "The origin of elements", Physical Review 1948 (Bethe was a great scientist, but to this paper he had only contributed his name, invited to do so by the other two) Wolfgang |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: SharonA Date: 28 May 02 - 10:59 AM I know two married couples (neither of which knows the other couple) whose nicknames are Wink and Betsy. What are the chances of knowing two "Wink & Betsy"s?!? |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Red Date: 28 May 02 - 04:38 PM Mr Happy Had no choice there old pal. Middle name was mothers maiden name - an old English custom apparently. Mutton Chops has the same middle name only it skipped a generation, from his grandma. We are "cousins once removed". |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mudlark Date: 28 May 02 - 07:05 PM I've collected odd names for years....my favorite still is Helen Pancake. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: DD Date: 28 May 02 - 08:42 PM My aunt's name was Ruby Pearl Campbell. It didnt really get bad until she got married to Mr. Diamond. Back in college I worked as a file clerk in a hospital...I filed records for Greene Grass, Saftey Firste, Susan DeMonas (think SUE), but my ALL time favorite was lady named BEAUTY LOVIN ........uglist person I ever saw in my WHOLE life. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: DD Date: 28 May 02 - 08:44 PM OOOOOOOPs and I forget...........someone I used to play guitar with..........RUSTY PICKER |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 28 May 02 - 08:54 PM one i recall from an olympic games a long time ago was a weightlifter [british, i think], called Precious McKenzie. what a smashing 1st name! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: SharonA Date: 29 May 02 - 08:59 AM There was a gentleman in the town where I grew up, by the name of Jack R. Abbott. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 02 Jun 02 - 11:24 PM I went to college with Anita Bath and Dick Cox. I recall one of my grad school professors telling me that he once was calling roll on the first day of a term when he saw the name "Doris Krapperschitz" on the roll. Not wanting to risk offending the student, he timidly asked if there was a "Ms. Cray-per-scheyts" in the room. The young woman piped up loudly, "No, it's 'crapper-shits!" |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Ebbie Date: 02 Jun 02 - 11:56 PM An Australian friend of mine named Tony was on a camping trip with a couple of friends. Sitting on logs around the campfire, chatting idly, one of them remarked that 'tony' is another word for being somewhat highbrow or even pretentious. Tony was taken aback and thought about it for a minute then said, 'Well, I think I'd rather be tony than to be like you two: Rob and Sue.' |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Ophelia Date: 03 Jun 02 - 12:05 AM In Kiama, Australia, there is a real estate agent (with signs all over town) with the name Dick Payne. Our Minister for Gaming... Richard Face My Dentist... Dr Chew And a poor bloke from Wagga Wagga... Lionel Loveless (perfect name for a country singer) My sister's boss...Mr Lifschitz. People have rung in wanting to speak to Lipshits, Shitlips, Lightswitch and Liftshaft (this is for real). |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Ebbie Date: 03 Jun 02 - 12:55 AM My sister-in-law's surgeon is Dr. Schneider. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 03 Jun 02 - 01:44 AM Ebbie, let me add, for those who know no German, that "Schneider" means "cutter" auf Deutsch. I forgot to mention another woman I know. Her last name is Pasa, and her mother (who has a wonderful sense of humor) named her Kay. I mentioned in a related thread that I also knew a Dr. Chu (dentist)-- whose hygienist was named "Gumm." Genie |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Ebbie Date: 03 Jun 02 - 10:49 AM One has to assume these given name/chosen profession 'coincidences' are not coincidental at all. It must be that in some cases at least the name dictates the interest. An Amish couple named their twins Adam and Eve. arrrrgggghhhhhh And the mother who named her daughter Kay Pasa had better hope that her daughter too has a wonderful sense of humor! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: SharonA Date: 03 Jun 02 - 11:22 AM My gynecologist is Vietnamese; his name is Dr. Le (pronounced "Lay"). And I once knew a funeral-home director by the name of Tom Stone. Honest! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 03 Jun 02 - 11:31 AM First, a puzzlement. There have been two references above to John Thomas, seen as funny for some reason. I've tried making John Jack and Thomas Tom, but no light bulb has turned on. I don't get it. Second, when I was in high school the first name of one of my classmates was Jack. HER name was Jack. When she registered, the authorities bounced her paperwork back, saying, "No nicknames, please. Is it Jacqueline?" Her answer: "No, not Jacqueline. Not Jacquette. Not Jackie. Jack, J-A-C-K, JACK!" They called the parent in to find out what her "real" name was, only to find that it was, indeed, "J-A-C-K, JACK!" Dave Oesterreich |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 03 Jun 02 - 12:39 PM Ebbie, Kay Pasa inherited (or assimilated) her mother's wit and humor. She loves her name! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: ard mhacha Date: 03 Jun 02 - 01:48 PM Some more Soccer names, Windass [Middlesborough] Shirtliff[Sheffield Wedensday] and Ufarte old Spanish International. Ard Mhacha. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: AliUK Date: 03 Jun 02 - 02:23 PM Mr Happy, I used to have a border terrier that, because of the way her front legs bowed out, we called Precious after Precious McKenzie (who I believe was actually a New Zealander). |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Zhenya Date: 03 Jun 02 - 05:09 PM I used to work with a woman named Dorothy Toto. (yes, a real person and, as far as I know, not from Kansas.) |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 03 Jun 02 - 05:20 PM Then there was a woman I used to work with whose name was Wanda Trott. (Her married name, I think. She must've loved the guy.) |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Nancy King Date: 03 Jun 02 - 06:42 PM Some years ago my ex and I met a very nice and helpful young woman named Sheba Tartt. We snickered about her name and mentioned it to another friend, who said, "She sounds like just the gal for somebody I work with -- really nice guy named Flavius Lash..." Then there was the woman my other ex used to know whose boyfriend broke up with her because he couldn't keep a straight face while introducing her: Ruby Dooby. Cheers, Nancy |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: gnu Date: 04 Jun 02 - 05:02 AM Uncle DaveO.... John Thomas = penis in USA. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Snuffy Date: 04 Jun 02 - 06:46 AM John Thomas has the same meaning in England, too. See D H Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. WassaiL! V |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 04 Jun 02 - 09:35 AM I've lived 71 years in the USA and never heard that. Dave Oesterreich |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: gnu Date: 04 Jun 02 - 12:55 PM You've had a sheltered youth so far. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: mousethief Date: 04 Jun 02 - 02:01 PM There was a girl in my first elementary school called Isa Flakes. Poor thing. And my wife had a coworker named Helen Jelen (she married into it--apparently her maiden name was some multisyllabic, unpronounceable German thing). "Schneider" in German translates the English word "butcher." Alex |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Ebbie Date: 04 Jun 02 - 04:29 PM A generation ago, the Hogge family of Texas- one of those really rich dynasties- named their daughter 'Ima'. True story. (Although I think the family name is pronounced 'Hoag') |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 04 Jun 02 - 04:43 PM Thanks, Alex. I was just extrapolating from the verb form "to cut." Knowing it's specifically "butcher" just makes it 10 times funnier!
I, too, never knew, gnu, [Bob Dylan has a line in one of his songs--I'm blanking on the title, but it's the one about the Red Iron Ore--, where the song's narrator says she "...quit [work] in the spring to marry John Thomas, a miner." Genie |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: mousethief Date: 04 Jun 02 - 04:46 PM A very ----um---- indelicate name for a surgeon, to be sure! Alex |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 06 Jun 02 - 09:45 PM I just remembered one of my favorite examples of an aptly named person: the long distance swimmer Diana Nyad (sp?) However she spells her name, it is a form of the word for the [Greek?] sea nymphs, the naiads. I'd guess that she either changed her name after taking up swimming or had an increased inclination toward water sports because of her name. I'd say the latter is more likely. If it's pure coincidence, it's a remarkable one! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Mimsey Date: 07 Jun 02 - 07:29 PM My mom's best friend when she was a little girl was named Ima June Bugg. Mom later worked with a man named Harry Legg. Pretty weird parents, to do that to their kids! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: GUEST,Mimsey Date: 11 Jun 02 - 06:08 PM Allright, now you've got me going. I'm a librarian, and often come across odd names. Here's the list I've collected: Amacker Bullwinkle, Monty Livergood, Louis Lasagna, Fleur Sack (one of my favorites!), Nevora Nush, Penny Sermons (another!), Kristina Mollusk, Faith Popcorn, Brownie Plaster, Nan Staggers, James Careless, Lufemia Funktoop (!!!), Salady Potts, Nelsie Nagle, Harry Bump, Randy Rump, Dart Fartworth (!!!), Herman Hornschlager. Some interesting last names on my list: Clendenning, Engeldinger, Schmeckebier, Daubenspeck, Reiftsneider, Diefendurfer. :) |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: CheesyGareth Date: 12 Jun 02 - 01:12 PM More people know me as "cheesy" than any other name so when I go to something like this page thats my real name. In the old travelling tradition it was concidered wise to travel under a "nickname", you would not tell anybody except your closed circle of friends your own birth name, lest the devil might hear you and this although its not as paranoid of satanic forces as the long arm of the law (who keep a file of people with nicknames) that most people assume them today, many indigenous folk cultures and pagan beliefs have a naming ceremony, can someone let me know more about these, its ok, I dont need to know your name! |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Red Date: 12 Jun 02 - 02:26 PM Mr Happy wasn't precious McKenzie from the West Indies? Iknow here emigrated to NZ and I met him about a year after he had a bad smash on the Aukland Bridge. To say he was small but perfectly formed is an understatement. Even with a lijp or two he was smiling as if he had no cares in the world. Precious he was but not in his nature. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Steve in Idaho Date: 12 Jun 02 - 06:01 PM John Thomas = penis in USA.
I did not know this either -
Steve |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: AKS Date: 13 Jun 02 - 06:52 AM Are you mixing up schlachten 'to butcher' and schneiden 'to cut', Alex? As far as I know, Schneider literally does mean 'cutter' (primarily with scissors) but it translates into English as 'tailor' and has no connotation of cutting any meat - butcher- nor surgeonlike. That's why Dr. Schneider/Tailor sounds rather 'reconstructive' to me, doesn't it! (But again, that's how the surgeons are these days; aren't they even tailoring new john thomases and fanny hills ...?) AKS |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Genie Date: 22 Jun 02 - 02:49 AM Mimsey, I've known several people with the last name "Casebeer." But I think "Dart Fartworth" takes the case. [I think I mentioned Linda Titsworth, above, didn't I?] Re business names, there are a couple that I think are not so much funny as silly-sounding: Wallpapers To Go and [one I heard tonight] Trophies To Go. I guess in both cases they're trying to convey that you don't have to order [the wallpaper or trophy] and come back for it in 2 weeks. But when I hear those names, I want to ask, "Well, what other kind IS there? Is there a store where I would buy wallpaper [or a trophy] and have to use it there in the store?! Genie |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: C-flat Date: 22 Jun 02 - 03:10 PM I have a fairly unusual first name (Merrick). One day I was stood talking to a friend at the fruit and veg. stall he runs when another guy came over to say hello to him. After a brief conversation the other chap left and I asked who he was, "Oh he's called Merrick" said my friend. When I asked why he hadn't introduced us as we both shared this unusual name, he replied that he didn't think it WAS unusual.......well HE knew TWO of them......... |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: DonD Date: 22 Jun 02 - 10:06 PM Either I'm losinh it or it was one of those times when I wrote a long post and then lost my connection and it never made it -- but I was sure I had posted this already and it's not there. Fifty years ago at Harvard there was a professor named Hooton who lost the respect of many of his students when the word got out that he'd named his newborn son Newton. Where is he now? Probably calling himself N. Something Hooton. A friend of mine did business with a guy whose name was Morrow Tamalo. He (my friend) would go out of his way to phone him when he knew he was out so he could ask the receptionist to speak 'to Morrow Tamalo' and when she exp;ained that he was gone for the day, he'd say, "Oh, I'll speak to Morrow Tamalo tommorow." He thought it was hysterical. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: fat B****rd Date: 23 Jun 02 - 05:21 AM Many years ago I knew an Englishman named John Case. He married a Swedish lady and had hell of a job stopping her from naming their first child Knut. |
Subject: RE: BS: the funny business of names From: Mr Happy Date: 09 Jul 02 - 11:28 AM i was at a friend's barbecue. the other guests had their children with them. playing with little chris, laura & matty, we happened to be talking about brothers & sisters. laura hadn't met the brothers before. she said 'i haven't got a brother' chris replied 'i have' she said 'whats his name?' chris said 'matthew' i couldn't resist it, i said to chris, 'has matthew got a brother?' he thought for a moment, then said 'no!' |