Aptronym

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Aptronym, a word allegedly coined by United States newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams, refers to a name that is aptly suited to its owner. Fictional examples of aptronyms include Mr. Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wiseman in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

1 Examples
2 Other Examples
3 Other issues
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Examples

Real-life people can also have aptronyms. Some notable examples:

Tiger Woods, one of the best PGA Tour golfers of all time
Margaret Spellings, Education Secretary for the George W. Bush White House
Sally Ride, astronaut
William Wordsworth, poet
Margaret Court and Anna Smashnova, tennis players
John Tory, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party
Mihael Polymeropolous, geneticist
Learned Hand, judge
Bill Medley, singer, one half of The Righteous Brothers
E. Spencer Parsons, clergyman (dean of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago)
Larry Speakes, presidential spokesman under President Ronald Reagan
Lake Speed, former Nascar driver
Chuck Long, former NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams
Willie Thrower, former NFL quarterback
Joe Strummer, guitarist for The Clash.
Norbert J. Ore, Chairman of the Institute of Supply Management manufacturing group
Chris Moneymaker, winner of 2003 World Series of Poker
George Best, one of the best footballers in history
Austen Tayshus (i.e., "ostentatious"); the stage name of the flamboyant and menacing Jewish Australian comedian Alexander 'Sandy' Gutman.
Layne Beachley, Austrlian world champion surfer
Steve Shutt, former NHL left-winger for the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, NHL Goal-scoring leader in 1976-1977
Scott Speed, Formula One driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso
Mack Strong, NFL fullback
Tim Duncan, basketball player
Mike Massey, world champ at massé and other trick shots in pool
Joe Theisman, professional American Football player and runner-up for 1970 Heisman Trophy

[edit] Other Examples

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:

James Bugg, exterminator
Dan Druff, barber
Rev. James R. God, minister of the Baptist Church in Congress, South Carolina
Priscilla Flattery, Environmental Protection Agency publicist
Bill Headline, Washington, D.C. bureau chief for CNN
C. Sharpe Minor, an organist
U.S. Navey, member of the United States Marine Corps
Quentin Jammer NFL Corner back

Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive. The former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime L. Sin known as "Cardinal Sin," is a notable example. Dickson's book also lists a Rev. Richard Sinner of Fargo, North Dakota.

In the television show Seinfeld, during an episode in which Jerry had been fined by the New York Public Library for failing to return a book, the Library's enforcement officer's name was Lt. Bookman.

[edit] Other issues

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.

[edit] References

"aptronym." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 30 Mar. 2005. [1]
Dickson, Paul. What's in a Name? Reflections of an Irrepressible Name Collector. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996. ISBN 0-87779-613-0