Aptronym

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An aptronym, aptonym, or euonym is a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner.

History[]

The Encyclopædia Britannica attributes the term to Franklin P. Adams, a writer who coined it as an anagram of patronym, to emphasize "apt".[1]

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."

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]

Nominative determinism is a hypothesis which suggests a causal relationship based on the idea that people tend to be attracted to areas of work that fit their name.

Notable examples[]

  • Jules Angst, German professor of psychiatry, who has published works about anxiety (angst)[4]
  • Michael Ball, English footballer[5]
  • Colin Bass, British bassist in the rock band Camel[4]
  • Lance Bass, bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC[6]
  • Mickey Bass, American bassist and musician[7]
  • Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone[8]
  • Bert "Tito" Beveridge, founder of Tito's Vodka[9]
  • Sara Blizzard, meteorologist and television weather presenter for the BBC[4]
  • John Blow, English pipe organist at Westminster Abbey[10]
  • Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter[11][12]
  • Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America (Bowser)[13]
  • Russell Brain, 1st Baron Brain, neurologist[14]
  • Rosalind Brewer, executive at Starbucks and a former director at Molson Coors Brewing Company[15][16]
  • Christopher Coke, drug lord and cocaine trafficker[17]
  • Margaret Court, Australian tennis player[5]
  • Corona Rintawan, Indonesian physician who leads Muhammadiyah's command center for the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic[18]
  • Thomas Crapper, sanitary engineer[5][19]
  • Josh Earnest, the third press secretary for the Obama Administration[20]
  • Rich Fairbank, billionaire and CEO of the Capital One bank, which holds the Fairbanking Mark for offering fair banking products[21][22]
  • Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder, baseball players (fielder)[23]
  • Bob Flowerdew, gardener and tv/radio presenter[24]
  • Amy Freeze, American meteorologist[25]
  • William Headline, Washington Bureau Chief for CNN[26]
  • Igor Judge, English judge and Lord Chief Justice[27][28]
  • John Laws, English judge and Lord Justice of Appeal[28]
  • Richard and Mildred Loving, plaintiffs in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage throughout the United States[29]
  • Auguste and Louis Lumière, pioneering 19th century filmmakers (lumière means "light" in French)[30]
  • Chris Moneymaker, American poker player and 2003 World Series of Poker champion[31]
  • Josh Outman, baseball pitcher[32]
  • Francine Prose, American novelist[33]
  • Jonathan Quick, American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League[34]
  • Bob Rock, Canadian music producer best known for his works with rock acts such as Metallica and Aerosmith[35]
  • Philander Rodman, father of Dennis Rodman, who fathered 26 children by 16 mothers[36]
  • Tennys Sandgren, American tennis player[37]
  • Marilyn vos Savant, American columnist who has been cited for having the world's highest-recorded IQ (savant)[38]
  • Larry Speakes, acting White House Press Secretary for the White House under President Ronald Reagan[39]
  • Scott Speed, an American racecar driver who has raced in a variety of motorsport, including Formula One and Formula E[40][41][42]
  • George Francis Train, entrepreneur who was heavily involved in the construction of the eastern portion of the transcontinental railroad across the United States[12]
  • Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck, American education professional with a dissertation on uncommon African-American names in the classroom[43][44]
  • Anthony Weiner, American politician involved in sexting scandals[25][32]
  • John Minor Wisdom, American judge[7]
  • William Wordsworth, English poet and advocate for the extension of British copyright law[45][46][5]
  • Early Wynn, baseball pitcher, member of the 300 win club[47]
  • Tiger Woods, American professional golfer; a wood is a type of golf club [5]
  • Sue Yoo, attorney[48]

Inaptronyms[]

Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive, being called inaptronyms by Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post.[49]

  • Rob Banks, a British police officer[50]
  • Grant Balfour, baseball pitcher ("ball four")[51]
  • Frank Beard, an American musician who, until c. 2013, was the only member of rock band ZZ Top without a beard[52]
  • Don Black, white supremacist[4]
  • Peter Bowler, cricketer (in fact, primarily a batsman)[4]
  • 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"[53]
  • Robin Mahfood, President and CEO of Food for the Poor[54]
  • Danielle Outlaw, Philadelphia Police Commissioner[55]
  • Larry Playfair, NHL defenseman known for his fighting[56]
  • Jaime Sin, Catholic prelate. Upon being made a cardinal in 1976, he gained the further inaptronymic title of "Cardinal Sin"[4][50]
  • Bob Walk, baseball pitcher[57]

See also[]

  • -onym
  • Nominative determinism, the theory that a person's name can have a significant role in determining key aspects of their job, profession or even character

References[]

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  2. ^ Dickson, Paul (1996). What's in a Name? Reflections of an Irrepressible Name Collector. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-613-0.
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