Aptronym

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.[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. Psychologist Carl Jung wrote in his 1952 book, Synchronicity, that there was a "sometimes quite grotesque coincidence between a man's name and his peculiarities".[2]

Notable examples

Inaptronyms

Some aptronyms are ironic rather than descriptive, being called inaptronyms by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post. A notable example is the former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime L. Sin who in 1976 was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI, thus becoming known as "Cardinal Sin".

Place names can also be aptronyms, 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.[22]

In other languages

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "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, 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."
  2. ↑ "When the name fits the job" BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  3. ↑ http://ascc.mcgill.ca/bird/bird.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.urologyteam.com/node/2
  5. ↑ "Elie During Curriculum Vitae". CIEPFC. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ Topaz, Jonathan (24 June 2014). "Stephen Colbert to ‘quitter’ Jay Carney: Man up!". Politico. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "About". Shady Grove Podiatry. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Just for the record, Rodman only has 28 siblings". NBC Sports. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 28 Mar 2012.
  9. ↑ http://www.immaculata.edu/academics/departments/education/faculty/mschooling
  10. ↑ "Louise Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dr. Elizabeth C. Unk, MD". Health Grades. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Worthington Dr. Indicted for Hitting Bicyclist While Driving Drunk". Fox 28. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Worthington Doctor Charged For Allegedly Driving While Drunk, Striking Bicyclist". 10TV.com. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Zimmerman, Neetzan. "Dr. Unk Accused of Striking Cyclist While Driving Drunk". Gawker. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  15. ↑ "Emily Wines". The Court of Master Sommeliers. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  16. ↑ Wordsworth, WIlliam. The Prose Works of William Wordsworth. Ed. Alexander B. Grosart. London: Edward Moxon, Son and Co., 1876, p. 21.
  17. ↑ Swartz, Richard G. "Wordsworth, Copyright, and the Commodities of Genius." Modern Philology 89.4 (1992): 482-509. JSTOR. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Lattman, Peter (3 May 2006). "Law Blog Lawyer of the Day: Sullivan & Cromwell's Sue Yoo!". The Wall Street Journal.
  19. ↑ "Judge Laughs at Man Whose Last Name is Cocaine".
  20. ↑
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Lundin, Leigh (5 January 2014). "What's in a Name?". Aptonyms. Orlando: SleuthSayers.

References

    External links