An aptronym, aptonym, or euonym is a personal name aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner: owner's occupation or situations (e.g., workplace). [1]
Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post coined the word inaptonym as an antonym for "aptonym". [2]
The word "euonym" (wikt:eu- + wikt:-onym), dated to late 1800, is defined as "a name well suited to the person, place, or thing named". [3]
The Encyclopædia Britannica says that the term was allegedly invented by a columnist Franklin P. Adams, who coined the word "aptronym" as an anagram of patronym , to emphasize "apt". [4] The Oxford English Dictionary reported that the word appeared in a Funk & Wagnall’s dictionary in 1921, defined as "a surname indicative of an occupation: as, Glass, the glazier". [3] [5] Psychologist Carl Jung wrote in his 1960 book Synchronicity that there was a "sometimes quite grotesque coincidence between a man's name and his peculiarities". [6] [7]
In the 1966 book What's in a Name?, Paul Dickson, among other peculiar types of surnames, has a section on aptronyms which includes a list of aptronyms selected from his large collection. The latter originated from the one received from professor Lewis P. Lipsitt of Brown University and further expanded with the help of Dickinson's friends, mostly form newspapers and phone books. Some newspaper columnists collect aptronyms as well. [6]
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That view was backed up by another China economic policy expert, the aptly named David Dollar.
Although it was a fascinating story in itself, I was more captivated by the ornithologist's name, which is aptly Carla Dove.
What a name for a press secretary. Josh Earnest. His name literally means, 'Just kidding, but seriously.'
Meanwhile, Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat said, "Frost at Christmas—it just makes sense! […]"
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said Mr. Headline was 'a decent person who understood the problems that journalists have and dealt with them in a compassionate way. As we used to say it, the best name in news.'... ...Mr. Headline, whose fitting name was Americanized by a Swedish ancestor, was born in Cleveland and raised in East Aurora, N.Y.
Likewise, Igor Judge, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and John Laws, the Lord Justice of Appeal, may have felt a calling.
Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization has officially entered the national battle against the coronavirus by establishing the Muhammadiyah COVID-19 Command Center (MCCC) and putting an aptly named physician, Corona Rintawan, in charge.
Or Larry Speakes," said Eric... "He was the White House spokesman for Ronald Reagan." She smiled. "Exactly. There's a name for that. It's called ... nominative determinism.
During the 1982 FIFA World Cup an Italian defender, ironically named Claudio Gentile [...]
Claudio Gentile is the archetypal hard man, which was ironic considering his last name translates to gentle.