Tuesday, September 11, 2012

what’s their name

I have always had name recall problems. If I don’t interact often with a person, I will likely forget their name or part of it. "Remember, what's their name"?  Now if your name was an aptonym, I would be more likely to recall it.

An aptonym is a name that also describes what you do. Many names originated from occupations - the “Bakers”, “Farmers”, “Plumbers.



I made up all but one these: 
  • Roger Dodger - city cab driver 
  • Joe Clicker - my best blog follower 
  • Sam Woods - furniture maker 
  • Amy Freeze - the First Female Chief Meteorologist in Chicago (check out her site)
  • Flash Sellers - Wall St. trader or maybe a pornstar
  • Summer Miles - travel agent (seems to be a dying industry now with all the online services
  • Hope Parish - a greeter at church 
  • Eve Ann Price - options trader



another circus 

22 comments:

Ducky said...

I am seeing the huge possibilities with this and unfortunately I don't think I can actually post any of my ideas. My creativity limits me at times.... :D

lisleman said...

Well Ducky I guess your last name is not Hunter. thanks for stopping by.

W.C. Camp said...

If I was in the pharma industry I would want to be called 'Bill Pill' or if I sold flotation devices I want to be called 'Billy Bob' or if I was a vampire maybe 'Billy Legosi' - uh, well you get the idea. W.C.C.

W.C. Camp said...

You crack me up (because I am laying on my stomach!) W.C.C.

OneStonedCrow said...

Heh - we have the same name recall and the older I get the more often I find myself forgetting faces ... can be embarrassing at times ...

I've never heard of an aptonym but now that you mention it. I've often been amazed at how often peoples' names resemble their occupations ...

Laurie Matherne said...

I cannot recall names very well, either. Never have. Numbers, though, are different. I can recall telephone numbers from childhood friends and relatives as well most numbers in my everyday life like banking accounts, security codes, etc. If I could change all my kids in our center from having names to numbers I would be never forget their number.


My secret name, although it is not a number, is Laure, not a slave to fashion. That describes my personality and my lack of fashion sense perfectly.

lisleman said...

that's a crack I don't want to know about.

lisleman said...

Billy Bob's Flotation Devices - I like it. I thought the "Mae West" name for that one type of life jacket made sense too. thanks

lisleman said...

Yes it can be embarrassing but not as much as when I was younger. You get older and others accept it more.

lisleman said...

I was never too good with phone numbers. For me the significance of the number matters. Pi is about 3.14. 1024 is a power of two. Sides of 3, 4, and 5 units made a perfect right triangle. But even these math and science related numbers fade away from non use.
"not a slave to fashion" - that's a great phrase - thanks

Bearman Cartoons said...

I am excellent with names....it is putting to together with a face I have issues with.

lisleman said...

I remember people that were old neighbors or former co-workers but can't recall their name. I'm surprised that faces are a problem because you draw faces.

tracismixedbag said...

Oh man, if I were a sleuth, Dick Traci would be a perfect way to remember my name.

lisleman said...

Yeah but do you like yellow?
http://afcsoac.blogspot.com/2010/06/is-pruneface-on-facebook.html
You just need to dress the part.

Claudya Martinez said...

All lovely and easy to remember if you are visiting someone at their job.

Agnes Pages said...

This reminded me of that 'when not to hyphenate your name' thing that went around the internet a few years ago :-D

lisleman said...

I missed that. Was it funny and about odd name combinations?
thanks

Lilly said...

Actually I am so bad with names I am starting to think I have early onset dementia. I can go to introduce someone whom i know really well and all of a sudden forget their names. i am not sure the aptonym would even help. however, isnt this where surnames derived in the past - it was based on peoples jobs?

lisleman said...

Yes I think many were job related. I learn the Irish names with 'Mc' or 'O' mean "son of" and "family of".

Cyndy DysFUNctional Mom said...

My cousin is a pharmacist named Michelle Rash. Even better, they named their daughter Madison which sounds a lot like Medicine....

lisleman said...

Rash would be a tough name to have. Did she have that name in pharmacy school? The last name of "fever" would be good. Oh her middle name is not Ivy - right? thanks

Cyndy DysFUNctional Mom said...

She married Mr Rash during college. And took his last name. On purpose. It makes me giggle!
*Cyndy*
***
*Check out my blog: Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional

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