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Prophetic Names

In older agrarian and trade based societies, names often reflected people’s vocations or otherwise described their position in a place or tribe. Some South Indian and Scandinavian names derive from the father’s first name rather than the family name (a similar system existed among older Jewish cultures). Names like Smith, Miller, Fletcher, Bauer, Baker etc. point to the type of work the name holders did. Hindu caste names routinely revealed a person’s profession, business and social hierarchy. Jewish priestly names like Cohen, Katz and Levi once played a similar role. But with the diminishing role of temple priests in Judaism, these names mostly hark back to their historic significance.

Old cultural / vocational barriers having mostly broken down, our names are no longer a reliable indicator of the type of life we lead. But we cannot fully shake off the notion of a name revealing something about a person’s character or expertise. Which is why there is a whole genre of off-color jokes which rely on the sophomoric play on imaginary names and the professional / artistic pursuits of their owners. (The Case of the Open Kimono written by Seymour Hare, The Yellow River sung by I.P. Daley, Dr. A. Cula – phlebotomist/ hematologist etc. I used to know a lengthy series of these in high school) Then there are names that  people acquire by the dint of their real life accomplishments or character. Nicknames such as Honest Abe, Mahatma Gandhi, Hammerin’ Hank, Joltin’ Joe, The Brown Bomber etc. reflect how others saw those public figures of renown. These names are of course afterthoughts – names describing lives. But what about real names that live up to their promise – lives imitating names, as in those silly jokes I mentioned? In a comment I left on Dean’s post about Norman Mailer, where I linked to the video of a brawl between the author and film director Rip Torn, I noted that the latter’s name sadly coincided with his condition after Mailer bit off part of his ear during the violent encounter.

How many people can you think of whose first or last names later matched up with their achievements or circumstances? I haven’t given enough thought to the matter and can come up with just a few that qualify, even though they require a bit of linguistic stretch and imagination.

Richard Smalley:  Nobel prize winner in chemistry and pioneer of nanotechnology.

Alois Alzheimer: Neuropathologist whose work on dementia lead to the recognition of Alzheimer’s Disease. Here the connection in my mind is between Altsheim (loosely translated as old [folks] home in German) and the name of the doctor.

Alfred Nobel:  His fortune went toward honoring noble human endeavors. So one could say that made Nobel a noble man.

Given the encyclopedic knowledge of my co-bloggers and our readers, I am hoping to hear a few more.

(The mention of Alzheimer’s brought to mind a touching story in the news about Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and her husband of more than five decades)

Update:  This post first appeared in November, 2007.  I am bringing it to the front as a filler post during my absence. 

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10 responses to “Prophetic Names”

  1. Anna

    I nominate Judge Justice (William Wayne), the famous, progressive United States District judge for the Eastern District of Texas: http://www.utexas.edu/law/news/2006/100506_justice.html

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  2. David

    One could also say the invention of dynamite made Nobel an un-noble man.
    BTW, the Freakonomics blog did a recent search for such names, the most notable one being the copy editor Paige Worthy.
    Contest: Beat This Aptonym
    Announcing the Winners of Our Aptonym Contest

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  3. Ruchira

    Aptonym! How apt. Why didn’t I think of that when I was scratching my head for the title of this post?
    Thanks David, for the links. It is reassuring to know that other more famous bloggers too are thinking the same trivial thoughts. “Rip Torn” did it for me just as “Paige Worthy” got Stephen Dubner’s attention.
    The winners of the contest at Freakonomics resemble the jokes I listed. But more funny because they are real.

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  4. Usha

    The aptonym contest winners are hilarious. On the less funny side, there’s Sojourner Truth, former slave turned abolitionist and women’s rights activist, 1797-1883. I always thought hers was a wonderful name, but what a lot of pressure to live up to!

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  5. Sudip

    How about Chris Moneymaker, who won the World Series of Poker main event a few years ago, and did, indeed, make millions.

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  6. Ruchira

    Thanks. All the three names suggested in the comments are more “apt” than the ones I picked. I am familiar with all of them, including Moneymaker. Just couldn’t come up with anything better when I wrote the hasty post.

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  7. Dean C. Rowan

    One of the countless idiosyncrasies explored by Laurence Sterne in his Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, is Tristram’s father’s philosophy of names: “His opinion, in this matter, was, That there was a strange kind of magick bias, which good or bad names, as he called them, irresistibly impressed upon our characters and conduct.” Later:

    It was observable, that tho’ my father, in consequence of this opinion, had, as I have told you, the strongest likings and dislikings towards certain names;–that there were still numbers of names which hung so equally in the balance before him, that they were absolutely indifferent to him. Jack, Dick, and Tom were of this class: These my father called neutral names;–affirming of them, without a satire, That there had been as many knaves and fools, at least, as wise and good men, since the world began, who had indifferently borne them;–so that, like equal forces acting against each other in contrary directions, he thought they mutually destroyed each other’s effects; for which reason, he would often declare, He would not give a cherry-stone to choose amongst them. Bob, which was my brother’s name, was another of these neutral kinds of christian names, which operated very little either way; and as my father happen’d to be at Epsom, when it was given him,–he would oft-times thank Heaven it was no worse. Andrew was something like a negative quantity in Algebra with him;–’twas worse, he said, than nothing.–William stood pretty high:–Numps again was low with him:–and Nick, he said, was the Devil.But of all names in the universe he had the most unconquerable aversion for
    Tristram;–he had the lowest and most contemptible opinion of it of any thing in the world,–thinking it could possibly produce nothing in rerum natura, but what was extremely mean and pitiful: So that in the midst of a dispute on the subject, in which, by the bye, he was frequently involved,–he would sometimes break off in a sudden and spirited Epiphonema, or rather Erotesis, raised a third, and sometimes a full fifth above the key of the discourse,–and demand it categorically of his antagonist, Whether he would take upon him to say, he had ever remembered,–whether he had ever read,–or even whether he had ever heard tell of a man, called Tristram, performing any thing great or worth recording?–No,–he would say,–Tristram!–The thing is impossible.

    Er, sorry, Andrew. Times and opinions have changed, although I don’t perceive an ascendancy of Tristram in our era, either.

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  8. narayan

    How about Philip Roth’s Dr. Krankheit.

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  9. funnygirl

    your blog is getting better )

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  10. Abigael

    Wow! This Blog is great. Just like Kim Clement. Kim Clement is an expression that has defined “the prophet” for the modern era. This has made his journey unique; a journey that has taken his inspired message to schools and colleges, churches and synagogues, alleyways and prison cells. Kim’s prophetic gift is a magnet that has drawn a broad audience, as he has whispered to kings and inspired prisoners, his path through life continues to be an exciting adventure.
    Abigail

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