# And here the Boy Named Sue thought he had it bad... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790 "2017-03-22T21:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/1 "2017-03-22T21:24:39Z")
I know it’s juvenile to chuckle at people’s names, particularly from outside one’s own culture. However, currently I am reading a book on China’s Great Leap Forward, and it soberly mentions that the Albanian agricultural trade representative in Beijing at that time was named Pupo Shyti. At least they had the presence of mind not to send the poor guy to an English-speaking country. ETA: Who knew? He has a Wikipedia [page](https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupo_Shyti). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/2 "2017-03-22T21:54:13Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I know it’s juvenile to chuckle at people’s names, … Guilty! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/3 "2017-03-22T22:10:27Z")
The Y in Albanian is an umlaut sound, like the French U, and the name is, approximately, pronounced POO-paw SHEU-tee. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/4 "2017-03-22T22:28:37Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The Y in Albanian is an umlaut sound, like the French U, and the name is, approximately, pronounced POO-paw SHEU-tee. Yeah, but this is a 'Merican place and we do our own pronunciations. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/5 "2017-03-22T23:14:54Z")
I wonder if he enjoyed the [pupu platter.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu_pu_platter) Or maybe he was friends with [Stig V. Schytt,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valter_Schytt) the namesake of Schytt Glacier in Antarctica. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/6 "2017-03-22T23:28:07Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The Y in Albanian is an umlaut sound, like the French U, and the name is, approximately, pronounced POO-paw SHEU-tee. “And it translates roughly to ‘Bag Of Dicks’.” :eek::D:o ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/7 "2017-03-22T23:38:58Z")
So, you’ve never met a man with the name of Lipschitz? Maybe that happened more in the NY Metro area. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/8 "2017-03-23T00:49:37Z")
I once handed an ID card to a guy named Dikshit. If there is a heaven, I’m going because I waited until he left the building to collapse from laughter. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/9 "2017-03-23T12:59:54Z")
And “Anil” is also a common name in that region so I’m sure the combo comes up sometimes. It definitely does with another common surname “Mandeep”. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/10 "2017-03-23T15:33:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > And “Anil” is also a common name in that region so I’m sure the combo comes up sometimes. It definitely does with another common surname “Mandeep”. There’s a hair salon near me called “Salon Anu.” Apparently the owner figured out beforehand that “Anu’s Hair Design” would be a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/11 "2017-03-23T17:31:57Z")
May I offer a letter from [Archibald Clark Kerr, Baron Inverchapel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Clark_Kerr,_1st_Baron_Inverchapel)? > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Inverchapel is best remembered in the public imagination for a much reproduced note he is said to have written in 1943 to Lord Pembroke while Ambassador to Moscow. The prominence of this letter against Lord Inverchapel’s otherwise lesser known achievements has led to him being described as a ‘one hit wonder’, or as William Hague once dubbed him, “The ‘Right Said Fred’ of the British Ambassadorial Service”.[16] > “My Dear Reggie, > In these dark days man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from Heaven. My days are probably darker than yours, and I need, my God I do, all the light I can get. But I am a decent fellow, and I do not want to be mean and selfish about what little brightness is shed upon me from time to time. So I propose to share with you a tiny flash that has illuminated my sombre life and tell you that God has given me a new Turkish colleague whose card tells me that he is called Mustapha Kunt. > We all feel like that, Reggie, now and then, especially when Spring is upon us, but few of us would care to put it on our cards. It takes a Turk to do that. > Sir Archibald Clerk Kerr, H.M. Ambassador” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/12 "2017-03-23T18:02:52Z")
That deserves to be crossposted in the “most archetypical Englishman” thread 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/13 "2017-03-23T18:10:49Z")
I worked at a car dealership where one of our customers was named Mrs. Kuntz. If that were my name, it would be pronounced Coonts, but she came to the counter and proudly announced, with no preliminary remarks, CUNTS. OK, then. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/14 "2017-03-23T23:26:44Z")
“Kofi Anan” comes out in Hebrew to something like _cloud monkey_. Being a twelve-year-old at heart, I still think monkeys are comedy gold, especially in someone’s name. Heh heh, _Kofi_. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/15 "2017-03-24T01:56:15Z")
I’ve always been fond of the [Younger Blackhead of the North](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Schwarzkopf_Jr.), or, more literally, Northman Blackhead the Younger. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/16 "2017-03-24T02:33:06Z")
I know a guy who was born on St. Valentine’s Day. His parents named him Cupid. He goes by his middle name. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/17 "2017-03-24T04:42:47Z")
My mother had a coworker named Neda Feely. Neda was pronounced as Needa. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/18 "2017-03-24T04:51:48Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > And “Anil” is also a common name in that region so I’m sure the combo comes up sometimes. It definitely does with another common surname “Mandeep”. And Sithole is a common African surname. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/19 "2017-03-24T17:20:50Z")
[Tiny Kox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Kox). I misremembered his name. Googled “Tiny Dix”. He was still the first result. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-the-boy-named-sue-thought-he-had-it-bad/782790/20 "2017-03-24T17:50:49Z")
Some years ago, I was in Malaysia (sadly I can’t remember the town). I had got in a taxi and asked to be taken to a hotel recommended in the guidebook I had borrowed from a fellow tourist at the bus station ten minutes earlier. The taxi driver had cheerfully agreed to take me there, then got to the end of the road before turning round and asking me for directions. I had given him the street name, but he apparently had no more idea where that was than I did. He seemed a little resentful of my inability to give directions, which, as he lived there driving a taxi for a living, and had accepted me as a passenger based on my giving him the name and street of my destination, and I had just got off a bus in a town I can’t even name, did strike me as a little unfair. He asked to see the map. I did not have a map. He asked to see the guidebook. I did not have a guidebook. He was not happy. He drove in resentful silence through town, occasionally asking me “This street?” apparently in the hope I would recognise a place I knew only as a paragraph in a hastily red guidebook. At which point, we drove past a shop with the name “Mr Fuk Yoo Battery Shop”, and I freaking _lost_ it.