# Are the muppets the reason names like Kermit and Grover have become archaic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219 "2026-04-12T15:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/141 "2026-07-23T00:15:50Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > > > I also know surprisingly few people called Gonzo, Dr. Teeth, Animal or Beaker. > > Floyd feels like it’s due for a comeback. As does Zoot. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/142 "2026-07-23T00:18:46Z")
D’oh! I absolutely missed that completely. Thank you. :hangs head in shame: ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/143 "2026-07-26T23:39:11Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > honest Q: > > How about Donald? > > In german Donald = Donald Duck … and nothing else (before DJT) Due to Donald Duck, I have never been able to unsee the name as belonging to an anthropomorphic duck in a sailor suit. I have the same problem with Minnie and Claribel (Disney cow character from the original shorts). I won’t count Goofy as that’s not a real name. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/144 "2026-07-27T00:30:23Z")
Never met a Grover. Knew a guy whose nickname was Kermit. Worked with one who had Oscar as one of his middle names, and back in the late '70s I worked with an Elmo (who was in his 60s). \ > [@terentii](#): > > he’d want to name him “Gniesenau.” “[Gn **ei**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Gneisenau)s[enau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Neidhardt_von_Gneisenau)”, presumably. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/145 "2026-07-27T01:15:58Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > I have the same problem with Minnie and Claribel (Disney cow character from the original shorts). Claribel/Clarabell was probably also spoiled for being a serious name, due to it being the name of one of the main characters (a clown) on _The Howdy Doody Show_. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/146 "2026-07-27T06:28:15Z")
I remember being 17 and studying Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in English class. The shipwreck that is the central event of the plot was of the ship that was carrying the King of Naples and his retinue to the wedding of his daughter, Claribel, who was to marry the King of Tunis. The daughter’s name stood out to me like a sore thumb. This reminds me of Gladys. Apparently this was not an uncommon name at one point. But I can’t unsee “Gladys” as a cow, due to the Muppet character on Sesame Street. For this reason, I always imagine a human Gladys as a big, fat, frumpy lady. However, there are characters whose names I don’t associate just with the Muppet or other animal character. For example, Chip and Dale I’ve always seen as human names as well. Or Daisy. Or Harry. I don’t imagine Herry Monster every time I hear “Harry.” I think the Muppet associations are in part due to names like Grover or Kermit being very distinctive. I’ve never known a Minnie in real life. I’m hard-pressed to remember a Donald I ever knew in person (I imagine the name is more common in Scotland). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/147 "2026-07-27T10:28:18Z")
“Gladys” immediately makes me think, _Abner, Abner! I was peeking in Samantha’s window and she melted my eyes!_ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/148 "2026-07-27T11:31:24Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > I always imagine a human Gladys as a big, fat, frumpy lady It’s a cruel twist of fate that most people will instinctively picture the not-particularly-big-or-fat World War I munitions magnate Bertha Krupp as a big fat woman, entirely because the howitzers her company manufactured were nicknamed “Big Berthas” in her honor, which caused “Bertha” to become a stereotypical “big fat woman” name. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/149 "2026-07-27T14:24:11Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > “[Gn **ei**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Gneisenau)s[enau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Neidhardt_von_Gneisenau)”, presumably. Yeah, sounds a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/150 "2026-07-27T14:29:44Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > I’m hard-pressed to remember a Donald I ever knew in person My younger brother was named Donald. He passed away in January 2020, right at the start of the Pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/151 "2026-07-27T15:49:39Z")
Kinda like this: [![](https://mannysbookofshadows.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bewitched_gladyss-eyes.jpg) ](https://mannysbookofshadows.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bewitched_gladyss-eyes.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/152 "2026-07-27T17:58:13Z")
A Donald rode the same school bus I did when I was in 2nd or 3d grade; he was five or six years older than I was. Knew another Donald when I was in high school, and worked for a Donald around eight years later. All three of them were normally called Don, not Donald. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/153 "2026-07-27T18:37:36Z")
Interesting about Donald falling in popularity. I guess I’ve known enough that I never noticed that it had waned. Looking at some yearbooks for my High School, in 1961 there were 8 Donalds. In 1969, there were 5. In 1977, one. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/154 "2026-07-27T18:41:48Z")
I’ved always liked the name “Donald,” along with other Scottish names like “Duncan,” “Gregor,” and “Ewan.” ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/155 "2026-07-27T18:55:20Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > It’s a cruel twist of fate that most people will instinctively picture the not-particularly-big-or-fat World War I munitions magnate Bertha Krupp as a big fat woman, entirely because the howitzers her company manufactured were nicknamed “Big Berthas” in her honor, which caused “Bertha” to become a stereotypical “big fat woman” name. Also for me, the names “Tillie” and “Hilda,” which apparently at one point were quite common. I don’t remember ever meeting one in real life, but I associate both with female hippos from the Richard Scarry books. Here’s [Tillie Hippo](https://withagoodbook.wordpress.com/2023/06/05/richard-scarrys-please-and-thank-you-book/) and here’s [Big Hilda](https://www.richardscarry.com/hilda-hippo). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/156 "2026-07-27T19:00:31Z")
I’ve always liked the name “Donald,” along with other Scottish names like “Duncan,” “Gregor,” and “Montgomery.” When he was a wee lad, my brother was called “Donny.” I don’t know if this carried over into adulthood other than in my family, but Donny Osmond is enough for me to be put off ever calling a son of mine that way. What if Dan Williams had been a “Donald” instead of a “Daniel”? Would Steve McGarrett have then said “Book 'em, Donny!”? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/157 "2026-07-27T19:18:48Z")
Wasn’t Bertha Krupps just a little girl at the time of the First World War? 🤨 To me, Millie and Tillie will always be the names of Minnie and Mickey Mouse’s two nieces in the Disney comics. Hilda and Helga will always be Klink’s secretaries on _ **Hogan’s Heroes** _. Heidi was the name assigned to a girl in my homeroom by our high school German teacher. Her real name was Jean, and she was a knockout! 🥰 I actually knew a girl named Millie when I was in college. This was back in the '80s, so I was surprised to learn it was short for Millicent, which was already old-fashioned at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/158 "2026-07-27T19:21:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Wasn’t Bertha Krupps just a little girl at the time of the First World War? 🤨 Born in July 1886, so 28 years old at the start of the war. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/159 "2026-07-27T19:29:32Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Born in July 1886, so 28 years old at the start of the war. Ach so. But still the daughter of arms maker Friedrich Krupp. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219/160 "2026-07-28T20:56:25Z")
Last night on _The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon_, Jim Gaffigan mentioned Grover Cleveland. He said that the name Grover kind of disappeared, and that there was only Grover Cleveland and Grover from _Sesame Street_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-muppets-the-reason-names-like-kermit-and-grover-have-become-archaic/1029219.md?page=9)