# characters with more than appropriate names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384 "2010-04-26T09:20:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/1 "2010-04-26T09:20:26Z")
I’m looking for characters whose last names are somehow descriptive of the character in person. It might be alluding to the character’s profession or a significant personality trait. For example, a butcher might actually be called Butcher, or a sad girl might be called miss Blue. A good example of this is in the Seinfeld episode “the Library”, where Seinfeld has problems with a librarian called mr Bookman. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/2 "2010-04-26T09:39:00Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > I’m looking for characters whose last names are somehow descriptive of the character in person. It might be alluding to the character’s profession or a significant personality trait. For example, a butcher might actually be called Butcher, or a sad girl might be called miss Blue. A good example of this is in the Seinfeld episode “the Library”, where Seinfeld has problems with a librarian called mr Bookman. Han Solo? Luke Skywalker? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/3 "2010-04-26T10:53:21Z")
Well, there was Greg Pratt from ER. I liked him, but a lot of people didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/4 "2010-04-26T11:12:08Z")
Please read some Dickens and take copious notes of character’s names and traits. This is an open book test, but keep close watch on the time. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/5 "2010-04-26T11:14:38Z")
The main character of Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_ is Hiro Protagonist. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/6 "2010-04-26T12:37:11Z")
Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim from Slaughterhouse 5… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/7 "2010-04-26T12:52:03Z")
John Bunyan’s [Pilgrim’s Progress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim's_Progress). In **The Cradle Will Rock** had Larry Foreman (a Union rep), Mr. Mister (the boss), Harry Druggist, (college) President Prexy, Editor Daily, Dr. Specialist, Rev. Salvation, Harry Druggist, and Prof. Trixie (a tricky guy). Emma Peel in **The Avengers** was given her name because the producers wanted a character to appeal to men. Someone wrote down “M. Appeal”; someone else said it out loud and the name was born. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/8 "2010-04-26T13:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > A good example of this is in the Seinfeld episode “the Library”, where Seinfeld has problems with a librarian called mr Bookman. In the _Star Trek_ episode _All Our Yesterdays_ the librarian is named Mr. Atoz, the significance of which escaped me for several years, until I realized that it was “Mr. A to Z” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/9 "2010-04-27T22:46:04Z")
A mentioned [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12281297&postcount=4), in the novel I’m working on the protagonist is someone who learned that she can go into the afterlife (and bring people back). Her name is Caitlin Cross. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/10 "2010-04-28T15:16:37Z")
Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce from _M_A_S_H\*. (Pierce = surgeon) Major Major Major Major from _Catch-22_. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/11 "2010-04-28T15:42:02Z")
Some of the characters in the film [Hot Fuzz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_fuzz) fit the bill. [Most are classic English profession surnames](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425112/trivia?tr0790661), but some relate to their job as a resident or their role in the film. Nick Angel is a goody-goody cop, Tim Messenger is a reporter and the person who first tells Angel that he knows about suspicious goings-on, the Porters own the pub, Tiller runs the flower shop, Armstrong is a big tough guy. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/12 "2010-04-28T17:58:02Z")
I wouldn’t have figured we’d get past three responses before Porkins came up. And, also from Catch-22, there’s Scheisskopf, of course. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/13 "2010-04-28T18:14:32Z")
In the myth of Perseus and Medusa, many of the names are surprisingly descriptive. _Danae_ (Perseus’ mother) means “woman of the Danaans” – Danaans being one of the groups of the Greeks _Diktys_, the fisherman who pulled Perseus and Danae from the ocean, means “net” (In the recent movie, they changed it to “Spyros”, for no good reason) _Polydektes_, the king of Seriphos, means “Many Nets” and _Perseus_ himself has a name that, it has been argued, means “cutter” (and he, of course, cut off Medusa’s head with his _harpe_ sword). _Bellerophon_, from a related myth, has the straightforward interpretation “killer of Belleros” – except that nobody knows about any Belleros. One argument is that it’s a distorted version of a name that means “dart thrower”, which would make sense, as he attacks the Chimaera by throwing darts at it. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/14 "2010-04-28T18:17:55Z")
There’s a few names from Firefly that aren’t exactly “descriptive” per se, so much as they seem to fit the character uncannily well in a way that’s difficult to explain. “Mal… means bad.” * * * “Jayne is a girl’s name.” “Well, Jayne ain’t a girl!” * * * “I’m called Book.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-with-more-than-appropriate-names/537384/15 "2010-04-28T19:56:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce from M_A_S\*H. (Pierce = surgeon) When I was waiting to see a show at the Sanders theater at Harvard University, I looked over the memorial plaques lining the walls. One was for a _Benjamin Franklin Pierce_. I was amazed. Richard Hooker (real name H. Richard Hornberger) apparently didn;'t attend Harvard, so the name might just be a coincidence. Or maybe he was waiting for a show at the Sanders, too, one time. > **[Richard Hooker (author)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Richard_Hornberger)** > > Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. (February 1, 1924 – November 4, 1997) was an American writer and surgeon who wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. Hornberger's best-known work is his novel MASH (1968), based on his experiences as a wartime United States Army surgeon during the Korean War and written in collaboration with W. C. Heinz. It was used as the basis for the award-winning, critically and commercially successful movie M\*A\*S\*H (1970) — and two years later, the acclaimed long running te...