I went thru school with a kid who was known as M.C. Jarrett.
We never wondered if he had actual two names for those initials, 'cause in backwoods parts sometimes parents gave initials instead of names.
It was only later, in high school, after he had bloomed into a massive offensive back (his neck is bigger around than my thigh) that we found out he had a real name.
Merry Christmas.
He was born on Christmas day …
Plus I heard tell of a girl born in Pontotoc, whose parents picked the cutest name for her out of the Sears Catalogue. Pay’Ja Mae.
Pajama
I ran across a last name on a phone list that I always thought would make a great, brooding, gothic character’ name - Peregrym. Imagine a falcon-like character,or maybe a gargoyle of sorts. Now I see that a local actress has it. Alison, I think. Wonder if it’s the same family?
On some talk show or other, the host called someone out of the audience to opine on the subject at hand. He (the guest) must have been selected beforehand because as soon as the microphone arrived at his seat his name appeared as a caption below. It was Lieutenant Smith*
The interviewer asked, “How long have you been a police officer?” The guest sheepishly explained that was his given name - obviously tired of the explanation.
In junior high band I shared a saxophone section with Turk Mully. I always thought that was a pretty cool name, but he was only an average saxophone player. Maybe below average.
One of my nephews has Raphael as his first name. His last name is unmistakably Jewish. Imagine how “Raphael Rosenblatt” or “Raphael Goldstein” may register, and you’ll get the idea. I like the contrast.
I’ve had co-workers named Dixie Wild and Star Bright, in both cases their married names and in both cases sounding like strippers (and in both cases nobody would pay to see them strip).
First names I’ve known: Tattler, Cunning, Paderewski and Zero (all actual first names, not nicknames- in the case of Zero he was named for a relative).
Biblical names I’ve known people to have are Obadiah, Zadok, Omri, Antipas (I thought “but he was a villain!” when I heard it) and, of course, Jesus, which majorly threw the students (me included) at my Christian academy for a loop when he joined our third grade class (he was Puerto Rican). My great grandmother had a cool name: Louisiana TalithaCumi Cotton.
My mother had a cousin named (not nicknamed) Cooter P____. He was born when his parents were middle aged, he was their only child, and they wanted him to choose his own name when he became a teenager, so Cooter was just a placeholder. The name he chose was Woodrow Davenport P____. He’s in his seventies now and, of course, everybody still calls him Cooter.
When I worked in hotels we had guests (not on the same night) with the surnames Frankenstein and Fonzarelli. We also had guests named Tom Cruise and George Bush. In all cases I warned the staff, who weren’t always the most professional of folks, “Not one single solitary word… I can guarantee you they know there’s a famous one.”
A 19th century deed for some land my family bought in the 1880s was signed by the sellers, old maid sisters named Gethsemane and River-Jordan Holtzclaw.
I love Spanish names that translate as things that Americans just don’t routinely name their children after, such as Luz (Light), Mavi (‘my life’), Corazon (heart), etc. (and yes, I know I’ve left off the doohickeys).
I was friends with a girl in college who had the last name Bonesteel.
I also worked for a brief while in the admissions department, and there was a Kid with the last name Engineer…and yes, he was majoring in engineering. I also saw a kid with the last name Mailman.
My Dad, Brother, and Nephew’s first name is Seybert. We think my granparents named my Dad after Fort Seybert, West Virginia and its associated Indian massacre (The Fort Seybert Massacre). Not necessarily a cool name to have if you were to talk to my Nephew, who was harrassed a bit because of it (Seybert the big fat Weybert). He went by Seybie (C.B.) for a while when he was little but Seybie-Semi and the related truck jokes got old and just weren’t very funny, now he’s happy with just “Bert”. My Brother avoided it entirely with a wholly non-related nickname and my Dad just went by Seyb. Lots of people can’t get that right even and he was often called Zeb, Seb, or Syb.
Larry H. Parker is a semi-famous very successful “have you been in an accident? had dreams of being in an accident? would you like to be in an accident?” personal injury lawyer. Whle Larry Hugh isn’t a particularly cool name, it’s interesting that not only did his father name him for Larry Flynt and Hugh Hefner, but that Larry Hugh’s mother let him.
Last fall I was working in a secure area of a military base. My crew and I had to be accompanied by a security escort wherever we went. On the first day we met up with our two escorts and one of them introduced himself as “Major.” We had to check in before entering the facility and we realized that Major wasn’t a title but rather his first name. Somebody commented that it must be difficult to be in the military and have the first name Major. He just kind of shrugged as he had obviously heard that particular comment a thousand times. Anyways, as he walked past me I saw his name badge. His last name was (is) League.
What contrast? Raphael is a Jewish name - it got co-opted by Christians because it’s the name of one of the archangels, along with Michael & Gabriel. (Hint: names that end in “-el” are Jewish - the suffix identifies them with G-d.)
While posting to another thread last night, I came across a mention of Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee. Her name reminded me of Sonny Sixkiller, the former quarterback of the University of Washington’s Huskies. Another member of the onomastic “Murderers’ Row” would be ex-Bradley University basketball star David Thirdkill.
There are also those names that have gained significance by their association with automobiles. I once had occasion to make a phone call to a Mrs. Buick, and I’d like to meet Jennifer Studebaker (third name on the list) or another person who serves as a living reminder of the vehicles that bear her family name.
in German, stern means “star”, while vogel translates as “bird”
One of my college professors was named Dean. He wasn’t a Dean, but he should have been. Then he would have been Dean Dean.
I love the name Buck Trott. I’m not sure if Buck is a real name or nickname, but it’s cool anyway.
Barefoot and Birdsong are common last names in this area.
One of the best names from Baby’s Named a Bad, Bad Thing is Rodana.