# Dylan Storm Roof's middle name **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860 "2015-07-11T15:50:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/1 "2015-07-11T15:50:43Z")
Dylan Storm Roof, the Charleston murderer. Clearly “Storm” has Nazi connotations. Did his parents name him Storm, or did he make it up? What is his real middle name? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/2 "2015-07-11T16:07:51Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Dylan Storm Roof, the Charleston murderer. Clearly “Storm” has Nazi connotations. Did his parents name him Storm, or did he make it up? What is his real middle name? Perhaps I’m not in the loop, but the Nazi connotations aren’t clear to me. What are they? ---
**Author:** ![MmeRose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/3 "2015-07-11T16:15:29Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Perhaps I’m not in the loop, but the Nazi connotations aren’t clear to me. What are they? Maybe Storm Trooper? It seems an unfortunate choice of middle names for someone with the last name of Roof. My first thought was Storm Cellar. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/4 "2015-07-11T16:22:40Z")
> [@MmeRose](#): > > Maybe Storm Trooper? > > It seems an unfortunate choice of middle names for someone with the last name of Roof. My first thought was Storm Cellar. Maybe it was the weather when he was born. He could have been named Heatwave. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/5 "2015-07-11T16:25:55Z")
Maybe his parents wanted him to be a [meteorologist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Field). ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/6 "2015-07-11T16:27:08Z")
The Brown Shirts (the guys who were the Nazi party’s enforcers before the SS) were the Sturmabteilung. The sturmgewehr was a WWII assault rifle. The Sturmpanzer was a kind of tank. Sturmfuhrer was a WWII German rank. A few ranks got “sturm” added. The Volksturm were late WWII militias. It generally means “assault” as in “we shall storm this fortress!” and the Nazis really liked the word. And it must sound really nice to teenagers trying to look edgy and tough. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/7 "2015-07-11T16:34:28Z")
I’ve wondered the same thing that the OP is asking. Whet kind of name is that??? Bad enough that they had spell his first name with 2 Ns, but at least they didn’t name in Dylann SStorm Roof. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/8 "2015-07-11T16:43:48Z")
I thought they might have been big Bob Dylan fans The wind howls like a hammer. The night blows cold and rainy. My love, she’s like some raven At my window with a broken wing. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/9 "2015-07-11T16:44:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Perhaps I’m not in the loop, but the Nazi connotations aren’t clear to me. What are they? The primary, and absolute cesspit-ish site for white supremacy is Storm Front. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/10 "2015-07-11T17:04:52Z")
[Storm Large](https://www.google.com/search?q=storm+large&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=799&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI8pTVlsfTxgIV1SmICh3bOQgU&dpr=1) (born Susan Storm Large), a local singer, is definitely no Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/11 "2015-07-11T17:09:12Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > […] It generally means “assault” as in “we shall storm this fortress!” and the Nazis really liked the word. And it must sound really nice to teenagers trying to look edgy and tough. Particularly when they look pretty much the polar opposite of tough. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/12 "2015-07-11T17:12:40Z")
Some people get a middle name from a family last name. So maybe his mother’s family was named Storm. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/13 "2015-07-11T17:30:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Storm Large (born **Susan Storm** Large Her parents were Marvel fans, I take it… ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/14 "2015-07-11T17:56:54Z")
It’s a perfectly good name for both men and women, especially from the Germanic/Nordic nations. I think the OP might be on to something here, though, and I’ll be interested to see a little genealogy/family data. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/15 "2015-07-11T18:54:21Z")
Storm is a not uncommon “new” name used by parents who want “new” or atypical names. I have encountered that or similar nature-type names and I have no reason to believe that the parents are Nazis. Besides, real Nazis are often not that subtle. And if there are Nazi connections, I think Stormfront first - the use of Sturm by the German military is a product of them being a military, and isn’t even spelled right. I haven’t been following this kid’s story too much but it sounds like he was radicalized later in life and not directly by his family. ---
**Author:** ![lalaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@lalaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalaith)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/16 "2015-07-12T15:07:05Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > Dylan Storm Roof, the Charleston murderer. Clearly “Storm” has Nazi connotations. Did his parents name him Storm, or did he make it up? What is his real middle name? My impression is it’s his real middle name. I think that’s a huge leap onto unsolid ground that you’re making with the Nazi assumption. His manifesto specifically mentions that he “was not raised in a racist home or environment.” In addition to the other possibilities mentioned in this thread, I’ll offer one more. Some parents have a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to naming their children. I had a great aunt named Pearl Ring. A modern example would be North West. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/17 "2015-07-12T15:26:25Z")
> [@lalaith](#): > > My impression is it’s his real middle name. > > I think that’s a huge leap onto unsolid ground that you’re making with the Nazi assumption. His manifesto specifically mentions that he “was not raised in a racist home or environment.” > > In addition to the other possibilities mentioned in this thread, I’ll offer one more. Some parents have a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to naming their children. I had a great aunt named Pearl Ring. A modern example would be North West. Or the iconic Western novelist born Pearl Gray. I think it was a question worth asking, though. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/18 "2015-07-12T23:36:31Z")
My son went to grade school with a kid named Storm, about 20 years ago. Just sounded cool to his parents I think. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/19 "2015-07-13T02:01:33Z")
I find it hard to believe that the parents had anything meaningful in mind giving him the middle name ‘Storm’ because they gave him the first name 'Dylan" which, how can I put this, is one of the most trendy, hipster, androgynous, last-name-as-first-names there is! It’s second only to, ugh\*!\*, Dakota… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860/20 "2015-07-13T13:50:51Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I find it hard to believe that the parents had anything meaningful in mind giving him the middle name ‘Storm’ because they gave him the first name 'Dylan" which, how can I put this, is one of the most trendy, hipster, androgynous, last-name-as-first-names there is! It’s second only to, ugh\*!\*, Dakota… 😃 Unless you’re Welsh, of course. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dylan-storm-roofs-middle-name/724860.md?page=2)