I can think of two: Johnson and Larouche.
Arnold
When ever I hear that name I can see two men. One Austrian, one Oriental.
Signs cost money.
Actually, Liberace’s first name was Wladziu, or some other name with a similarly bewildering array of semmingly unpronounceable consonants.
But, since Cotton Mather was mentioned, his father’s name was Increase, another first name not commonly used. Cotton was used one other time, though, but not in a long time: *Cotton Beard, Stymie’s little brother. I can still hear Spanky saying, “I wish Cotton was a monkey. . . All he needs is a tail.”:eek:
*OK, his real name was “Bobby,” and “Cotton” was just his “Gang” name.
Nomar Garciaparra
Screech, from saved by the Bell
Daffy, Duck
Sheena, Easton
Newt Gingrich
Dino DeLaurentis
Harlan Ellison
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown
God Shammgod
Stalin Colinet
Emmylou, Harris
Is there another Stone, like the newscaster?
Howlin’.
That’s funny. When I think of Adolph, I think of meat tenderizer.(Hey, Uke! I’d never use it, you understand)
How about Geraldo?
Howlin’ Wolf was Chester Arthur Bernett.
I believe there are 2-3 current actors with the first name Stone. It is always possible one of them will become more famous than Stone Phillips.
Back to Adolph. If you took a poll in America in 1932 and asked 1000 random persons who “Adolph” was, you would have gotten the reply Menjou. A fairly famous Adolph.
What about Mordecai Richler?
Or Morecai T. Endicott, founder of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks (IIRC)? What, not someone you consider famous?
And I think we’d all just prefer to pretend that Lyndon LaRouche never existed. Right?
Oh, and one of the members of Pearl Jam is Stone Gossard, so that’s not quite unique.
How about Gutzon Borglum, the guy who was responsible for Mt. Rushmore?
And Ann-Margaret is unique enough that she doesn’t even need a last name.
Oriental? I don’t think Arnold Palmer is Oriental… Or is there someone else you have in mind?
For Michaelangelo, we have the writer, Michaelangelo Signorile.
For Mordecai - there always seems to be one in the Israeli cabinet.
I’d nominate Galileo (his last name was a variant, Galilei - apparently that was a relatively common practice in renaissance Italy).
Lots of earthmotherwindskyrocksinyourhead names from the 60s-70s qualify, too:
River (Phoenix)
Soleil (Moon Frye - Punky Brewster(!), now quite lovely - she started as a freshman at NYU when I was in law school. Rep on campus: bright, fun, sweetheart.)
Dweezil & Moon (Zappa)
Others:
Oral (Roberts)
Orville (Wright or Redenbacher - either way, it’s retired)
Wilbur (Wright or Pig - ditto)
Winnie (Mandela or The Pooh)
And I can’t avoid it:
Monica
And two more:
Ima (Hogg - yes, she was a real person, and that was her real name)
Yma (Sumac - no, her “real” name isn’t Amy Camus)
Josiah
Josiah Wedgewood revolutionized the porcelain industry in early 19th century England. Just ask an antiques dealer about gennywine Wedgewood porcelain.
And ask any person on the street to pronounce it… my son just rolls his eyes and he’s only 5!
Yes, but as soon as you see the name “Adolf” here in Germany, you know that the person is at least 56 years old and probably much older. It has since been “retired” (except possibly for some strange traditionalist aristocrats who have been using the same names over and over for the past 560 years.) Also, I think most people stuck with that name prefer a nickname like “Adi” or something to avoid the connotation. Otherwise it can be quite a cross to bear.
Sidenote: oddly enough, the rate of children being given the name in Germany, at least in one representative study on names given in the city of Kiel, actually dropped steadily from just under 1% to practically nil during Hitler’s years in power.
I like Ferggie’s best so far ;). Michaelangelo is also the first name of Caravaggio (although Caravaggio wasn’t his real surname) and Antonioni (one for the cineastes among you).
There’s also a bloke called Elton Welsby, but he’s not exactly famous in England any more.
Dolf isn’t Dolph (sic) Lundgren’s real first name either, by the way.
Isn’t there an Elton Brand that plays basketball? Think he was at Duke?
On the old Night Court show they said Reinhold was Dan’s real name. They took it from one of the producers.
We discussed * Into Thin Air * in Cafe today - one of the climbers given up for dead, then found was named Beck Weathers.
What about “old lady names” – Esther, Agnes, Gertrude, Ethel, Viola, Hildegard, Hortense, Bertha, Millicent, Heddy and Edith among them. It’s not that those names sound “quaint” or “dated,” but that they have a somewhat negative connotation associated with them – an elderly woman with blue hair driving her 1972 Dodge Dart 20 miles an hour below the speed limit, as she weaves her way to St. Paul Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod, of course – and a red hymnal service at that). Old lady names are still quite common among first generation Mexican-American women in southern New Mexico and west Texas, but that’s about it.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by samclem *
That’s funny. When I think of Adolph, I think of meat tenderizer.?
Do you think "truck mudflaps"when you hear Heil?
