Are there names or nicknames in other languages that mark someone as likely being from a rural, agricultural community? Or of being the local version of a “good-ole-boy (or girl)”? Sonny, Merle, Mary Lou, Billy Joe, Bubba, and Bobby Sue are the immediate American English examples that come to mind.
Do the same kind of more or less stereotypical, rural-marked names exist in other languages?
Dunno if this counts. In China, there are a lot of people with cultural revolution names, and most of 'em are peasants and not city people.
For example, the guy that redecorated my apartment. His family name was Mao, as in Chairman Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao) the former leader of China. Well, this guy’s name was Mao’s Little Red Book.
There are plenty more like “Love the Revolution” Chang, etc.
If you are asking if there are stereotypical “redneck” names in other languages… then the answer (at least for Korea) is yes…
I don’t know what they are, off-hand, but there ARE such names… as evidenced by the fact that they are used in joke series. A few years ago, “Man-duk” jokes were rampant!
Man-duk was being persued by a ghost (for some reason or other), and all of the jokes had to do with Man-duk’s interactions with said ghost…
A typical joke was: Man-duk-i (I or ee is the subject particle in Korean) had to pee, and went to the bathroom (Koreans are WAY into scatological humor… dunno why…), he lifted the toilet seat, took out his wee-wee, and started to pee… The ghost was waiting for Man-duk inside the toilet, and started to say (in a quavery, ghosty-voice) “Man-duk ah!!” (or “Hey! Man-duk!!”)
At this point in the joke, the teller is supposed to start, um, wavering his/her voice… as if the ghost is speaking/gargling through a mouthful of urine… “Man-duk-Ahahhhahhhghghhhfhhhghghhgh!”
If done correctly (with a gargling sound) your Korean audience will collapse in fits of giggles…
Don’t ask me!
I don’t get it either! But even though these jokes are a few years out-of-date, I can still cause an entire class of freshmen to collapse in laughter with a joke that I, myself, don’t get!
So, yes! There ARE names in Korean that are considered redneck/rustic/uncouth/etc.
In India, a person’s name used to indicate his caste. This could be like a good ole boy thing
Thanks all! These are exactly the kind of examples I had in mind!
Any European examples?
In India,the name ‘Babu’ is generally used for men who are manual labourers or farmers or carpenters etc.
For females,a name ending in ‘bai’(though not alone)is used for a village woman also involved in similar work,or as a domestic help.
Adithya, thanks, that’s interesting! Babu is known here in the USA (it was some cartoon characte’s name, IIRC), but I doubt many Americans know the connotations of that name.
BTW, is Babu a Hindi name? Marathi? Bangla? Telugu? Or is it a pretty much pan-Indian monicker?
Introductions between Indian and Southern US work crew:
“Babu, Bubba. Bubba, Babu.”
Hi!Well,Babu is generally used as a name in South India.In North India(Hindi),it is used as a mildly respectful or friendly term when addressing other men,both old and young.Baba is used to address one’s father(also in the North)and Bhabhi for sister-in-law so it can get pretty confusing.
In Panama, country people in particular seem to go in for grandiloquent names. I recently had a guy working for me who went by the name of Baltasar (Balthazar) Figuroa. Other campesino names that I have encountered include Aladino (Aladdin), Fausto (Faust), Alcibiades, and Armaguedon (Armageddon). I have the impression that this practice is much less common among city folks, but people from neigboring countries do sometimes poke fun at Panamanians in general because of their weird names.
british examples.
girls
Tracey, Sharon (Essex girl names)
Kylie (after Kylie Minogue, lots of them were born in the 1980s)
boys
Darren, Dwayne, Darryl (Essex men)
Jason (after Jason Donovan, see Kylie)
this the sort of thing you meant?
stereotype would be living in a council estate somewhere in england.
in northern ireland a Billy or Lilly would generally be working class protestant/loyalist background. named after king william of Orange and the orange lilly which is a symbol of loyalism. probably something like calling your son Robert E. in the south.
Maybe. Are these names “marked” for urban wealth or are they marked for a rural or working-class environment?
Can those names carry a pejorative connotation? Can they be used in a general sense to convey contempt (ex: “There might be 4 teeth & a pair of shoes among every Darryl, Dwayne & Darren in the sticks.”)?
In Québécois, the prefix ti- (for petit) affixed to a shortened name seems to indicate bubbahood. Ti-Pit, Ti-Jean, Ti-Guy, Ti-Gus, etc.
Matt_mcl – that’s the same as in Louisiana Cajun French! Interesting.
In southern Louisiana, the prefix “ti” is commonly prefixed to the English “boy” to produce the rustic nickname “Ti-Boy”.
As I understand it, “ti” derives from the French petit. Can “ti” be used as a rustic, diminuative nominal prefix in Continental French?
“Paddy” is often used in Ireland to represent the stereotypical hick-from-the-sticks (or “culchie” as they’re called here). I can’t think of a female equivalent off the top of my head.
How can we ignore Bruce and Sheila?! (from a country that is better than the UK at cricket, tennis…)
Also in India, there are Punjabi jokes. In America we might tell Polish jokes, and in India the jokes are similar but the victims of stereotypes are Punjabis. As such, some other bubba-names are stereotypical Punjabi names, like “Santa Singh” and “Janata Singh.”
It’s not exactly Québécois, but close. I grew up in Northern Maine. New Brunswick is almost as French as Quebec is. The majority of people in my town spoke French (Acadian French, or St. John Valley French), and most are of French Canadian descent.
There must have been thirty guys in my town (of 4500) referred to as “June”. Short for “Junior”. The pronunciation is a little tricky, being French and all. The u is pronounced like the double O in “hook” and the n at the end is clipped.
Positively. I think that’s part of human culture as far as rural vs. urban. As far as Mexico, there are names considered stereotypical of the rural areas vs. urbanized areas like Monterrey, Guadalajara, Mexico City, etc. Rural names are usually religious names written such as in Maria Jeniffer or Jesus Erik. Mexicans trying to avoid the “plainess” or “rural sounding” name will rather be called by the more “western” or “Anglo” sounding name. So with the examples above, they would preferred to be called Jeniffer or Erik. Also, stereotypicals for “rural” culture are old Spanish names (such as Plutarco, Pancracia, Saturnino) or those that are kind of long and can usually be found in the Catholic calendars that designate e/a day to a particular day. One come rural nick name such as “Bubba” is Chon. Most upper middle class urbanized Mexicans prefer “Anglo” or “Eureopean” sounding names such as Tony, Jeniffer, Erik, etc.
XicanoreX
I the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, it’s “Stashew” and “Stella” that act as generic good 'ol boy names.
When I lvied in New Mexico, it seemed that many Mexican-Americans were referred to in the press using a casual nickname in addition to their formal name. Thus, you’d see press regarding the likes of Antonio “Paco” Martinez and Hortencia “Chuva” Gutierrez.