Hmmm…I think of “Bruce” and “Sheila” as stereotypical Australian names, probably because they are used there to mean “a man” and “a woman.” Only vaguely aware of the gay typing of the “Bruce” name.
How many of these names are there? Is ‘George’ well known? — In Las Vegas I think it means a good tipper.
If you really want to stare into the sun long enough to learn why, it’s pretty documented on Know Your Meme. Short version is it was slang in Chicago since the 90s, got an entry under “Chad Thundercock” on Urban dictionary in 2013, and from there picked up by 4chan and spread. “Stacy Thunderc**t” was an off-the-cuff joke trying to name Chad’s hypothetical girlfriend. You usually don’t see them with the last names anymore.
Isn’t Kyle the 20 something year old guy who lives in his mom’s basement and plays video games and drinks Monster energy drinks all day?
As a Dave myself, the HAL reference doesn’t bother me at all, but I had my fill of “Dave’s not here, man” about 40 years ago.
Hmmm…but what about her mom? 
I’m not named Karen, but it is one of my favorite female names, along with Jessica. So I’m annoyed on an aesthetic level.
Never heard that one. But neither have I ever visited Las Vegas.
My name is actually Karen and I first started to see this meme on Facebook. For a while I thought it was some new way of personalizing content (i.e. something would automatically substitute the user’s name in an image, etc.). I finally figured out that “Karen” had this new meaning. I’m not upset about it, but I find it annoying. Every time I see “Karen” I have to ask myself whether it’s directed at me or whether it’s this new snarky meme.
I’ve known a few women and girls maned Karen, and I don’t remember any of them being snobby, rude, or entitled.
We think and speak in shorthand, and I don’t see that changing. The words, yes, but the habit, no.
From what I can tell, the Karen meme fails the Rule 34 test. But I am sure someone will come along and prove me wrong. I’ve never been wrong before. I thought I was wrong once, but it turns out I was mistaken about that.
“Tyrone and Shaniqua” is infinitely preferable to “Rastus and Luaizy”.
It could be worse.
Sincerely,
Poindexter Melvin Hogarth
My sister IS a Karen, both in name and in action, sadly. She finds the memes amusing, and when she does something rude or entitled she’ll just shrug and say she is a Karen, after all.
It sucks.
Take heart. Karen will fade eventually. I’ve always disliked my first name. My middle name is a family name and I’m stuck with it. My first name has for decades been a slang term for a toilet. Yes, it’s John. That comes up so rarely it’s never bothered me, and there were so many of us Johns born in the 1950s it was just a shared and somewhat humorous burden. However, I also came of age when “Big John” by Jimmy Dean was a big hit. Kids, adults, even teachers would call me “Big Bad John.” Except I was short, skinny and wore glasses. I was a somewhat sensitive kid and easily embarrassed, and I suppose adults thought it was just good-natured teasing, but it was not to me. On top of that, it’s just a boring name.
When I grew up, I became a radio disc jockey. I could call myself anything I wanted. So what did I do? I still used my real first name, except for a few years when I used a really silly on-air name as an attention-getter. I still think it’s a boring name, but at 68 I’m used to it. And any time in the last 50-plus years that someone has called me “Big Bad John,” it’s been in a friendly way…and I haven’t heard anyone call a toilet a “john” in a long, long time.
Is there a list of these? I feel very out of the loop.
Really? I’m 44, and I still use and hear the word to mean toilet reasonably regularly. I’ve actually never connected it with the name – I mean, that is, I know it’s the same as the name, but when I say “I’m going to the john” I don’t think of the fact that “john” is also a name, and when I’m introduced to a “John,” i don’t think of the toilet, especially since it’s such a common name.
Sloane is a name? I guess it must be, because Sloane Square (London), which gave it’s name to Sloane Rangers, which is/was a generic term for preppy Londoners, was named after “Sir Hans Sloane”
It’s also Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend’s name.
I don’t get the problem with the name Harry. I know a lot of people in America pronounce it the same as the word “hairy”, but so what?
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How about “Shylock”?
The trend is nothing new. It’s just that in the past, “generic” names were mostly used to mock nationalities and ethnic groups - Bubba, Zeke, Guido, Paddy, Fritz, and more recently, Hadji. It’s not an admirable practice