# I met a person today whose first name is Virus. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795 "2012-06-20T22:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/1 "2012-06-20T22:38:53Z")
Really. Truly. Virus. His last name was a very, very common english name. Nice enough guy, but he has some issues and problems. I didn’t ask him about his name, but I was tempted. This one amused me more than my patient named Antwarn, but not as much as my patient named OG. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/2 "2012-06-20T22:41:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Really. Truly. Virus. > > His last name was a very, very common english name. > > Nice enough guy, but he has some issues and problems. > > I didn’t ask him about his name, but I was tempted. > > This one amused me more than my patient named Antwarn, but not as much as my patient named OG. Did he pronounce the first syllable to rhyme with bye or beer? When I was a high school freshmen, my English teacher claimed to have known someone named Ophelia Tiddy. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/3 "2012-06-20T22:50:04Z")
I presume the person is male, but too bad; If female and had a niece or nephew, she’d be Auntie Virus. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/4 "2012-06-20T23:08:35Z")
You’re sure it’s not just a [nickname](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0006635/)? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/5 "2012-06-20T23:23:51Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > You’re sure it’s not just a [nickname](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0006635/)? It appears as his first name in many different legal papers. I didn’t ask him how he pronounced it, either. We had other work to do. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/6 "2012-06-20T23:51:09Z")
I can just see his mom’s rationale: “It’s like Cyrus, only _better_.” Honestly he might have changed it himself in adulthood. I don’t know anybody dumb enough to name their kid Virus or Bacteria or Fungus. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/7 "2012-06-21T00:11:41Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Honestly he might have changed it himself in adulthood. I don’t know anybody dumb enough to name their kid Virus or Bacteria or Fungus. It appears in legal records when he was 18 years and 2 months of age. I think he was named this. As for dumb, I knew a woman who named her son “Eunuch”. And yes, I know this firsthand, having had both her and her young son as my patients in the past. BTW, her first name was Philistine. Yes, really. That exact spelling. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/8 "2012-06-21T00:18:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It appears in legal records when he was 18 years and 2 months of age. I think he was named this. > > As for dumb, I knew a woman who named her son “Eunuch”. And yes, I know this firsthand, having had both her and her young son as my patients in the past. > > BTW, her first name was Philistine. > > Yes, really. That exact spelling. Maybe she wanted to name him “Enoch” and got confused? …I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/9 "2012-06-21T00:18:33Z")
You have quite the interesting patient base. I always look forward to your posts. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/10 "2012-06-21T00:21:00Z")
I know a girl named Cilia (pronounced Celia). Father is some Eastern/Middle Eastern ethnicity, possibly Lebanese, mother American, both well-educated. Better than Virus, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/11 "2012-06-21T00:29:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > As for dumb, I knew a woman who named her son “Eunuch”. And yes, I know this firsthand, having had both her and her young son as my patients in the past. > > BTW, her first name was Philistine. > > Yes, really. That exact spelling. Definitely an argument for broad literary exposure. Over several generations. It will take longer than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/12 "2012-06-21T00:34:51Z")
> [@QtM](#): > > As for dumb, I knew a woman who named her son “Eunuch”. And yes, I know this firsthand, having had both her and her young son as my patients in the past. > > BTW, her first name was Philistine. There’s no accounting for taste. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/13 "2012-06-21T01:15:26Z")
Why did he come and see you- did he have a nasty bug? ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/14 "2012-06-21T01:17:17Z")
QtM, My father has told me of a woman who’s first name is “Melanoma.” However, this is from a third-hand source (i.e., a potentially shaggy dog). Whatta ya think, is “Melanoma” plausible? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/15 "2012-06-21T01:19:27Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > QtM, My father has told me of a woman who’s first name is “Melanoma.” However, this is from a third-hand source (i.e., a potentially shaggy dog). Whatta ya think, is “Melanoma” plausible? Plausible, but without firsthand sources, I would suspect urban legend is more likely. I can direct folks to both Virus’ and Philistine’s names in public records. Eunuch has proved more elusive so far. (Not that I’m offering to do so publicly, out of respect for privacy. But searching our state’s public court records found them both easily.) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/16 "2012-06-21T01:21:12Z")
A woman had to be talked out of naming their daughter Chlamydia, she heard it somewhere around the hospital and thought it was a beautiful name… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/17 "2012-06-21T01:31:51Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > A woman had to be talked out of naming their daughter Chlamydia, she heard it somewhere around the hospital and thought it was a beautiful name… :rolleyes: Probably what [Candida](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_%28fungus%29)’s mother thought, too. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/18 "2012-06-21T04:43:33Z")
Labia would be a pretty name, too! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/19 "2012-06-21T05:47:47Z")
When I was a kid we had a neighbor for a while who had a little girl named Carrion. It wasn’t until after they moved that my mom told me what ‘carrion’ was. I hope to god she changed her name the day she turned 18. While I can… kinda, I guess… understand someone being ignorant to the meaning of carrion, who doesn’t know what a virus is? Is it possibly a (to english speakers) poor translation from some other language? ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795/20 "2012-06-21T06:30:27Z")
I was at a -----mart and overheard a woman yelling at her kid “[Nemesis](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(mythology))” to stop running amok. Her son, Nemesis. At an upscale department store, I overheard a woman telling her daughter to knock off throwing a tantrum. Girl’s name? “Melodrama.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-met-a-person-today-whose-first-name-is-virus/625795.md?page=2)