Just curious: is “Frankenstein” a real German name, or did Mary Shelley make it up for the novel? I tried googling, but every reference I found was to the novel or the movies.
I put your question to the ChatBot and FWIW this is what it told me:
“Frankenstein” is not a real German surname in the sense that it does not have a documented history or usage prior to Mary Shelley’s novel. However, Mary Shelley did not entirely make up the name either. She derived it from a real place called Castle Frankenstein, located near the city of Darmstadt in Germany. Castle Frankenstein is known to have inspired Mary Shelley’s novel, and it is likely that she adopted the name for her fictional scientist and his creation from this source. So while ‘Frankenstein’ is not a pre-existing German surname, Mary Shelley used it creatively based on real-world inspiration."
ETA after @Cervaise’s post: I guess the ChatBot didn’t look hard enough. 
Although it got the part about the castle right.
A noble German family from at least the 1200s. They had a castle and everything.
And the proper pronunciation is “frahnk-en-schteen”.
We all get the reference, but since this is FQ I think we should have the correct pronunciation of ‘stein’. In German, ‘ei’ is pronounced like an English long-i – ‘eye’. ‘Steen’ would be spelled with ‘ie’.
CS, actually, or I wouldn’t have made a jokey movie reference this soon into the thread (I actually checked to make sure it wasn’t FQ!)
My bad. I just clicked on the ‘new post’ link, and it looked like a factual question.
Done the same thing myself many times. Took maybe 12 of my 13 years here to get in the habit of checking the category before I post (some of the time, anyway).
Whiiinnny somewhere in the distance.
Not only is it a real German name, it was the name of a family of gifted artists whjo lived in Ohio. They adopted the name upon immigrating, unaware that there was a notorious novel of the same name.
Have a look at “FRankenstein’s Niagara on Broadway” on YouTube (I can’t link to it)
By the way, I did a thread about this family several months ago. I found GUstavus Frankenstein’s notes in the library of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. He though he had discovered the Secret of the Universe. No joke. I had to find out what his discovery was. It turned out to be a clever matrhematical construction, but of far less significance than he attributed to it.
Do not trust ChatGPT with factual questions. It’s very hit-or-miss for that kind of stuff. For example, yesterday I asked it to tell me how a VIN (vehicle identification number) was formatted, and it got most things right, but for some reason said the 11th position is for model year, when the 10th position is. And it screwed up positions 9-11 in general. But the other ones were correct. So for facts, not so good. Bing’s implementation of ChatGPT does give the answer that Frankenstein is a real name. Oddly, when I ask ChatGPT, it also tells me Frankenstein is a real name as a surname. (Actually, it’s not that odd – I’ve noticed this behavior when I first started using it, that there is some randomness in the answers it gives you, even if you clear it and start as a new chat. Sometimes it’ll give you the right answer, sometimes a wrong one, and sometimes in between.)
I don’t unreservedly trust the ChatBot. But I like to ask to see what it says.
I asked ChatGTP “Where wolf?”. Sadly, it did not answer “There wolf.”:
The phrase “Where wolf?” is a play on words, combining the word “where” with “wolf” to create a sentence that can be interpreted as “Where is the wolf?” or “Wear wolf?” depending on the context.
If you meant “Where is the wolf?” it would depend on the specific situation and context. Wolves are typically found in various parts of the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. The exact location of a wolf would depend on its natural habitat and range, which can vary depending on the species and geographical region.
If you meant “Wear wolf?” it could refer to someone transforming into a wolf, like the mythical creature known as a werewolf. In folklore, a werewolf is a person who changes into a wolf or a wolf-like creature during certain conditions, such as a full moon. However, werewolves are fictional creatures and do not exist in reality.
If you have a specific context or question related to wolves or werewolves, feel free to provide more information so I can assist you further.
“I was hoping you would reply with “There wolf”.”
I apologize for the misunderstanding. The correct response to the phrase “Where wolf?” is indeed “There wolf.” This is a famous line from the comedy film “Young Frankenstein” (1974), directed by Mel Brooks. In the film, the character played by Gene Wilder says, “Werewolf!” to which another character, played by Marty Feldman, responds, “Werewolf? There wolf. There castle.” It’s a humorous play on words that relies on the similar sounds of “where” and “there.” Thank you for reminding me of that reference!
Let me just take a moment to point out how brilliant a comedian Marty Feldman was. He should not be forgotten. He was a great writer and performer and collaborated with a number of people from Monty Python (though he was never a member).
Yes, Marty Feldman was amazing. He was so much more than his trademark one weird eye.
In fact, he was one of the stars of the television show At Last the 1948 Show (which was shown on the British channel ITV in 1967, despite the name), so it was done before Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It also starred Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Aimi MacDonald, and hence the Monty Python connection. It had some brilliant sketches like “The Four Yorkshiremen”:
I used to have an old army groundsheet/cape that was made by ‘P. Frankenstein, London & Manchester’.
https://gracesguide.co.uk/P._Frankenstein_and_Sons_(Manchester)
Marty wrote that sketch. 
Why are we talking like this?