# Is "Sister Mary Elephant" A 'Play' on Anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485 "2010-01-26T06:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/21 "2010-01-27T04:01:26Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Maybe he met a Sister Mary Oliphant at some point? Don’t know if that’s an actual nun name, but hey… That’s what I was thinking. There are probably a number of similar sounding names. ex: St. Alfanus ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/22 "2010-01-27T12:29:18Z")
Were there any Sisters who _weren’t_ named Mary? As I recall, in the skit Sister Mary Elephant was subbing for “Sister Rosetta Stone.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/23 "2010-01-27T13:54:37Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Were there any Sisters who _weren’t_ named Mary? None of the nuns at my Catholic school in the '60s had those Sister Mary X names. I remember Sister Brigid, Sister Augustine, Sister Finbar, etc. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/24 "2010-01-27T14:56:49Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Were there any Sisters who _weren’t_ named Mary? > As I recall, in the skit Sister Mary Elephant was subbing for “Sister Rosetta Stone.” From what I remember - the ones with a feminine nun name just went by that. They may officially have been Sister Mary X, but they just went by Sister Naomi, Sister Bernadette, Sister Elizabeth, etc. The ones with non-feminine names, like Sister Mary Peter & Sister Mary Romuald, went by both names. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/25 "2010-01-27T15:03:34Z")
Whoopi Goldberg’s character’s nun name in _Sister Act_ was Sister Mary Clarence. I get that the second name is supposed to be a reference to a saint but I still find it odd for nuns to have male names. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/26 "2010-01-27T21:00:15Z")
Sometimes they don’t even bother with the “Mary” attached to a male name. My mom was briefly in the convent before she married (obviously, she never took permanent vows), during which time she was “Sister Malachi”. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/27 "2010-01-27T21:03:45Z")
In our parish, they went by Sister (Whatever) and then their last names, for example, Sister Jane Myers, Sister Alexis Tophorn (yes, that was her real last name). There are different orders, though; ours were Carmelite, originating from Bruno, Saskatchewan. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/28 "2010-01-28T00:38:43Z")
My second grade teacher was named Sister Sylvester. The only famous Sylvester at the time was a cat. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/29 "2010-01-28T02:10:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Is “Sister Mary Elephant” A ‘Play’ on Anything? In other words, it’s a play on our childhoods. I knew a Sr MARY Sylvester. Pope St Sylvester was in charge when Constantine, who was MORE in charge, loosened stuff up for the Church. He has a good rep. [typical, for me, aside] For my Confirmation Name I wanted Wolfgang. Bishop, leading light, and hermit, you’d think that was okay. Nope, said **dropmom**. The bishop won’t stop with a symbolic slap on the cheek. And to think it was her own mother who gave me my first “Lives of the Saints.” :mad: [/all-too typical, for me, aside] ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/30 "2010-01-28T02:38:56Z")
John Larroquette has talked in the past about a teaching nun he clashed with, whom he referred to as “Sister Mary Rhino.” During the same talk, he opined that one of his problems with Catholicism is that he just couldn’t get behind a religion whose logo was a dead boy on a stick… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b487fb/32.png) [@Zweedo\_Rodriguez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweedo_Rodriguez)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/31 "2010-01-28T02:44:48Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Is Cheech and Chong’s comedy skit and single release “[Sister Mary Elephant](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGNaxH7vL4)” a play on anything? > > I mean they could’ve picked any name, so why did they choose “Elephant”? Was it a play on another famous sister with a name like the word elephant or what? Er, because when she shouts at the kids she is like a elephant trumpeting. I would have thought it was pretty obvious: elephant=loud noise. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/32 "2010-01-28T03:35:20Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > In our parish, they went by Sister (Whatever) and then their last names, for example, Sister Jane Myers, Sister Alexis Tophorn (yes, that was her real last name). > > There are different orders, though; ours were Carmelite, originating from Bruno, Saskatchewan. A lot depends on your age. I’m 48 and started Catholic school in 1966, at which time all the nuns still had old-fashioned saintly names. It was in 1968, when I was starting 2nd grade, that all the nuns reverted to their given names. Sister Rose of the Sacred Heart became Sister Jane O’Brien again, Sister Mary Immaculate became Sister Barbara Romano again, and so on. If you started Catholic school after 1968 or so, all the nuns you’ve known probably had their original given names. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/33 "2010-01-28T05:51:20Z")
I’m sure that varies from order to order. I haven’t known many nuns, but none of the male monks I’ve known (mostly Benedictine) have used their birth names. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/34 "2010-01-28T15:14:01Z")
> [@](#): > > For my Confirmation Name I wanted Wolfgang. Bishop, leading light, and hermit, you’d think that was okay. Nope, said dropmom. The bishop won’t stop with a symbolic slap on the cheek. Back when I was a little Catholic sprout getting confirmed, my friend Herbie decided he wanted his own name as his confirmation name. I was kneeling next to him when he told the Bishop what name he was picking and I could see His Excellency pause, presumedly while he tried to remember if there was a Saint Herbert. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/35 "2010-01-28T15:30:02Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > If you started Catholic school after 1968 or so, all the nuns you’ve known probably had their original given names. Good guess; I actually started in '67. Must have been Vatican II that was responsible for this. Mass was in English then, and from what I remember, the response “And also with you” was instead “And with your spirit”. Funny what one remembers. And in regard to those who have lately mentioned Confirmation… Oh, hell…I just remembered that I never got Confirmed; it was supposed to take place in the summer between Grade Six and Seven; we moved that summer and then I was in public school the next year, so it never came up. I wonder what the ramifications are of that? When I got married, I did get married in the Church, and they never asked about whether and when I had been Confirmed. I also had two daughters, and am a godfather to a nephew. Maybe all of this is invalid because of not being Confirmed…lol… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/36 "2010-01-28T15:42:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m sure that varies from order to order. I haven’t known many nuns, but none of the male monks I’ve known (mostly Benedictine) have used their birth names. That’s probably true- though again, dates make a big difference. I had two uncles who were members of the Irish Christian Brothers. In the old days, they had to take new names when they joined the order. In the mid-Sixties, the rules changed, and they all went back to their given names. One of my uncles had been “Brother Clement” for years. Decades after he went back to his original name, all his fellow brothers still called him “Clem.” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/37 "2010-01-28T15:43:17Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A lot depends on your age. I’m 48 and started Catholic school in 1966, at which time all the nuns still had old-fashioned saintly names. > > It was in 1968, when I was starting 2nd grade, that all the nuns reverted to their given names. Sister Rose of the Sacred Heart became Sister Jane O’Brien again, Sister Mary Immaculate became Sister Barbara Romano again, and so on. > > If you started Catholic school after 1968 or so, all the nuns you’ve known probably had their original given names. Nope - I started Catholic school in 1973, and all the nuns had nunnish names. Some of them must have become nuns well after 1968 as well - the Sister Mary Peter I mentioned above was in 7th grade (so 1980 or so), and she was pretty young, so she must have taken vows & selected nun name sometime in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/38 "2010-01-28T22:48:14Z")
We had Sister Pierre and Sister Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/39 "2010-01-28T22:55:05Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Mass was in English then, and from what I remember, the response “And also with you” was instead “And with your spirit”. Funny what one remembers. Old Catholic’s joke: Q: What’s the Pope’s phone number? A: Et-cum-spirit-2-2-0. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485/40 "2010-01-28T23:12:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Nope - I started Catholic school in 1973, and all the nuns had nunnish names. Some of them must have become nuns well after 1968 as well - the Sister Mary Peter I mentioned above was in 7th grade (so 1980 or so), and she was pretty young, so she must have taken vows & selected nun name sometime in the 70s. The nuns at my grammar school (I started in 1980) also had nun names, although they would just go by the second part of the name. For example, we had a Sister Mary Roselma, and a Sister Mary Alocoque, but we just called them Sister Roselma and Sister Alocoque. School pictures, staff listings, etc., would include the “Mary.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sister-mary-elephant-a-play-on-anything/526485.md?page=3)