# "Onan" generators...wtf? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041 "2011-08-09T05:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/41 "2011-12-15T03:04:05Z")
> [@delusionallinnea](#): > > HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS ARE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED. This is MY family you are talking about… it was my great grandfather, David Onan, who invented one of the first electric generators. Obviously our name has nothing to do with the bible, ITS JUST A NAME. We pass on the name because we are proud of the things our family has accomplished. (Probably way more than your family ever will.) Cummins bought over the company.. the names are unrelated. DO SOME RESEARCH DIP-SHITS. k thanks bye. **Delusionallinnea** , I know you’re new here, but this type of post is against the rules in this forum. If you want to insult other members or express your moral outrage over another poster or post, you start a thread in the BBQ Pit. Do not make a post like this in this forum again. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/42 "2011-12-15T03:05:04Z")
> [@delusionallinnea](#): > > I can’t believe how STUPID humans are. If any of you want to actually know about the Onan name, heres our family website: [www.onanfamily.org](http://www.onanfamily.org) Should this be reported as spam or sperm? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/43 "2011-12-15T03:06:52Z")
> [@delusionallinnea](#): > > HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS ARE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED. This is MY family you are talking about… it was my great grandfather, David Onan, who invented one of the first electric generators. Obviously our name has nothing to do with the bible, ITS JUST A NAME. We pass on the name because we are proud of the things our family has accomplished. (Probably way more than your family ever will.) Cummins bought over the company.. the names are unrelated. DO SOME RESEARCH DIP-SHITS. k thanks bye. > [@delusionallinnea](#): > > I can’t believe how STUPID humans are. If any of you want to actually know about the Onan name, heres our family website: [www.onanfamily.org](http://www.onanfamily.org) Welcome to the SDMB. If you wish to participate in our community here, I suggest you read our [rules](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384736)and guidelines, which [prohibit personal insults](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7697044#post7697044) against other posters. Thanks, **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![delusionallinnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@delusionallinnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delusionallinnea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/44 "2011-12-15T03:07:00Z")
Seriously? All the above posts aren’t insulting to my family name? Are you kidding? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/45 "2011-12-15T03:12:59Z")
I will laugh at family names like “Kuntz” without shame. That is not the same as besmirching every individual with these names. Yours requires Old Testament knowledge and is less extreme, and 80% of people probably don’t even get it. But if they make jokes about nonspecific people with that name, don’t freak out. ---
**Author:** ![delusionallinnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@delusionallinnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delusionallinnea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/46 "2011-12-15T03:15:26Z")
So, insulting is against the rules? Think about this… if the members posts weren’t so degrading and insulting… I wouldn’t have joined or said anything in the first place. Maybe you should think about deleting this entire thread because all it is is an insult. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/47 "2011-12-15T03:43:44Z")
We draw a distinction between insulting other members of our community, for instance by saying “HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS ARE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED,” and making jokes about people who are not members of our community, as was the case in the thread that happened several months ago. I understand that you would prefer that people not make jokes about your family’s name, but we have no rule against that. If you don’t care for our rules, you’re under no obligation to stick around here. If you do wish to stick around here, we ask that you follow our rules. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![delusionallinnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@delusionallinnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delusionallinnea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/48 "2011-12-15T05:06:56Z")
Saying “you guys” is not a specific name. It’s not just my family name they’re talking about, it’s specifically MY family. I would have deleted that post by now, but there is no delete button. (I understand I shouldn’t have written it in the first place, I’m sorry that I overreacted, but how could I not be upset?) Once my posts are deleted I would be more than thrilled to leave this site and never return. ---
**Author:** ![delusionallinnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@delusionallinnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delusionallinnea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/49 "2011-12-15T05:09:19Z")
Isn’t slander illegal? ---
**Author:** ![delusionallinnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@delusionallinnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delusionallinnea)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/50 "2011-12-15T05:14:54Z")
It’s fine to make fun of the name/word Onan… But when it’s directed toward Onan of Onan generators I feel the need to stick up for my family because our name is completely unrelated to the act of “onanism.” Saying that my great grandfather was a “jack-off” because the word onan means masturbation is completely unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/51 "2011-12-15T05:26:44Z")
No one did: they joked that the first person with the name Onan was “some jack-off”. Lot’s of people’s last name can be twisted into something funny, mine included as it happens. Don’t let it get to you, it’s nothing personal, it’s just people joking around. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/52 "2011-12-15T14:09:08Z")
I love that the person who raised this zombie thread is the one who most wishes that it not be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/53 "2011-12-15T14:36:41Z")
> [@delusionallinnea](#): > > Isn’t slander illegal? No. It’s something you can be sued for, meaning it’s a civil tort and not a crime. This is also written communication, so it would be libel and not slander - but that’s all technical stuff. This is not even close to libel. It’s people laughing at a name. I understand why it upsets you, but it’s not illegal, it’s not libel, and it’s also really not a big deal. > [@delusionallinnea](#): > > It’s fine to make fun of the name/word Onan.. But when it’s directed toward Onan of Onan generators I feel the need to stick up for my family because our name is completely unrelated to the act of “onanism.” This doesn’t make sense. If you think it’s fine for people to make jokes about the name, then let them have the joke. If the Onan generator family was unrelated to you, the jokes would not be any different. > [@](#): > > Saying that my great grandfather was a “jack-off” because the word onan means masturbation is completely unacceptable. Nobody said that. And **Hypno-Toad** is right: by posting about this, you’ve drawn attention to it. This thread had been inactive since August. Now it’s back on the front page on the forum and people are more likely to remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/54 "2011-12-15T15:43:59Z")
Actually **delusionallinnea** has added some useful genealogical info about the family name, anyway, via that website. Just don’t mention Tacho Kuntcheff. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/55 "2011-12-15T15:46:27Z")
Or Munchma Quchi. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/56 "2011-12-15T15:53:31Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Actually **delusionallinnea** has added some useful genealogical info about the family name, anyway, via that website. That’s true. It took some clicks to get to this part, but: > [@](#): > > The present ONAN or O’NAN is French from a Huguenot family named AUNAN(T). ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/57 "2011-12-15T19:11:07Z")
This fucking message board. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/58 "2011-12-15T19:37:35Z")
The etymology is interesting- Onan looks like it could be Irish O’nan, but wham! it’s French. My french is miserably bad; is Aunan(t) a place name or something, I wonder? **delusionallinnea** – my last name is goofy in english and worse in German. It’s irksome, but look at it as a teaching/public relations opportunity. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/59 "2011-12-15T19:40:10Z")
> [@Ashes\_Ashes](#): > > The etymology is interesting- Onan looks like it could be Irish O’nan, but wham! it’s French. My french is miserably bad; is Aunan(t) a place name or something, I wonder? Not according to a quick Googling. There were plenty of results for it as a Surname, but nothing to suggest it was a location. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041/60 "2011-12-16T01:37:09Z")
> [@delusionallinnea](#): > > Isn’t slander illegal? Actually it would be libel. As any retard would know. Just before posting I saw this had already been pointed out. But it was really the retard thing I wanted to get in, so here it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onan-generators-wtf/592041.md?page=4)