# Same name as job **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489 "2022-03-05T00:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/1 "2022-03-05T00:45:56Z")
I had an unusual experience. I went to a bank and the person who waited on me was named “Teller”. Has anything like this happened to you? Say, at a bakery or wherever? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/2 "2022-03-05T01:12:36Z")
Earlier today I appeared in front of Judge Justice. True story. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/3 "2022-03-05T01:13:39Z")
It must have been tough for Job in the Bible. “What do you do for a living?” “Job.” “I know your name–you already told me that. I asked you what do you do to make money?” “I told you–I work at a job.” Etc. What was Job’s job, anyway? Does the Bible say? Being righteous can’t be full-time work, can it? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/4 "2022-03-05T01:16:25Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Being righteous can’t be full-time work, can it? It’s full-time, all right. And exhausting. (That’s why I retired) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/5 "2022-03-05T01:18:02Z")
It’s known as > **[Nominative determinism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. The term was first used in the magazine New Scientist in 1994, after the magazine's humorous "Feedback" column noted several studies carried out by researchers with remarkably fitting surnames. These included a book on polar explorations by Daniel Snowman and an article on urology by researchers named Splatt and Weedon. These and o... ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/6 "2022-03-05T01:19:25Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > What was Job’s job, anyway? Per an unknown author: > In August, an august patriarch > Was reading an ad in Reading, Mass. > Long-suffering Job secured a job > To polish piles of Polish brass. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/7 "2022-03-05T02:18:07Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I went to a bank and the person who waited on me was named “Teller”… Did you ask to borrow a penn? mmm ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/8 "2022-03-05T02:20:50Z")
Not exactly what the OP asked for, but I once had my roof replaced by a roofing company based in Shingle Springs, CA. I thought that was a fitting location for them. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/9 "2022-03-05T02:23:05Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > In August, an august patriarch > Was reading an ad in Reading, Mass. > Long-suffering Job secured a job > To polish piles of Polish brass. I heard the joke as…what do polish, job, and herb have in common? They all may be pronounced differently if capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/10 "2022-03-05T02:29:06Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > It’s known as > > [Nominative determinism - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism) Is there an ironic version of that, I wonder? I remember a ‘Poorman Insurance Agency’ sign in my neighborhood when I was a kid, and I thought it was amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/11 "2022-03-05T02:42:24Z")
I’ve always heard them called aptonyms. My most recent spotting is Dr. Achille, podiatrist ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/12 "2022-03-05T03:28:21Z")
I worked for a company which had about 400 employees, only one of which was a contractor. His last name was Contractor. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/13 "2022-03-05T03:50:32Z")
In high school my pre-calculus teacher was named Sue Lucheon, close enough to “solution” for government work, if that counts. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/14 "2022-03-05T04:18:54Z")
When I was an intern I had a senior resident with last name of Doctor. I didn’t know who he was at the time so when I asked a patient who his doctor was and he kept insisting it was “Dr Doctor” I thought he was delirious for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/15 "2022-03-05T04:59:41Z")
The dentist who removed two of my wisdom teeth was named Dr. Toothaker. He had a vanity plate on his car that said TOOTH. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/16 "2022-03-05T05:55:26Z")
I occasionally drive past the offices of Dr. Eatwell, Naturopath. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/17 "2022-03-05T06:03:50Z")
I knew a guy who has a carpentry business. I think it was just him and his one-man shop. His name is Hammer. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/18 "2022-03-05T07:50:51Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > It must have been tough for Job in the Bible. “What do you do for a living?” “Job.” “I know your name–you already told me that. I asked you what do you do to make money?” “I told you–I work at a job.” Etc. > > What was Job’s job, anyway? Does the Bible say? Being righteous can’t be full-time work, can it? I’ve always heard the name pronounced ‘Joe-b’, to rhyme with ‘robe’. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/19 "2022-03-05T08:19:13Z")
Staff Sgt. Max Fightmaster certainly had an appropriate name for his time in the National Guard, as did his Marine Corps counterpart, Sgt. Rad Heroman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-fightmaster-6586a576](https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-fightmaster-6586a576) [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rad-heroman-7b187421](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rad-heroman-7b187421) ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/20 "2022-03-05T12:29:49Z")
Where I used to live there was a dentist named Dr. Payne. Does that count? [Occupational surnames](http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/listofweek/jobnames.html). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489.md?page=2)