# 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:** 2
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/21 "2022-03-05T13:17:21Z")
This thread made me recall Major Major, a character in **Catch-22** ---
**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, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/22 "2022-03-05T14:34:56Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > the name pronounced ‘Joe-b’, Of course. That’s what makes it funny (to me, anyway). ---
**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, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/23 "2022-03-05T14:35:43Z")
That’s just his rank and last name. His first name was also Major. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/24 "2022-03-05T15:26:05Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > What was Job’s job, anyway? Does the Bible say? Being righteous can’t be full-time work, can it? He was a farmer, and a very wealthy one. (Although in modern times, we would probably call him a rancher.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/25 "2022-03-05T15:34:49Z")
My neighbor had a testicle removed by a surgeon named Kutznutzoff. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/26 "2022-03-05T16:06:32Z")
There was a long-time local physician who was Doctor Dockter. And this isn’t the same thing, but a local newspaper had a photographer named Bob Lenz. Even worse was the ophthalmologist named Doctor Gouger. Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/27 "2022-03-05T16:13:30Z")
When I was a kid, our family dentist was Dr. Achen (and yes, he did pronounce it with a long “A”). His office was in the same building as an obstetrician named Dr. Love. ---
**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, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/28 "2022-03-05T17:39:40Z")
There is that NFL player, Lawyer Milloy. I guess it did not work out the way his mother intended (but still, not bad!). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/29 "2022-03-05T18:03:08Z")
When we lived in Anchorage, the condo association had a handyman who also pruned the trees in the neighborhood. His name was Les Sapp. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/30 "2022-03-05T18:26:21Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > he kept insisting it was “Dr Doctor” I thought he was delirious for sure. Can’t you see he’s burnin’, burnin’? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/31 "2022-03-05T19:16:53Z")
I’d seen this picture previously, but it came up on Reddit today: a firefighter named Les McBurney, from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Some hits on Google for his name indicate that he’s a real person. [![](https://i.redd.it/ceh42urfjgl81.png) ](https://i.redd.it/ceh42urfjgl81.png) ---
**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:** [March 5, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/32 "2022-03-05T21:40:09Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > That’s just his rank and last name. His first name was also Major. Actually, his full name is Major Major Major. With his promotion, he became Major Major Major Major. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/33 "2022-03-05T21:58:00Z")
My step father had the last name Boozer. He lived up to that name. If there was an occupation called that, he would have been a pro. He died at 52 from acute alcohol poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/34 "2022-03-06T03:31:38Z")
I think the absolutely best example is a book on animal behavior called “The Imperial Animal” by Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox. There was an ornithologist at McGill named David Bird. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/35 "2022-03-06T04:21:57Z")
English family names often derive from occupations but I guess most of them are sufficiently historical that family name/occupation matches seem odd. Presumably at one time, it would’ve been completely normal for the miller to be called Miller and a fletcher to be called Fletcher and a baker to be called Baker. This really stands out with Punjabis who also use occupations as last names but do so with more recent occupations. That’s why it’s not uncommon to come across Punjabis called “Engineer“ or “Doctor” or similar. I know a Punjabi guy whose last name is “Captain“ who is indeed a ship’s master so he is Captain Captain. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/36 "2022-03-06T22:00:33Z")
I used to have my hair cut by a Ms Cutter. j ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/37 "2022-03-07T15:29:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > 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. Max Fightmaster and Rad Heroman make me think of _Space Mutiny_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RFHlJ2voJHY/hqdefault.jpg "MST3K - Space Mutiny - The many names of David Ryder") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY) ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/38 "2022-03-07T15:42:39Z")
In high school, one of my English teachers was a Mrs Meanwell. She was kind and supportive, so indeed she meant well. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/39 "2022-03-07T17:23:36Z")
The spokesperson for the Ohio Fire Marshal at one point was a woman named Lindsey Burnsworth. I happened to note it and mention it on Facebook, so that’s how I remember. There was a clip going around recently of a reporter with a very apt name reporting on, I think, a weather event. But I can’t find it… ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489/40 "2022-03-07T18:03:18Z")
My personal favorite example of this has always been White House Spokesman Larry Speakes. (He was actually the Press Secretary, but he was effectively the spokesman, and that’s how I remember the news always referring to him.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-name-as-job/960489.md?page=3)