All the Monica jokes
Although Dr Herb would be a good name to have if you’re a generously-prescribing doc in California.
The only one mentioned here that I’ve come across so far is Cox. He was a classmate of mine and our homeroom teacher was a Ms. Ball. This being junior high, the other kids got a lot of mileage out of that one. We had a Mr. Disney substituting for math once, too.
Also had a teacher surname Ratchford once. No double entendres there, but it sounds godawful. You can count me out.
When I worked at a call center we occasionally came across names that elicited a chuckle on billing statements and such, but it was usually the combination of first and surname that did it.
My own surname is a profession, but the spelling differs from said profession in a really non-obvious way. It gets misspelled on legal documents and shit a lot.
The family names on my maternal side are Cox and Johnson
I have a last name that everyone seems to love – I get comments all the time on how wonderful it is. However, I’ve never really liked it much. I’ve often thought of taking my grandmother’s maiden name, a name that I love, but it’s a Scots name that is often misspelled.
Still??? Hasn’t it been years now.
And it will be even more years before people don’t remember it.
I knew a Snodderly family when I was in high school. Loved the girl, hated the name. It was doomed from the start.
I had a CO with the last name of Thigpen. I always wondered what his childhood was like.
A barber here in town is named Cakerice.
What is, or was, “cake rice”? (I know what a “rice cake” is.)
I wouldn’t want to be named for food. Especially not imaginary food.
I met a nice girl at a store. Her nametag said A. Goodlay. I asked her her first name. Yup, it was Anita. She told me that as soon as she turned 18 she was getting it changed.
I’ve also known Mary Christmas, Candy Kane, Pete Mosz (pronounced “moss”) and Richard Hurtz. My wife worked with Sandra Rhodes. She was married to Dustin. That’s right folks. Sandy and Dusty Rhodes.
I knew a guy with the last name “Keister”. (Yes, they pronounced it "KEYSTER) I couldn’t live with that last name. I’d pronounce it differently… maybe KEYSER… the “T” is silent or something.
I have known two Koesters. The guy from the big city was a Kester, but the gal from a small town was a Keyster.
I forgot about these others I’ve encountered:
Bawls
Wang
Lovelace (thanks to Linda)
Kumho (she was related to the tire people)
Swallows
One of the teachers at my high school was named Irene Melli. Yes, she was referred to as Miss Melli.
:::snerk::: I remember the sheriff (and what a dick - how apropos - he and his opponent were during one particular election). never heard of the plumber, though these days I see a lot of trucks for “John C. Flood” plumbers which is almost as good.
I saw a name in the mailroom today. McAnally. Nope, no way. I know how it must be pronounced, but just looking at it made me giggle. And I have a last name that makes most people do a double take.
Yup. Terrible. There’s no way I wouldn’t change that to McCann. I’m not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. A lot of these ridiculous names can be salvaged with a tweak.
3,044 Britons share the last name Mycock.
As if that weren’t bad enough, in 1895 George Mycock married Elizabeth Blood. No one can tell me they didn’t go into that with their eyes open.
Yeah, a lot of these names are not really “seemingly innocuous”, but McAnally would be, if only delivered orally (heh!) But then when you see how it’s spelled!
Then again, if a McAnally married a Mycock, they could just combine names.
To McAnalcock, or MycockAnally.