# There must be a name for this kind of humour... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976 "2009-03-19T02:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/21 "2009-03-20T10:06:30Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > _\_… > I had a prof in University who delighted in collecting real life pairings that struck him as funny. Among them - Earl Crawl, who was the principal dancer for the National Ballet of Canada for many years; a fire chief in Québec whose name was Normand Arsenault; singer whom he had met whose last name was Kroker, and so on. As for apt surnames, there was [Lord Brain](http://en.wipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brain,_1st_Baron_Brain), the neurologist. ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/22 "2009-03-20T10:40:36Z")
> [@Damfino](#): > > As for apt surnames, there was [Lord Brain](http://en.wipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brain,_1st_Baron_Brain), the neurologist. There used to be (perhaps still is) a Dr. Foote, Podiatrist in Peterborough, ON ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/23 "2009-03-20T13:26:20Z")
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, has a Dr. Payne: OB/GYN. You’ll want that epidural. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/24 "2009-03-20T13:39:06Z")
> [@FlyingRat](#): > > This alludes to the also-famous (and more obvious) “Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe” of Car Talk fame (not to mention all their other “crazy credits” at the end of each show). Is that a Car Talk thing? I always thought of those as Spike Jones style jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/25 "2009-03-20T13:53:39Z")
[Aptronym](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptronym). I can’t believe with all the Learned and Smurt Dopers here that I actually am the first to KNOW and Post this. Ohhh, there goes the Third Horseman of the Apocalypse now. Huh…that explains everything… ---
**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 20, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/26 "2009-03-20T14:42:36Z")
Since **Shirley** got aptronym, I’ll point out that [Dewey, Cheatem and Howe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey,_Cheatem_&_Howe) go back at least to the Three Stooges. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/27 "2009-03-20T18:51:34Z")
The Art of Negotiation by Amatalia Watt-Amaghanadu Judging Dairy Cows by Oliver Faltz How to Make Your Own by Bruce Ailes ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/28 "2009-03-20T19:07:54Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > [Aptronym](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptronym). > > I can’t believe with all the Learned and Smurt Dopers here that I actually am the first to KNOW and Post this. I knew that sounded familiar. We’ve actually got a Doper called **aptronym**. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/29 "2009-03-20T19:37:03Z")
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/30 "2009-03-20T19:50:07Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! > What do I win? A copy of “Jokes from _Airplane_”, by Don’t Call Me Shirley Ujest. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/31 "2009-03-20T19:55:40Z")
Examining Genitalia by Isaac Hunt. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/32 "2009-03-20T20:08:20Z")
My favorite real life ones are the old TV Earthquake specialist named Waverly Persons, and a long time ago on the Daily show then showed an interview with a Cryogenic sperm expert named Dick Seed. I remeber Jon Stewart(may have been his early days on the program) just cracking up for 15 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/33 "2009-03-20T20:10:21Z")
The Freakonomics blog on the New York Times website had a [contest](http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/announcing-the-winners-of-our-aptonym-contest/) [del]last year[/del] two years ago for the best aptonym (which is what they call what you’re referring to as an aptronym, and I like the word without the r). The winner was a fact checker for Good magazine named Paige Worthy. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/34 "2009-03-20T21:44:38Z")
Here in Austin, the most prominent urologist is a guy named… Well, check here, because you wouldn’t believe me if I just told you: [http://www.urologyteam.com/our-doctors/dr-richard-chopp.htm](http://www.urologyteam.com/our-doctors/dr-richard-chopp.htm) Is “Dick Chopp” a guy you’d want handling your genitalia? Didn’t think so. If you look further, he has a partner named Hitt. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/35 "2009-03-20T22:59:11Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! > What do I win? Carl Kasell is unavailable - may I suggest MY voice on your home answering machine? ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976/36 "2009-03-21T00:11:43Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > [Aptronym](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptronym). Or [euonym](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euonym). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-must-be-a-name-for-this-kind-of-humour/489976.md?page=1)