# What kinda name is "Dorko"? And what are the worst last names youve heard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485 "2007-10-29T19:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [December 29, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/101 "2010-12-29T02:57:59Z")
A good friend of mine had a brother-in-law named Joe Boop. My son has a BIL named Joe Leake. But the absolute worst name I have ever seen is an Indian mathematician who publishes under the name Dickshit. A few years ago, the Indian ambassador to the US was a woman named Dixit and I really wonder if, in Hindi, these are actually the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/102 "2010-12-29T04:06:05Z")
A Kiwi radio broadcaster recently got into hot water for making fun of [Sheila Dikshit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Dikshit), the chief minister of Delhi since 1998. Excerpt: **“Paul Henry, a TVNZ New Zealand broadcaster, referred to New Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dikshit as ‘the dip shit woman’ and Dick Shit, going on to state: ‘It’s so appropriate, because she’s Indian, so she’d be dick-in-shit wouldn’t she, do you know what I mean? Walking along the street … she’s just so funny, isn’t she?’ New Zealand Indian Central Association president Paul Singh Bains said the fact that TVNZ was still promoting the clip on its website showed it had ‘totally lost the plot’ and was insensitive to the offence Henry had caused.”** ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/103 "2010-12-29T04:10:35Z")
True story. Just last week I had the pleasure of meeting the Dusche’s. Me and staff had a good laugh anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/104 "2010-12-29T04:45:54Z")
I recall reading a News Features item that the movie studio wouldn’t approve the title of the movie _Meet the Fockers_ because they said it was obscene. Maybe they wanted to change the name of the characters too. But then the ones behind the movie dug up some real-life Fockers to prove such people existed. At least in name. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/105 "2010-12-29T04:54:28Z")
I served in the army, very briefly, under a Major Fochop. the ch was pronounced like a K, so “Major Fockop”. I’m not making this up. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/106 "2010-12-29T13:55:28Z")
In my town, there resides a Justin Case, and a Candace (aka Candy) Rapp. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/107 "2010-12-29T14:42:33Z")
I knew a Richard Beiter (Biter). His parents called him Dick. Dick Biter. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/108 "2010-12-29T15:27:50Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I went to high school with Harry Butts III. His brother was named Harold. I saw his name in the newspaper about 10 years ago, he is a deputy sheriff in a neighboring county. He was one of the cool guys in school, drove a nice car and the girls thought he was cute. So, his parents named one son Harry and one son Harold…? They certainly have a thing for the Harry Butts. > [@Layla01](#): > > I saw a wedding in the paper yesterday where the bride’s maiden name was Freak. I bet she couldn’t wait to change her name… See, this is the thing. I grew up with a name that earned me a ton of teasing. You would think that I would be chomping at the bit to change it. But when I did get married, I tried going by my husband’s last name, and it just never fit. I always felt like people were talking about someone else. So, legally, I have kept the mockable name. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/109 "2010-12-30T02:53:19Z")
How about the coach of the Detroit Lions–Jim Schwartz? The way the commentators always pronounce it makes me chuckle over the fact that there is a coach named _Gym Shorts_. ---
**Author:** ![Wincerind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@Wincerind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wincerind)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/110 "2010-12-30T13:27:17Z")
Well, I know a guy called Dick Kok. He’s Dutch, but does do business in the US. His experience is that his name is an icebreaker. I’ll say. Then, there is last name Slettebak. Alledgedly it’s of Belgian origin. The name is awfully rude in Dutch, I am not sure in Flemish. For English speakers: look at the first four letters of the name and use your imagination. And yes, the name really exists, there is a late astronomer with that name, curiously of Norwegian decent. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/111 "2010-12-30T17:07:28Z")
I just saw a guy on TV named Richard Schmuck. Doesn’t “Schmuck” mean “Penis” in Yiddish? Dick Dick? Oof… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/112 "2010-12-30T17:12:33Z")
> [@Wincerind](#): > > Well, I know a guy called Dick Kok. He’s Dutch, but does do business in the US. His experience is that his name is an icebreaker. I’ll say. Yeah, but he could have been Richard or Richie. It was his choice to be Dick Kok. I suspect he’s going for name recognition. Like the Texas state treasurer who changed his name to Jesse James and kept getting elected. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/113 "2010-12-30T23:12:28Z")
_Muffaletto_ is a fairly common family name around these parts. Around here, it doesn’t elicit a snicker; it’s just part of the landscape. There’s also a lot of monosyllabic German sound effect names around here; _Klopp_, _Plonk_, _Klapp_, _Blick_ and so on. With the huge Polish-American population around here, comically long, vowel-scarce, virtually unpronounceable Polish names are as common as “Smith” or “Jones” elsewhere. Poles are also very particular about how their names are pronounced, and many will get quite angry if you butcher it, even if its a particularly difficult name, you’ve never heard it pronounced, and you’re not Polish. When I lived in New Mexico, I always get a kick out of _De La O_, translated as “Of the O”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/114 "2010-12-31T09:18:07Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I just saw a guy on TV named Richard Schmuck. Doesn’t “Schmuck” mean “Penis” in Yiddish? Dick Dick? Oof… > > Joe I hope our Yiddish-speaking Dopers will correct me if I’m wrong, but if I understand it correctly, it means “dick” as in “dickish” but not “penis” as in “body part”. Its literal meaning in German and I think also in Yiddish is “jewel”, so using it as an insult is sarcastic. **elmwood** , de la O actually refers to the shape of a pregnant woman (many Spanish speakers don’t know this, though), which we call “estado de buena esperanza” - so its literal meaning is “of the O” but it actually means “of good hope”/“of pregnancy”. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/115 "2010-12-31T11:33:54Z")
I worked with a guy with the surname “Smallbone”. Great guy, but I couldn’t keep a straight face. Yes, I am that juvenile. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/116 "2010-12-31T13:10:29Z")
I went to school with some guy called Neil Cunst. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/117 "2010-12-31T13:11:34Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > One day, my boss introduced me to a guest. He said, this is **Mr. Turnipseed**. It took everything I had to keep a straight face. Wasn’t the guy who was driving the truck that killed James Dean called Donald Turnipseed? ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/118 "2010-12-31T14:57:31Z")
I went to school with a girl with the last name of Hore. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/119 "2010-12-31T22:36:40Z")
Not as risque as some, but I’ve met a Peter Good and a whole family of Sourbeers. I asked the daughter and she said yes, it was fodder for frat jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485/120 "2011-01-01T06:48:30Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > I went to school with a girl with the last name of Hore. Cambodia’s foeign minister is named Hor. Hor Namhong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kinda-name-is-dorko-and-what-are-the-worst-last-names-youve-heard/424485.md?page=7)