# When the usual name is a no-go **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056 "2024-09-10T12:52:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/61 "2024-09-11T01:47:43Z")
A woman I worked with had the last name of Gonya. Her fiance had the last name Rial. I asked her if they were going to hyphenate their names and we paused for a few seconds pondering the name “Gonya-Rial” and quickly moved on. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/62 "2024-09-11T02:26:02Z")
Technically it’s an ex-bull’s testicles. He’s a steer now. See also: lamb fries, same idea. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/63 "2024-09-11T02:27:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > A peanut is a pea. As you rightly say, its a legume - its not incorrect to grant the common name ‘pea’ to any member of that botanical family. The old name was groundnut, and nothing wrong with that name. The peanut belongs to the botanical family _Fabaceae_ aka legumes- which does include peas. But in the case of the groundnut- which is a perfectly cromulent name- we dont eat the seeds or seedpods that grow above ground. We eat the underground part. This does go afielded of the OP however. Yes, the most common name is peanut, and that isnt a bad name, nor is groundnut. > [@Moriarty](#): > > So why did everybody get so upset when it was proposed to name the government center after him? HW Baals center wouldnt be silly, that is why. > [@Lancia](#): > > There’s no evidence this is true. Their own website still calls itself “Kentucky Fried Chicken” and the corporate name is KFC Corporation. Right, KFC and Nova are both fake news. > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Dolphin Fish now goes by Mahi Mahi presumably because people didn’t want to eat Flipper. I think Mahi Mahi and Dorado were common names also, they didnt suddenly drop “Dolphinfish” in favor of either. They just picked the one that sounded best. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/64 "2024-09-11T02:35:36Z")
No idea if this actually happened in real life, but in case it did as a byproduct of the US/Soviet rivalry, there’s [that scene in The Right Stuff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-Z6KELf-Ug) where the Life magazine guy objects to Grissom using his nickname of Gus in a Life article byline. Gus refuses to use his real first name of Virgil, so the Life magazine guy tries to compromise and asks Gus what is his middle name. It’s Ivan. The Life magazine guy is like, “Okay, you can be Gus.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/65 "2024-09-11T06:08:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But in the case of the groundnut > … > we dont eat the seeds or seedpods that grow above ground. We eat the underground part. We do eat the seeds. How can you not realise peanuts are seeds? After peanut flowers are pollinated, the plant extends the flower stalk, pushing the developing pea-pod into the soil, where it continues to develop and ripen. The pea pod dries and becomes wrinkly and the mature seeds - peas or beans by any reasonable measure, are peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/66 "2024-09-11T06:33:34Z")
And yet despite the propensity for bad oysters to cause illness or death, I give you… [Coffin Bay Oysters](https://coffinbayshellfish.com.au/) And yes I realise this is precisely an inversion of what the OP was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/67 "2024-09-11T06:38:01Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > The current scandal around Thames Water hasn’t been referred to as “Water-gate” as far as I’ve seen. It’s not about the tap-water end of the business - who’s going to be the first to talk about “Poogate”? ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/68 "2024-09-11T06:56:42Z")
The school district in which I live has multiple schools that teach grades 6-8. All are called middle schools except one, which is somehow a “junior middle school,” despite teaching the exact same grades. The name of the town starts with P, and I guess they pitied the kids who would otherwise have had to say, “_I go to P.M.S._” ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/69 "2024-09-11T07:23:39Z")
The town of Kensington, California, which borders on Berkeley, has a church with the name “First Unitarian Church of Berkeley.” This is despite the fact that there’s another Unitarian church that’s actually in Berkeley called the “Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley.” Why is the one in Kensington named after Berkeley? If its name were “First Unitarian Church of Kensington,” it would lead to an unfortunate abbreviation/initialism. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/70 "2024-09-11T09:46:55Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > an unfortunate abbreviation/initialism > **[Concordia University of Michigan "CUM" Merchandise](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/concordia-university-of-michigan-cum-merchandise)** > > Concordia University of Michigan "CUM" Merchandise refers to an unauthorized eCommerce webpage by PrepSportswear.com. The page features illicit apparel for For the record, this is entirely unofficial, created by pranksters unaffiliated with the university, which uses a different set of initials as their identity. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/71 "2024-09-11T14:26:53Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > The name of the town starts with P, and I guess they pitied the kids who would otherwise have had to say, “_I go to P.M.S._” I went to Preston East Technical School. One of my brothers, much sportier than me, had sports prize ribbons proudly proclaiming PETS. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/72 "2024-09-11T14:32:26Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > The name of the town starts with P, and I guess they pitied the kids who would otherwise have had to say, “_I go to P.M.S._” Which is why one of the middle schools in my district is called “Park View” instead of “Parkview.” ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/73 "2024-09-11T15:35:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > > Dolphin Fish now goes by Mahi Mahi presumably because people didn’t want to eat Flipper. > > I think Mahi Mahi and Dorado were common names also, they didnt suddenly drop “Dolphinfish” in favor of either. They just picked the one that sounded best. They are still routinely called dorado when caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Dolphin (without the fish suffix) is also still used, mostly by oldtimers like me 🙂 I can understand the dolphinfish-Flipper issue, but there’s nothing wrong about _dorado_. Mahi mahi is one of those terms that you only hear of on TV or the internet for a while(unless you’re from Hawaii) and then it suddenly seems to be everywhere. But I’ve still only seen it used in restaurant menus, never when discussing the live (or recently dead in-the-cooler fish). Even old independent restaurants on the coast use mahi mahi (presumably for the tourists), though some will add dorado parenthetically. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/74 "2024-09-11T15:59:06Z")
From Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and the wonderful Roy Blunt Jr. [EJ Junior Senior Junior High](https://www.handcoding.com/documents/audio/NPR_-_2005-07-09_-_Wait_Wait_Dont_Tell_Me_-_Roy_Blount_Jr.mp3) (audio link) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/75 "2024-09-11T16:44:18Z")
Prior to WWI the British royal family’s name was Sax-Coburg-Gotha. At the end of the war they decided that the name sounded too Germanic and they changed it to Windsor. I don’t know if it’s true but I seem to remember reading that even Windsor was a English adaptation of a much more Germanic sounding name. Jacksonville FL was originally named Cowford. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/76 "2024-09-11T17:44:31Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > The name of the town starts with P, and I guess they pitied the kids who would otherwise have had to say, “_I go to P.M.S._” I went to a PMS school that had no problem proudly displaying “PMS”, even on cheerleader uniforms. (Not to mention that my college’s sports mascot was The Trojan.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/77 "2024-09-11T18:02:58Z")
“Hey, Grandpa, what’s fer supper?” “Slimehead! I mean Orange Roughy.” “Yum, yum!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/78 "2024-09-11T19:00:07Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > We do eat the seeds. How can you not realise peanuts are seeds? But not the ones that grow _above ground._ We eat the seeds that grow underground. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/79 "2024-09-11T19:41:50Z")
Peanuts give a whole new meaning to self-seeding ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056/80 "2024-09-11T19:48:52Z")
The one in Kensington is now called the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley so the acronym doesn’t work either way. I think another one in Berkeley has closed. But also I think a lot of people aren’t even aware Kensington exists. Not easy to just wander through. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-the-usual-name-is-a-no-go/1007056.md?page=5)