You all know some variation of this game- take the name of a childhood pet, and add the street you grew up on and that is your stage name (or stripper name, as you wish.) Susie Warner for me… not sufficiently scandalous. Let’s give it another try. When crazy Emma, my exercise class teacher asked us to try this exercise (to distract us as we suffered through our arm reps) she said to use what you ate for breakfast. Oatmeal Warner? Blah. Toasty, or Fruity Warner would be a bit more suggestive…
Now, I don’t often write fiction but I might have to, just for the chance to make up character names and place names. What an opportunity- not to be wasted on the ordinary, the predictable.
Just think- do you know literary characters with the perfect names? Famous ones include Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge and Sheridan’s Mrs. Malaprop. Less well known but what a great invention is Dicken’s M’Choakumchild!
Ronald Dahl is also great at this. The Twits and the Muggle-Wump families, and uber-villian Ms. Trunchbull; these are all examples of aptronyms, names that fit the character. Oh, and of course there’s Nurse Ratched in Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ I just learned this word aptronyms. It was coined in 1938 by Franklin Adams, a newspaper columnist. I know this because I am just now poking my head out from my deep rabbit hole of searching for aptronyms to share with you.
What really got me started down this train of thought was a recent road trip. In rural Florida I was so tickled by some of the place names that I just had to write them down. Sopchoppy, Panacea, and Lake Morality are all towns we passed. In Georgia we enjoyed the Okefenokee Swamp. I want to give respect to Sopchoppy and Okefenokee as Native American names (Sopchoppy means ‘dark waters’ and Okefenokee means ‘trembling earth.’) But all are names that tickle the tongue and are a delight to say.
And the kicker? Driving home through North Carolina we passed signs for Barium Springs Children’s Home. Now, I wonder if you have the same reaction as I did. To me, it was a name worthy of the dark wit of a Dickens, Dahl, or Louis Sachar. Sure, we should house orphans by the burbling radioactive spring! In disbelief at this being a real place I did a little road-research on my phone. Turns out Barium in its natural state isn’t (usually) radioactive.
But I’m still holding on to ‘Barium Springs Children’s Home’ to use in a story someday!
P.S. Comment with your favorite aptronyms, either character names or place names. I’d love to hear them!
Pencilonmybackporch 
Oh, I do this too! It all began when we had a bellman at a hotel with a grand name. He introduced himself by his first, middle, and last name and was beyond nice. (He was asking questions and interacting with us because I think he genuinely cared about people.) I thought, one day I’d write him into a fictional story because the memory of him has stayed with me.
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That Barium Springs makes me chuckle! I love the word “aptronyms” – not sure I’ve heard that one before. We loved to read Roald Dahl aloud to our boys when they were younger, and his name choices were especially delightful.
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Your opening got me to consider my pet/street name – Taffy Primrose!! As I read on, I got to thinking how fun it would be to be the person in charge of names for a new development or to write a novel and get to make up all the names of people and places. Thanks for getting me thinking of names today!
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Taffy Primrose could inspire a story, what a great name!
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Taffy Primrose could inspire a story, what a great name!
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I so appreciated the history lesson along with your well-timed introduction into playing with names (and yes! Write fiction). I never knew there was a name for the ‘perfect’ character, meaning, the character matches the name (and vice versa).
I also wonder how it would work if the name was the total opposite of the character, and what effect that would create for the reader? So fun.
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You got my imagination going with this slice! You should definitely try some fiction. So, I can be Lucky Woodland or Cinnamon Bun Woodland- take your pic!
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Debbie Schnebly. Saw Schnebly on a street sign and loved the two together (I say the sch sound with ‘sh’.) Fun story, thank you. :)
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I think you have to write a story just to use that name!
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Such a fun slice! The term aptronym was new to me, but I love it! It made me think of my grandmother’s family whose eight children had names such as Betty Petty, Return Richard, Rozeltha Amena, Arminda Pursina, and Hulda Curinda (surname Hill). They were all born in the late 1800s. Names are so fun.
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Wow, those family names are especially wonderful!
My closest equivalents (same time period) are Floyd Silas and Ralston Hugh.
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Fran, this is such a fun post. We live in the middle of the desert, but we have a community called Whitewater. Surprisingly, there is also Whitewater Preserve, which does have a river that flows with white water a good part of the year. (I think its snow melt from the San Bernardino mountains.)
My stage name would be Rebel Sutton. I can imagine that being a character in a book.
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Rebel Sutton is a fantastic stage name! Oscar-worthy! Or a rock and roll musician’s name. I also like how it’s gender neutral.
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This is so great – I love words – and never heard of aptronyms. I could go down the rabbit hole with you! On the orphanage sign I love that the first chair was Jethro Rumple – now that’s a character name I could write about – very Dickens and Dahl!
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