When a name matches what a person does that person has an aptonym.
"Only in July did the Dollie Brown case become truly bizarre, for only then did a murder defendant with the singularly appropriate name of Rodney Vice begin talking to prosecutors..." (p. 377)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Although we've usually thought of aptonyms with reference to someone's profession, like Shoemaker the Cobbler, recent news has put the spotlight on the concept with a twist: an aptonym for the WAY one does business. I refer, of course, to Bernard Madoff. This has not escaped the notice of Freakonomics blogger Stephen Dubner: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/aptonyms-for-the-new-year/
ReplyDelete