The Name Game

(If you were thinking this blog would be about that silly song, I’m sorry to disappoint you. It is a rather light hearted, stream of consciousness blog post this time around. Enjoy.)

The other morning I got to thinking about names, and how some names have other meanings, noun, adjective, and verb. That’s how my mind works. You don’t want to know much more than that. Anyway, I began making a list while eating my oatmeal and drinking a cuppa Joe.

I tried running through the alphabet, but turned instead to the names of people around me. Mark my words, if you give your child an unusual name, it’ll be fodder for adolescent jokes for a long time to come. He might Chuck the whole thing and take a new one. You follow?

As I pursued the idea, I discovered that girls’ names tend more toward nouns, e.g., Penny, April, Grace, but guys’ names more often turn up as verbs.

[Side bar]

I only came up with two for the ladies. Because homonyms are fair game, stretching Nell into the sound of a bell at a funeral results in the "death knell." Second, I thought of Chase, which was a name I came up with many years ago for a lady reporter. Before I wrote the story, however, Chase Masterton showed up on Deep Space Nine. By the way, that’s not her given name, but I really like it. And I may still write the story.

[End side bar]

Anyway, THAT got me thinking about Chevy Chase (real name, Cornelius–yeah, I’d change it, too), Ford Maddox Ford and Edsel Ford. In case you didn’t know, Henry Ford named that model after his son, who was an interesting man in his own right.

Male names are a lot more fun.

Patty & Bobby
circa 1964



The first two name-verbs that came to me were, of course, Pat and Bob. What are the odds that two siblings would end up with nicknames like that? Pat the bunny? Bob in the water? Cute. Or you could just Rob the bank, Bro.

Dick is a name I think is wrong on several levels. Detectives are called dicks, which is not meant as a derogatory, but you can also "dick around." Rich is perhaps a better nickname for Richard, and has a fine secondary meaning. Who wouldn’t want to be rich?

Some years ago there was a cartoon called "Frank and Earnest," which I always want to be with my readers, so I’m going to focus on verbs. Some might say, "Now that’s real George!" Which reminds me . . . my husband, George, once knew a man named Ben Dover. No. Really. I’m not making that up.

Getting back on track. . . .

If you know anything about broadcasting or music, you know what a Mike is. And I had to get "miked up" before performing skits at my church in Redding.

Playing the homonym card once again, I bring up Phil. You know, as in "Phil ‘er up, Bob." But a phillip (really a fillip) on the head is a sharp tap not unlike the slap on the back of the head. Which you're probably wishing you could deliver right now. So, no, I wouldn’t name my boy Phillip.


This is a burl.

Then there’s Lance. Not so common a name as it was in 1970, but a formidable weapon . . . or something you do to a boil. Yech. While I’m on the subject of less-common names, Bud and Burl conjure images of plants, while Buck doubles as a male deer and the act of going against the system.

Because it feels like I’m beating this idea to death, I will end with nicknames for William, which are legal documents–one good, one bad . . . or part of a bird or hat. But you can also be billed on a marquee. And you can Bill me later for whatever you think it cost you to spend time reading this post.

It took me some time to get it done, because I had to Jimmy open the closet before I could Don my thinking cap. I know. I’m pushing it. And I think the topic is about to Peter out.

If you’d like to read an unusual list of names, try the Shakespearen name Web page, which yields such monikers as Mopsa, Eglamour, Dogberry, Snug, Speed, and Froth.

All of which, I think, would make great names for cocker spaniels.

And therein lies another tale.