Name Game '08

Though most people are unfamiliar with the word “aptronym” — and spell-checking programs tend to flag it as an error — we’ve all encountered the phenomenon. An aptronym is a name that all too well suits its bearer’s profession, hobby or other distinguishing characteristic. Years ago, for instance, I had a camp nurse named Sandy Sheets, my uncle had a dentist named Lou Smoler and my mom knew an ophthalmologist named Dr. I. Ball. Our local weatherman was Storm Field, and a nearby veterinarian was named Dr. Barker.

Over the past 12 months, Seven Days staffers have compiled a list of nearly two dozen new aptronyms we chanced on in the course of our reporting. A few, like University of Vermont geographer Austin Remy Troy, aren’t immediately obvious. (All three of his names are geographic places.) Then there are the anti-aptronyms, or names that seem to contradict their bearers’ calling — such as Don Black, the former Ku Klux Klansman who founded the white supremacist website Stormfront.

Got a few good aptronyms of your own? Send them along to ken@sevendaysvt.com [1].

• Trevor and Russell Ashe, Barre firefighters


• Margaret Provost, St. Michael’s College administrator


• Alan Quackenbush, Vermont wetlands ecologist


• John T. Coffin, St. Johnsbury funeral director


• Vern Grubinger, UVM fruit and plant expert


• Dr. Walter Russell Brain, British neurologist and author of the standard neurological text Brain’s Diseases of the Nervous System


• Alicia Keys, pianist


• Birgitte Sloth, obesity and exercise researcher


• Bill Dolphin, cetacean researcher


• Christian Smith, sociologist of religion


• Deb Hitter, walking-stick maker


• Susun Weed, herbalist


• Nancy Nipples, owner of a Seattle-area store that sells high-end dairy products


• Kook Jung, psychiatrist


• Sue and Gary Butts, owners of “Butts A’Running Bare Race Management,” which organizes clothing-optional runs


• John Pepper, CEO and co-founder of the Boloco burrito chain


• Joseph Boardman, Amtrak CEO


• Kathleen Newland, national refugee advocate

And two anti-aptronyms:

• Dr. James Clapp, Medical Center Hospital of Vermont OB/GYN


• Anna Drinkwine, Victory Center Church pastor