this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2024
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Nominative Determinism

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Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. The term was first used in the magazine New Scientist in 1994, after the magazine's humorous "Feedback" column noted several studies carried out by researchers with remarkably fitting surnames. These included a book on polar explorations by Daniel Snowman and an article on urology by researchers named Splatt and Weedon. These and other examples led to light-hearted speculation that some sort of psychological effect was at work.

This is a community for posting real-world examples of names that by coincidence are funny in context. A link to the article or site is preferable, as well as a screenshot of the funny name if it's not in the headline. Try not to repost, and keep it fun!

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[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Was there an update on the title? The article and title on the page both say 100 mph, not 160 mph.

Also, it was only as I clicked the link that I realized this is on the nominative determinism community, not some weird news or legal news community. I was wondering why until I saw this:

Tadeusz Moron, from Lisnagowan Road in Dungannon, was clocked in June by a mobile camera device on a section of the A29 which has a 60mph limit.

That is an unfortunate last name in an English-language country!

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I assume the "160mph" mistake exists because 100mph is 160km/h. Some editors probably mixed up some numbers.