Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Appropriate or Not

I was listening to a program on Public Radio the other evening and came across a word that I had not heard of before: Aptonym. Here is the Wikipedia entry:

aptronym (also: aptonym) or charactonym is a name aptly suited to its owner.
There were a number of real-life examples on Wiki:

  • Jules Angst, German professor of psychiatry, who has published works about anxiety
  • Jack Armstrong, retired MLB (Major League Baseball) pitcher
  • Jeff Bagwell, Retired MLB 1st Baseman
  • Jim Horn, saxophonist and woodwind player
  • Francine Prose, writer
  • Sue Yoo, lawyer
Then I started laughing. For most of my adult life I had an antaptonym. I became an ordained clergy at age 26. Therefore for years I was the Rev. Lehman (pronounced layman). An Antaptonym. I guess I am still an ordained clergy, now retired and doing non-ordained ministry. So maybe now, in church, I have an aptonym.

Just wondering.

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