Aptronym

The Encyclopædia Britannica attributes the term to Franklin P. Adams, a writer who coined it as an anagram of patronym, to emphasize "apt".[1]

According to Frank Nuessel, in The Study of Names (1992), an aptonym is the term used for "people whose names and occupations or situations (e.g., workplace) have a close correspondence."

In the book What's in a Name? (1996), author Paul Dickson cites a long list of aptronyms originally compiled by Professor Lewis P. Lipsitt, of Brown University.[2] Psychologist Carl Jung wrote in his book Synchronicity that there was a "sometimes quite grotesque coincidence between a man's name and his peculiarities".[3]

Nominative determinism is a hypothesis which suggests a causal relationship based on the idea that people tend to be attracted to areas of work that fit their name.

• Jules Angst, German professor of psychiatry, who has published works about anxiety (angst)[4]
• Michael Ball, English footballer[5]
• Colin Bass, British bassist in the rock band Camel[4]
• Lance Bass, bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC[6]
• Mickey Bass, American bassist and musician[7]
• Sara Blizzard, meteorologist (television weather presenter) for the BBC[4]
• Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter[8]
• Doug Bowser, president of Nintendo of America (Bowser)[9]
• Russell Brain, 1st Baron Brain, neurologist[10]
• Rosalind Brewer, executive at Starbucks and a former director at Molson Coors Brewing Company[11][12]
• Christopher Coke, drug lord and cocaine trafficker (cocaine)[13]
• Margaret Court, Australian tennis player[5]
• Corona Rintawan, Indonesian physician who leads Muhammadiyah's command center for the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic[14]
• Thomas Crapper, sanitary engineer[5][15]
• Josh Earnest, the third press secretary for the Obama Administration (Stephen Colbert observed, "What a name for a press secretary. Josh Earnest. His name literally means, 'Just kidding, but seriously.'"[16])
• Cecil Fielder and Prince Fielder, baseball players (fielder)[17]
• Amy Freeze, American meteorologist[18]
• William Headline, Washington Bureau Chief for CNN[19]
• Igor Judge, English judge and Lord Chief Justice[20]
• Richard and Mildred Loving, plaintiffs in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage throughout the United States[21]
• Auguste and Louis Lumière, pioneering 19th century filmmakers (lumière means "light" in French)[22]
• Chris Moneymaker, American poker player and 2003 World Series of Poker champion[23]
• Josh Outman, baseball pitcher[24]
• Francine Prose, American novelist[25]
• Bob Rock, Canadian music producer best known for his works with rock acts such as Metallica and Aerosmith[26]
• Marilyn vos Savant, American columnist who has been cited for having the world's highest recorded IQ (savant)[27]
• Larry Speakes, acting White House Press Secretary for the White House under President Ronald Reagan[28]
• Anthony Weiner, American politician involved in sexting scandals[18]
• John Minor Wisdom, American judge[7]
• William Wordsworth, English poet and advocate for the extension of British copyright law[29][30][5]
• Early Wynn, baseball pitcher, member of the 300 win club[31]

• -onym
• Nominative determinism, the theory that a person's name can have a significant role in determining key aspects of their job, profession or even character

• Aptonyms-wiki (based on the extinct Canadian Aptonym Centre)
• "Charol Shakeshaft, Topped!", A Yellow Pages of aptronyms. reader-submitted aptronyms by Slate's Timothy Noah

Look up aptronym, aptonym, or euonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.