α. 1900s– aptronym.
β. 1900s– aptonym.
aptronymn.
/ˈaptrənɪm/, U.S. /ˈæptrəˌnɪm/ Originally U.S.
A name regarded as (humorously) appropriate to a person's profession or personal characteristics. Cf. euonym n.
ΚΠ
1920 Indianapolis Star 29 Nov. 3 (advt.) Funk & Wagnalls New Desk Standard Dictionary... The meaning of Escadrille, Estaminet, Questionnaire, Rainbow Division, Shock Troops, Sniper, Ukulele, Aptronym, [etc.].
1921 Funk & Wagnalls Desk Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. (new ed.) 49/1 Aptronym, a surname indicative of an occupation: as, Glass, the glazier.
1968 Early Amer. Lit. Newslett. 3 11 The formal conventions that were incorporated into this new tradition [sc. the periodical essay] had, most of them, a long and respectable history: dream vision, moral dialogue,..fictitious letter, mock-advertisement, aptronym, [etc.].
1986 Los Angeles Times 16 Feb. vi. 1/1 According to the American Name Society, they're called aptonyms, that is, surnames which..have turned out to be incredibly apt. A brief search for local aptonyms produced Tommy Trotter, the new director of racing at Hollywood Park.
2002 Winnipeg Free Press 19 Jan. a14/2 He began collecting aptronyms 30 years ago, when he saw an ad in his local paper for a flower shop operated by Flora Gardner.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1920