aptronym
/ˈaptrənɪm/(also aptonym /ˈaptənɪm/)
noun
A person’s name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation: he began collecting aptronyms when he saw an ad for a flower shop operated by Flora Gardner while Maryland lacks a ‘Judge Judge’, there are many attorneys here with aptonyms...
- In the old days, aptonyms weren't coincidences; they were professional labels.
- A reporter at the Wall Street Journal did a piece on aptonyms recently and noted that in a 2002 academic paper researchers found that people were more likely to choose professions with names that are similar to their own first names.
- For the third summer in a row, we are profiling our local aptonyms.
Derivatives
aptronymic
- Through Dickensian allusions, including tumbledown cottages, characters with aptronymic names, and surprising turns of fortune, Umansky tells a tongue-in-cheek Victorian tale.
- Georgina hands the baby to Auxilia, her aptronymic nanny.
- Sex advice columns provide enlightenment for the erotically challenged as well as voyeuristic entertainment, and the aptonymic Savage delivers on both counts.
Origin
1920s: from apt + -onym, probably on the pattern of patronym.