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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German football team VfL Wolfsburg were coached in the 90s by Wolfgang Wolf (www.gettyimages.co.uk)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
0 comments fedilink
 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Wolf

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Amy Parks in AAMI Park (youtu.be)
submitted 7 months ago by Railison@aussie.zone to c/nominativedeterminism
3 comments fedilink
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Rob Banks, policeman-officer (lemmy.zip)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
4 comments fedilink
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/11006415

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You'll never guess (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago by i_am_not_a_robot to c/nominativedeterminism
8 comments fedilink
 
 
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A meteorologist called Majestic Storm (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
4 comments fedilink
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10619854

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Wikipedia's finest example: urologists Splatt and Weedon (feddit.uk)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
2 comments fedilink
 
 

The urethral syndrome: Morphological studies Splatt A.J. and Weedon D. (1981). British Journal of Urology 53 (3) 263-265.

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Tamara Pilz-Hunter - German mushroom expert called "Mushroom-Hunter" (taz.de)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
0 comments fedilink
 
 

Translated from German:

First of all, a really stupid question: Pilz-Hunter, is that a pseudonym?

Tamara Pilz-Hunter: No, that's my real name. I was born Hunter, my father is English. Later I married my husband, and his name is Pilz [mushroom]. I didn't think about it for a long time, but now I've arrived at my calling, so to speak. When I wanted to register for the mushroom course at BUND, they initially thought I was kidding them.

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New Zealand brothel complaints overseen by councillor Roger Twentyman (www.nzherald.co.nz)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
0 comments fedilink
 
 

And chief executive Roger Twentyman told the public meeting, "The council has every ability to be involved in the environmental area but, when it comes to moral issues, it doesn't have the mandate to act on the community's behalf."

Article is from 2008 but a recent No Such Thing As A Fish informed me about Roger Twentyman and his historical brothel involvement

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Nintendo of America and Its President Doug Bowser Are Suing Hacker Gary Bowser (www.ign.com)
submitted 7 months ago by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
2 comments fedilink
 
 

this lawsuit was filed in Seattle court and aims to charge Bowser (not to be confused with Bowser, King of the Koopas)

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Caroline Lowbridge reports on a bus hitting a low bridge (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by smeg to c/nominativedeterminism
1 comments fedilink
 
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14177626

BBC News - School bus gets stuck under low bridge again