When people met Les Owen of the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta and learned of his occupation, they often remarked that his name suited his job.
In fact, they probably remarked on it well beyond the point where Mr. Owen found it amusing, but he was pleasant about it.
He was an accountant.
There’s a word for names that are especially suited to the profession of their owners. They’re called aptronyms and newspaper scribes are ever conscious of such names because they add a certain spice to a story – and spice to life, for that matter.
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Some famous aptronyms serve as examples: William Wordsworth, the poet; Sally Ride, the astronaut; Lorena Bobbitt, the wife handy with a knife.
But more recently, through readings and a look at the A Word A Day archives, we’ve come across Nathan Leeper, an Olympic high-jumper, Justin Case, an insurance agent and the Amigone family who run a funeral home.
Many Anglo-Saxon names got their start as occupational descriptions. Miller, Smith, Potter and probably Glen are examples. Thousands of years later, academics wonder if the reverse situation is occurring, and that by virtue of their name, some people gravitate to certain occupations.
It’s an idea called nominative determinism but it certainly doesn’t apply to everyone. If it did, I’d be into pasture management rather than news management, and there’d be many a politician named Doolittle.
Medical people seem particularly prone to this sort of thing and even a quick search dredges up doctors named Pain, Cure, Comfort and Bonebrake and dentists named Hurt, Tusk and Yankem.
But what about the world of agriculture? Can we find such examples in the realm of our favourite subject? It’s not that easy, even though we keep our eyes peeled.
This year we’ve discovered a hatchery manager named Egg and a judge in a cattle-related court case called Cebull (pronounced See-Bull.)
Is that last one a bit of a stretch? OK, how about names from Producer archives that include a weed specialist named Tansy, an anti-tobacco advocate called Pipe, a soil conservationist called Sprout and a chicken producer called Flokstra?
It’s an admittedly short list but our many eyes and ears out there, also known as Producer readers, might be able to help us out.
In the meantime, we will refrain from assigning all the weather-related stories to reporter Mike Raine, keep on the good side of a newsroom staffer named Cross and continue to load work upon a secretary named Mutch.
