Being a real _(person's name)_
March 3, 2014 3:04 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for first names that are used to describe a kind of person or that person's actions. For example: if you are accused of being a "Pollyanna", it means you have sort of a blind optimism or more generally harbor a positivity bias (and it's not usually a compliment). What are some other names that are shorthand for character traits?
I'm not looking for movements associated with the last name of a founder. Such a list would be endless.
I'm not looking for movements associated with the last name of a founder. Such a list would be endless.
Doubting Thomas. Nervous Nancy.
posted by shiu mai baby at 3:08 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by shiu mai baby at 3:08 PM on March 3, 2014
Ned?
posted by Violet Femme at 3:10 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by Violet Femme at 3:10 PM on March 3, 2014
Best answer: Oh, I keep thinking of more:
Uncle Tom
Jezebel
Eyeore
posted by teleri025 at 3:11 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Uncle Tom
Jezebel
Eyeore
posted by teleri025 at 3:11 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
(Although "Guido" may not fit depending on whether the term is derived from the name. According to Wikipedia, it is not, but that's Wikipedia.)
posted by griphus at 3:12 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by griphus at 3:12 PM on March 3, 2014
Gloomy Gus
posted by bearette at 3:12 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bearette at 3:12 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ebenezer. (The last name Scrooge is implied, but if someone calls you Ebenezer around the holidays, you know exactly what they mean.)
posted by mochapickle at 3:15 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 3:15 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
In the C17th and C18th, "Abigail" was used to mean a lady's maid.
posted by yoink at 3:16 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 3:16 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Similarly, Veruca, if both speaker and audience have read Dahl.
posted by mochapickle at 3:16 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 3:16 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh, and "Happy as Larry" is fairly common Australasian slang.
posted by yoink at 3:17 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 3:17 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Sherlock.
Don Juan and Don Quixote.
Fonzie/Fonzie-ing it.
posted by michaelh at 3:18 PM on March 3, 2014
Don Juan and Don Quixote.
Fonzie/Fonzie-ing it.
posted by michaelh at 3:18 PM on March 3, 2014
Best answer: Another: "John" to mean prostitute's client.
posted by yoink at 3:18 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by yoink at 3:18 PM on March 3, 2014
Best answer: Calling someone "a Jeremiah" carries the implication that they're a pessimist.
posted by meronym at 3:19 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by meronym at 3:19 PM on March 3, 2014
similarly, Iago.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:24 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:24 PM on March 3, 2014
A Simon Legree (also from Uncle Tom's Cabin) is a cruel taskmaster. A Wendy, from Peter Pan, is a female partner who enables childish dependency in a grown man (although for all I know it has crossed genders and orientations, if it's ever used at all anymore), and a Peter Pan refuses to grow up. When I was a kid the Peanuts character Pigpen was used to refer to someone who was messy. Old-fashioned again, but a Casonova is a seducer, or at least a romantic.
posted by angiep at 3:25 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by angiep at 3:25 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Fabio
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:25 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:25 PM on March 3, 2014
Growing up in the UK, you didn't want to be a Kevin ...
posted by woodman at 3:36 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by woodman at 3:36 PM on March 3, 2014
From contemporary-ish TV shows:
Debbie Downer (Saturday Night Live)
You Britta'd it (Community)
posted by mhum at 3:43 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Debbie Downer (Saturday Night Live)
You Britta'd it (Community)
posted by mhum at 3:43 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Lighten up, Francis.
posted by adamrice at 3:51 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by adamrice at 3:51 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
calling someone "LeBron" has all sorts of connotations, depending on context.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:54 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 3:54 PM on March 3, 2014
Betty.
Jo March Bhaer though Nan would be a good addition to Plumfield because ""[I]t will do Posy good. she is getting prim and bettyish, and needs stirring up a bit." (Posy was the nickname for Jo's niece Daisy.)
posted by jgirl at 4:00 PM on March 3, 2014
Jo March Bhaer though Nan would be a good addition to Plumfield because ""[I]t will do Posy good. she is getting prim and bettyish, and needs stirring up a bit." (Posy was the nickname for Jo's niece Daisy.)
posted by jgirl at 4:00 PM on March 3, 2014
Peter Pan.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 4:08 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 4:08 PM on March 3, 2014
Tommy - British soldier
Jack Tar - sailor
Good-time Charlie
posted by islander at 4:30 PM on March 3, 2014
Jack Tar - sailor
Good-time Charlie
posted by islander at 4:30 PM on March 3, 2014
Napoleon.
posted by purpleclover at 4:49 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by purpleclover at 4:49 PM on March 3, 2014
If a pretty much total loss of specificity of meaning is okay, Guy.
Poindexter is usually a surname, but in the comic strip it gets is adjectival use from, it's the character's whole name.
posted by aubilenon at 4:53 PM on March 3, 2014
Poindexter is usually a surname, but in the comic strip it gets is adjectival use from, it's the character's whole name.
posted by aubilenon at 4:53 PM on March 3, 2014
For those of a certain (my) age: The term Heathers from the movie of the same name, denoting plastic, popular girls. The movie Clueless gave us these nouns: "Betty" for a pretty girl, "Barney" for an ugly guy, and "Baldwin" for a hot guy.
posted by Neeuq Nus at 4:57 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by Neeuq Nus at 4:57 PM on March 3, 2014
A guy friend and I used to have this thing about "Chad"—like "That guy's such a Chad" or even "That guy's name is probably Chad." (And not like a "hanging chad," though it kind of works in the sense that both are kind of useless or even somewhat actively problematic.) Basically it just meant...kind of a generic, possibly slightly douchey or clueless dude, probably with spiked hair, probably wearing Axe body spray.
Apparently we weren't the only ones. Though apparently we were among the first, 'cause we started talking about this back in 2002. There are a lot of Chads in our generation...
posted by limeonaire at 6:03 PM on March 3, 2014
Apparently we weren't the only ones. Though apparently we were among the first, 'cause we started talking about this back in 2002. There are a lot of Chads in our generation...
posted by limeonaire at 6:03 PM on March 3, 2014
Does a name with a qualifier count, or just a single name?
With:
Jim Dandy
Average Joe/Joe Schmoe/Joe Blow
Good time Charlie
Stage door Johnny
Doubting Thomas
Sneaky Pete
Dapper Dan
Nervous Nellie
Mary Sunshine
Without:
James (as in, “Home, James!”)
Melvin
Lulu
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:27 PM on March 3, 2014
With:
Jim Dandy
Average Joe/Joe Schmoe/Joe Blow
Good time Charlie
Stage door Johnny
Doubting Thomas
Sneaky Pete
Dapper Dan
Nervous Nellie
Mary Sunshine
Without:
James (as in, “Home, James!”)
Melvin
Lulu
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:27 PM on March 3, 2014
Silly Billy
Wally
a right Charlie
(offensively and datedly) Joey
posted by Jabberwocky at 6:28 PM on March 3, 2014
Wally
a right Charlie
(offensively and datedly) Joey
posted by Jabberwocky at 6:28 PM on March 3, 2014
The first thing that came to mind for me for Joey was that lame kid in Hackers, so it might work without knowing the offensive version of the reference. (And Uncle Joey on Full House was also kind of a goofball...)
posted by limeonaire at 6:35 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by limeonaire at 6:35 PM on March 3, 2014
Poindexter
posted by Jewel98 at 6:44 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jewel98 at 6:44 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Nigel is a person with no friends (in Australia).
posted by kjs4 at 7:37 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by kjs4 at 7:37 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Another is "Sherlock".
These days, "Hannibal" and "Dexter" are getting close to being mythic.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:13 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
These days, "Hannibal" and "Dexter" are getting close to being mythic.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:13 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
In our family, a Zaphod was a guy with his video camera constantly on his shoulder...
posted by runincircles at 10:32 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by runincircles at 10:32 PM on March 3, 2014
Your example of Pollyanna comes from Literature. I'd argue that most first names which connote something else are coming from characters in novels, plays or movies. This will vary across culture and time.
Do you want names which meant something in the 19th century but mean little now?
Do you want names that connote something in other countries or, within a small region in the US or part of a dialect?
As an example of the last one, in surfer lingo, "Barney" is someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
Almost all names connote something, in some place, in some time.
posted by vacapinta at 2:40 AM on March 4, 2014
Do you want names which meant something in the 19th century but mean little now?
Do you want names that connote something in other countries or, within a small region in the US or part of a dialect?
As an example of the last one, in surfer lingo, "Barney" is someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
Almost all names connote something, in some place, in some time.
posted by vacapinta at 2:40 AM on March 4, 2014
Biff and Buffy/Muffy
posted by catatethebird at 11:52 AM on March 4, 2014
posted by catatethebird at 11:52 AM on March 4, 2014
Martha
Goody
Ruth
Cinderella
Frankenstein (although typically used incorrectly, it's treated as a first name so I'd say it counts).
Bambi
Einstein (not a first name, but definitely used to label people).
posted by windykites at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2014
Goody
Ruth
Cinderella
Frankenstein (although typically used incorrectly, it's treated as a first name so I'd say it counts).
Bambi
Einstein (not a first name, but definitely used to label people).
posted by windykites at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2014
Goliath
posted by windykites at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2014
posted by windykites at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2014
A few eponymous literary characters
Cruella
Galahad
Merlin
Camille
Svengali
Tom and Jerry
Candide
Don Juan
posted by nickyskye at 12:01 PM on March 14, 2014
Cruella
Galahad
Merlin
Camille
Svengali
Tom and Jerry
Candide
Don Juan
posted by nickyskye at 12:01 PM on March 14, 2014
A few more eponymous adjectives, myth based
Aphrodite
Hercules
Apollo
Pygmalion
Odysseus
Spartacus
Prometheus
Samson
posted by nickyskye at 12:20 PM on March 14, 2014
Aphrodite
Hercules
Apollo
Pygmalion
Odysseus
Spartacus
Prometheus
Samson
posted by nickyskye at 12:20 PM on March 14, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 3:05 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]