this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2026
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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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[–] smeg@feddit.uk 14 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The word crap is actually of Middle English origin and predates its application to bodily waste. Its most likely etymological origin is a combination of two older words: the Dutch krappen (to pluck off, cut off, or separate) and the Old French crappe (siftings, waste or rejected matter, from the medieval Latin crappa). In English, it was used to refer to chaff and also to weeds or other rubbish. Its first recorded application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1846, 10 years after Crapper was born, under a reference to a crapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house.

This man was fated to give a crap

[–] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

I read that in the tone and voice of the narrator from the History of the F Word.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

So then is crap named after this guy or not?

[–] smeg@feddit.uk 1 points 5 days ago

Not unless he did all his inventing by age ten, no

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Nope. That's the cool part.

[–] Codpiece@feddit.uk 9 points 5 days ago

Bit harsh calling him a ballcock mate.

[–] raman_klogius@ani.social 7 points 5 days ago

I'm a grown man..... I'm a grown man.....

[–] Addv4@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago
[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

The... ballcock?

Oh, it's a float valve.

[–] joe@lemmy.today 1 points 3 days ago

British people will call anything a cock...

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Never heard it called that before but it sounds like the same thing... The big ball in the cistern that stops the water flow.

[–] cmbabul@slrpnk.net 4 points 5 days ago

I’m not certain my dad was aware he was not making a joke for all those years

[–] Texas_Hangover@lemmy.radio 2 points 5 days ago

Excuse me, it's pronounced "Crapier." 😤