At times, I have wondered what it would be like to own an embarrassing name or for that matter, a set of embarrassing initials. Psychologists have studied this vexing question and have unearthed some disturbing findings. An American academic, after studying death certificates, discovered that people with negative-sounding name initials like ILL and DUD, died nearly a decade earlier than those with positive combinations such as FUN, FIT, WIN and WOW!
According to the experts, kids who have negative or embarrassing names or initials can be cruelly teased by their peers at school, creating a burden that for some, can stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Humorous and Unfortunate Name Tales
Talking of embarrassing names, I once met this charming lady in the United Kingdom, whose name turned out to be Rose Bottom. She showed no embarrassment about her quirky name, in fact, she somewhat mischievously suggested that I call her ‘Rosie’ Bottom! Needless to say, I didn’t.
The Scandinavians don’t find it embarrassing or funny to give their children names like Bent Kok! But we don’t escape lightly either. Imagine a man with the surname Sole whose parents unwittingly christened him with the first name Raymond, Ronald or Reginald. When asked what his first initial and surname was, he would reply: ‘R.Sole’. But there is worse to come. These are real-life people with real-life names – how about Mike Rotch or worse still, Hugh Janus?
But people are innovative when it comes to manipulating their embarrassing names. Sidebottom becomes Siddebottam, for example. And who can forget Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, who insisted her surname was Bouquet and not Bucket?
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