According to THE JOY OF LEX by Gyles Brandreth the following is all true. He writes:
"The telephone company owes a debt of gratitude to Hero Zzyzzx of Madison, Wisconsin, son of Xerxes Zzyzzx. Zzyzzx (pronounced Ziz Icks) gets lots of telephone calls -- profitable for the telephone company but both a problem and a blessing to Mr. Zzyzzx. His name is the last name in the directory and for people who amuse themselves by reading telephone books, Hero Zzyzzx is a name hard to ignore. He gets calls at all hours from drunks, children, insomniacs, and jokers. But once in a while Zzyzzx, 31 and single, gets one from 'an interested young lady,' and that's why he does not have his number unlisted.
Zzyzzx is his real name, he swears. It's an amalgam of Finnish, Lithuanian, Russian, French, German, and Central European family backgrounds. Mr. Zzyzzx is not alone in having a name to conjure with. The world is full of ordinary people with extraordinary names -- none more so than these -- each one quite genuine, I promise you."
- Cardinal Sin (archbishop of Manila)
- Mrs. Friendly Ley (lived in Mission Hills, California)
- Groaner Digger (Texas undertaker)
- Justin Tune (chorister, class of 1947, Westminster Choir, Princeton)
- T. Hee (works in a restaurant in New York City)
- Mr. Vroom (South African motorcycle dealer)
- Safety First (lives in Leisure World - Seal Beach, California
- Jean Sippy (recently divorced but still calls herself Mrs. Sippy
- Dr. Lantz (general practitioner)
- Judge Law and Judge Judge (dispensers of justice in Santa Ana, California)
- Lieutenant Lynch (Long Beach police officer)
- Fire Chief Sam Sparks (settles burning issue in Garden Grove, California)
- Ima Hogg (Houston social and cultural leader)
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Thought for Today
"We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box." Anonymous
Before you move on, stop by my 'Ultimate Blog Party' post. Enjoy some freshly squeezed lemonade & snacks ... sit a spell and let's get acquainted. There's also coffee, tea, and cookies ;--)
(and/or)
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34 comments:
Great list.
I knew of a Dr. Safety First who lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No one would believe me until they found his name in the yellow pages.
Happy TT
Cute good research I actually was in college in Idaho w/ a girl named Candy Kane she was very sweet
All are interesting...I liked this 13. I heard of the Texas dude ...Ima Hogg, but the one that caught my fancy was #6.
Click Here for My 13 Women In History celebrating National Women's Hisotry Month I'd love to have your drop by!!!
Great group of names! I love unusual names...my mom was a registrar in a hospital for a while, and help a young mom fill out the birth certificates for her twins, Orangejello and Lemonjello. Happy T-13!
Thanks for the chuckle! I like fireman Sparks and judge Law - nice research. Happy TT!
This is crazy. My post has some unusual names and one of these...what do you call them? There should be a name for these kinds of names. In Mass there is a weather woman named Gail Huff.
No flamingos today.
Driller and Marcia
I suspected folks would have names to share … and reading your comments reminds me I went to high school with a gal named ‘Dusty Screws’ … seriously!
Hootin’Anni – That one is pretty cool. I wonder if the names had any influence on who they became? Looks like you visited before I remembered to give you credit for the cool ‘header’ that seemed so appropriate for this March T-13. I was just commenting on your post when it hit me that I might have forgotten and sure enough I had … but it’s amended now ;--)
So ... how does one leave a link like you did in comments? Inquiring minds want to know.
Laura - I’m happy you enjoyed my T-13. Ohmygosh! Who would give such names to their kids?
Ivanhoe – You’re welcome. I live in So Cal and can vouch for their validity ;--)
Colleen - We must be on some kind of connected ‘wave-length’ because I recall the day you added a comment about ‘flamingos’ to a Wordless T-13 of mine (maybe last week?) … and I didn’t ‘get it’ until I visited your T-13 later (posted the same week) with ‘flamingos’ so this is interesting. Methinks I’ll visit your T-13 when I finish posting this response.
Thanks to each of you for stopping by and leaving a comment. If I’ve not been to your blog yet, I’ll be there soon.
Hugs and blessings,
Wonderfully fun list, Storyteller. Our paper recently did a story about naming babies so that the initials don't unintentionally spell a text message! That'll be next....
That's so much fun storyteller! I love the quote about crayons at the end...
Have a wonderful week...
Of course we filipinos cannot forget Jaime Cardinal Sin. Beyond his weird and unusual name, he was a good Cardinal and one of the reasons why People Power in 1986 succeeded.
Hey, storyteller! This list really rocks. Next time I'm hurting for a name, I'll come to you for suggestions!
As for my characters, I just made them up over the past few days. You'll be seeing many of them again, though. It may take awhile, but they'll come around.
SandyCarlson – I’m glad you enjoyed it. Intriguing idea for a story … and future post.
EllenB – Fun is my middle name! LOL … I’m glad you enjoy the quotes I share.
Arlene – Ah … Thanks for providing proof that my list isn’t fiction!
Susan – I’ll look forward to reading more about each of these new fictional women in weeks and months to come.
I appreciate your visit today and thanks for taking a moment to leave a comment.
Hugs and blessings,
Haha, such a funny list! My mind isn't awake enough to think of even one, let alone 13 ;)
I love #8. that one is a HOOT!
LOL, neat list :D
I had a few names that would fit, but it's so long ago, I forgot them all :D
My favorite is the dentist I have seen for the past 30+ years. His name, in itself, is not so unusual, but when you put it with his occupation he becomes Dr. Rencher, dentist.
I graduated from HS with Candy Cane (also in Idaho). At our 40th reunion last July she was trying very hard to get everyone to think of her as Candice - her proper name. It didn't work. Once you're a Candy Cane you remain a Candy Cane. ;>
Cute names and funny. Most of these I had not heard of before. Good choice for TT.
Maggie’s Mind – I’m glad you enjoyed it. Actually, I didn’t need to ‘think’ of them because they’re all ‘real’ people … Seriously!
LceeL – Yup! Methinks I’d be inclined to let that name slide … though there’s no telling what her maiden name was. It could have been even more unusual. LOL
Nicole – My mem’ry fails me all too often these days as well ;--)
Eve – Ohmygosh!!! I can hardly type … but methinks I would have found another dentist becuz I wouldn’t have been able to keep a straight face. Giggling and dental work definitely don’t mix. LOL
Betty – I’m happy you found it entertaining. Laughter is always good medicine!
Thanks to each of you for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I hope you’re enjoying your Thursday in the ‘virtual’ and real world.
Hugs and blessings,
Some parents are just cruel. They couldn't really be that oblivious could they?
Happy TT!
http://impulsivehearts.wordpress.com/
I'm a Hog and T. Hee - love'm!! hehehe Great post :) Happy TT friend.
Very good. there's a councilor of our city, his name is President Elipe. Now since he's already a councilor, he has 2 titles for a name -Councilor President Elipe.
I love the way some names attract specific jobs. Almost as if they're destined for it.
I was really happy that I tried pronouncing Zzyzzyx before I read how to pronounce it, and got it right.
These things are important!
Cardinal Sin - cool :)
Hi Storyteller,
This is a very interesting group of unusual names! I only know of two, one I read about in the Reader's Digest years ago - a banker named Rob Banks. The other is Manchester, NH police officer named Dick Tracey!
Cool, huh? :-)
Have a great Friday!
Hugs,
Tina
These are all too funny! Can you imagine being stuck as Ima Hogg????
Happy TT and thanks so much for stopping by :)
lol
Should number 2 be on Wisteria Lane instead?
Kaige – One does have to wonder about parents who would name kids like this.
Chuck – Those made me chuckle too ;--)
Tipsandtricks – Heheh … interesting duplicity. Thanks for sharing.
Anthony North – Seems like a chicken and egg question.
Sue – There’s nothing like success to boost our energy and make us feel good is there?
Tina – Hahaha! Rob Banks … makes me giggle aloud … and Dick Tracey is cool too. Thanks for the additions. I sure hope that snow around you melts soon!
Sue – You’re welcome. I enjoyed your ‘Urban Zoo’ and am glad you decided to follow my link back here.
Ann – I’m happy you enjoyed them … but I don’t get the reference to Wisteria Lane, probably because I’ve never watched Desperate Housewives ;--)
I appreciate you all dropping by for a visit and sharing your thoughts about this week’s T-13. Hope you had a delightful day!
Hugs and blessings,
What a great idea for a T-13 post! "Ima Hogg"...now that's just cruel! My daughter's initials are E.m.c. :) I also great up knowing a Steve Stevens. I never understood why people do that to their kids....
Great list! I read the Joy Of Lex ages ago. Nice to see Gyles Brandreth mentioned in a TT.
What a cool list. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by. Happy TT.
Our local orthodontist is Dr. Bonebreak--it's so funny, his office is located at our village center, and we always take Nathan there for a little trick-or-treating during Halloween. So every year, Nathan gets a toothbrush with "Dr. Bonebreak" on it.
This was a funny one, Storyteller--great idea!
I don't understand how Ima Hogg carried on using her real name. I'd have changed my name to Enid or Irma or Emma. They're all very funny, though.
I have a friend named Sandy Graves. Aparently her mom and dad's names are funny with the last name of Graves.
Happy TT!
Sandy – I guess the old ‘teacher-in-me’ clicked in on this one … pulling a ‘reference’ book off the shelf for an idea and running with it. Cool initials for Ella ;--)
Steve Stevens reminds me of Richard Roberts who got called ‘Dickey Bob’ … and somehow that still makes me laugh hysterically, just as when I was a kid living across the street from him.
Nicholas – Actually I mentioned Gyles a few weeks ago when I used his book as a source for my T-13 on Oronyms. I got rid of most of my teaching materials, but a few books like this one remain on my shelves.
Lori – I’m happy you enjoyed it ;--)
Karen – That’s funny because a dentist by that name was listed in THE JOY OF LEX, but I selected 13 of the 20 to include today. How odd that you’d actually know one I left off the list! Small world, eh?
Damozel – I suspect I’d change my name too (if I could). One of the reasons I kept my married name after the divorce was that my maiden name caused pronunciation problems all of my life … that and the fact that I’d spent 21 years as an adult with the name I use even now.
Brittany – Peter Graves isn’t all that funny … but ‘Sandy’ Graves is somehow. Who knows what parents are thinking when they name their kids? I suspect some things just don’t occur to them until after the fact?
Thanks to all of you for visiting my T-13. If I’ve not been to yours yet, I’ll get there over the weekend. It’s almost 7pm on Friday and I’m ready to turn off the computer for the night.
Hugs and blessings,
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