back to article My name really is Ivan O'Toole, admits Ivan O'Toole

The regular readers among you will know we're a bit fond of stories relating to parents who slap their sprogs with ill-advised or downright perverse names, as evidenced by the cases of 4Real, Metallica, @, John Blake Cusack Version 2.0, Renault Megane and, spectacularly, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. Well, this in-depth …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Wayne Carr...

    I work for a major pharmaceutical company and we really do have a Wayne Carr at our place along with a Richard Bollock

  2. Richard Claunch
    Happy

    Here are a couple more!

    I went to school with a guy named Mike Penix, and you can guess his school nickname!

    For many years the District Attorney in our county was Buddy Phallus!

  3. Mark
    Pirate

    Luckily

    you usually get to plant the evil SOB's who did that to you.

    Feel free to point that out to them while they are alive and add "by the way, thanks for the stupid name".

  4. SnowHawk
    Happy

    New a couple odd ones in the US Army

    I went through boot camp with James Dean, and Kirk James.

  5. Chris Teague

    And more..

    Went to college with a guy named Royal Champion. He went by Roy. I'd have gone by, "Boy who killed his parents for giving him his stupid name and no court would convict him" myself.

    Not quite so bad as a teacher from the 50s in my home town. Ima Smith. She married Bill Hoar. I still shake my head when I read of someone named Ima.

  6. This post has been deleted by its author

  7. gaz

    And one more....

    A good few years ago I had to set up an email address for a new member of staff called Gay Boyes. Absolutley true.

  8. Alan

    "Lasers".

    A support guy at a vendor of ours is called Scott Evil. I asked his coworkers if he'd changed his name especially and they told me no, and not to mention it.

    Yes, I'd love some chocolate ass-cream.

  9. Ron Eve

    Python

    there was a Python sketch involving a character called Smoketoomuch, who apparently wasn't aware of the significance of his name until pointed out to him...

  10. tony trolle

    and more (2)

    Mary Christmas - a London Pub/bar manager

  11. tony trolle

    And those old enough to remember

    "That's life" on the BBC. Some Post Office telephone workers put one of there co-worker phone numbers in the phone directory but changed the name to "Wong Number".

  12. Steve Liddle
    Happy

    Imagine going to hospital with a name like...

    Know some guy in the Sealed Knot, whose name is Dick Crack, seems he had to goto hospital a while back, not sure on the reason but liquid intake of some sort was involved....

    After the nurses stopped laughing, he had to show them some id to get them to believe it :)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    I don't get it

    by Hugh Toole.

    Paris, because maybe she does?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Just read an article by

    an officer in the army about his time in Afghanistan who rejoices in the moniker Major Spares!

    ;)

    ROFL!

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I blame Buster and, Whizzer and Chips

    Who gave us such classics as:

    Delbert the Dynamite Dude

    Ivor Lott

    Lucky Dick

    Lucy Lastic

    Lazy Bones

    Milly O'Naire

    Penny Less

    Tiny Tycoon

    Toy Boy

    Tony Broke

    Conclusive proof really that if you get them when they are young, comic wash them, then they will turn out as brainless adults naming their sprogs for a lifetime of ridicule.

    Though actually Delbert the Dynamite Dude may have been quite a good name to have, where is that deed poll.

  16. JohnG

    Linsey Doyle..

    ...was a girl living in SE London.

  17. Mick
    Happy

    my name really is...

    Michael Myers... and no I prefer Mick to Mike but still get all the Halloween quips, indeed last year I bit the bullet and bought the outfit for a fancy dress party!

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Actually, I got that wrong

    The Major was, in fact, Major Slack which is even better;).

    Paris, because she's not slack, at all.

  19. Phil B

    Drew Peacock...

    A friend was about to call her (unborn) baby Drew until someone pointed out her surname was Peacock.

  20. Steen Hive
    Heart

    Drapes

    New a rather fetching young lady in Limerick, Éire called Annette Curtain.

  21. Neoc
    Unhappy

    Spare a thought...

    ...for someone I knew in University. His name was Wayne Kerr. Wayne Bevin Kerr to be exact. Poor bloke. Not only for the obvious joke, but the fact we kept making Muppets "mihmihmih" noises every time someone mentioned the "B. Kerr" part of his name. ^_^

    Kept on wishing our Physics lecturer was named "Honeydew".

  22. Michael
    Pirate

    Bad Names, Worse Karma

    My first job's corporation (GRCI) had a subsidiary with an even worse name than you can possibly conceive (at least for marketing purposes).

    But there was someone in the phone book by the name of Foo Kyu Chen. I kid you not. I used to call the lab and hope I'd be answered by Fu Kyu.

    But then, the even worse name I mentioned above was "Beagles for Research."

  23. Argus Tuft

    my doctor's name

    is (truely) Dr Payne...

  24. Justin Cottrell
    Paris Hilton

    Worst name in existence

    I know of a man called Wayne Kerr, runs his own company called wayne kerr test. Quite a big company. See http://www.waynekerrtest.com/

    Poor old sod, who would give anybody a name like that????

  25. Diarmuid Pigott

    Big shot at the IOC

    is called Dick Pound, something that Roy and HG were endlessly delighted by (google them if you don't know them already)

  26. Larry Adams
    Paris Hilton

    Strange names...

    When my wife was expecting our second child, the Ob-Gyn see saw a couple of times was Dr. James Coffin...

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Support Call...

    @ John Watts

    How could you forget Intercourse, Pennsylvania?...

    Paris, because, well, you know....

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Support Call...

    @ John Watts

    How could you forget Intercourse, Pennsylvania?...

    Paris, well, you know why...

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I work with...

    Cosy Quarters.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    I remember well...

    My University graduation ceremony. We all had sheets listing the people who were being awarded degrees, and none of us could wait to see how the Chancellor was going to pronounce the name of a certain Oriental woman who's name was spelled "Fuk Yu". Really.

    How we laughed!

  31. Neil

    Pilot Inspektor

    That'd be Jason Lee of My Name Is Earl fame...

    When I was in tech support there was a customer called Barry Batman. His account kept getting cancelled and he kept having to prove it was his real name.

  32. Chris Williams

    Well there's a Randy Fitzpeter...

    ... which leads me to wonder (with the obvious conclusion to this sentence galloping toward us very predictably and at full speed) if Peter Fitzrandy?

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Work colleague

    with the name of "Dick Tester", not sure if his name was really "Richard" but everyone in work knew him as Dick.

  34. 2FishInATank

    TVS/Meridian News Bod

    About 15-20 years ago there was a news reporter on the TVS/Meridian news called Chris Peacock.

    He went by that monicker for several years before 'rebranding' as Christopher Peacock.

    He may still be there for all I know/care.....

  35. Daniel
    Pirate

    There was a doctor in a hosiptal in Herts ..

    ... in the 80's called Dr. De'Ath. No joke ...

  36. Sandra Greer

    Couldn't help it ---

    When I worked for IEEE, eons ago, there was a short paper submitted by a German author whose surname was the F-word. After verifying that, I had to shepherd it through galleys and page proofs (metal in those days), as our typesetters kept changing it to the common German name Fuchs (fox).

    I guess this author did not want to disrespect his paternal line. A case of extreme filial piety?

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    James T Kirk?

    One of the well known US AV vendors in the UK, had an account manager by that name...

  38. Jon
    Paris Hilton

    Job & Title

    My parents accountant was A. Swindler. They mentioned asked why he didn't use his first name. It was Adam...

  39. Stewart

    More Doctors...

    A few years back I saw a Doctor Cartilage who specialised in joints.

    When I lived in America one neighbour was called Randy Slicker - and he didn't see anything amusing in that...

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    It could be worse

    I once worked with a Martin Amegashitsi, and I know a Juan King.

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    I always sign the Downing Street e-petitions as...

    Ann R. Sole

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Another from the states

    Paige Reader

    (married name)

  43. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Names are fun

    I work in insurance, and the following gems have been seen in our cases:

    - Mustafa Kok

    - Dat Phat Ho

    - Fook Yuen

    - Fattie Gohbad

    - Stephanie Hunsucker

    I also went to High School with a Harry Johnson. In college, I had a class with an Araya Sunshine.

  44. David B

    Highschool English teacher of mine...

    ... was named Harry Dick.

    True story.

  45. Doug Glass
    Go

    Lest We Forget "American Grafitti"

    Mike Hunt

  46. rick buck
    Paris Hilton

    Pro Nunciations

    Went to school with Jimmy Riddle, Joy Jester, Mike Hunt.

    Dated a girl named (Jenny) Virginia Peters.

    Worked with Anne Marie Ondick (Have you seen Anne Marie Ondick?)

    Had a room-mate that we would send mail to (Had an Irish Postman)...

    under the name of Richard Wanker. The postman always rang the bell and waited to see if he would open the door, and hand it to him, and just laugh!!!

    Met a Dale Rivers.

    And I live not far from Climax, North Carolina.

    In Pennsylvania, there are 3 towns, in a row, Blue Balls, Intercourse, and Climax!

    Rich Hard Stan More Buck

    Paris, (made her laugh so hard, she cried)

    'cause she knows there is more to a person than just a name,

    There is also the money aspect. I've got that covered too!

  47. Michael Chester
    Paris Hilton

    Another one

    Used to work as a postie, on one of the deliveries there is a Chinese restaurant called Hing Ho, Kept seeing letters addressed to Fuk Hing Ho and assumed it was just some people taking the piss. That is until I was working on the desk and she came in to get a package... Kept a straight face while looking at her ID and finding the parcel, right up until the point where she walked out the door

    Paris, because.... Do I really need to explain?

  48. Dan Taylor

    My Maths teacher was called

    I Boreham

    I also worked with a guy called Richard Teasdale , which took about 30 seconds to change to 'Dick Tease' in the address book.

  49. Hans

    Lovely girl

    True -

    I used to know a lovely Scottish girl called Isabel Cummings . . . except that she always went by the traditional Scottish short form of . . . "Isa . . ." (Pron: Eyes-ah)

    I presume by now everyone else here is mentally tuned into that famous sketch from Monty Python's Life of Brian with "Biggus Dickus and Incontinentia Buttocks"

  50. John

    If I remember rightly

    There was a Korean government minister called Bum Suk. I also believe there was a footballer called Bum Soo. Or how about Danny Shittu? On the NVQ spreadsheets test I did in 1994 the grocer's was called Ivor Orange; surely it should've been Ivan....

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