from the Nilsens

1. 1
Onomastic Variation
By Don L. F. Nilsen and
Alleen Pace Nilsen

2. 2
Acronyms, Initialisms and Numbers
O. J. Simpson ( was known as the juice and was a
spokesman for Orange Juice).
Tony Dorset had the initials T.D. meaning
“touchdown.”
Note that Siddhartha Gautama and Jesus of Nazareth
are known by their roles—Buddha and Christ or Savior.
In Peanuts there are characters named 3, 4, and 5.

3. Jesus a.k.a.?
3

4. 4
Aliases (a.k.a.)
Barry Humphreys, Bruce Banner, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Peter
Parker, Wolverine 
Dame Edna, The Hulk, Batman, Superman, Spiderman;
Wolverine’s aliases depend on the situation
Note that Superman has to become Clark Kent to keep from being
a superhero, while Bruce Wayne hides his identity by becoming
Batman.
Prince  the artist formerly known as Prince. He is also known
as “The Love Symbol.”

5. 5
The Love Symbol a.k.a. ?

6. Hugh Jackman a.k.a. ?
6

7. 7
Then there are the doppelgangers, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
There are also code names like
POTUS for Barack Obama
FLOTUS for Michelle Obama
Sawhorse for Al Gore
Angler for Dick Cheney
Evergreen for Hillary Clinton
Phoenix for John McCain.

8. FLOTUS a.k.a. ?
8

9. 9
Anagrams
In the Lemony Snicket books, Count Olaf is an
anagram of
Al Funcoot
Foreman Flacutono
and Dr. O. Lucafont.
In the Harry Potter books,
Tom Marvolo Riddle is an anagram of
“I am Lord Voldemort.”

10. Aptronyms in John Bunyan’s
Pilgrim’s Progress
• Christian
• Faithful
• Mr. Brisk
• Mr. Great Heart
• Mr. Honest
• Giant Despair
• Giant Grim
• Madam Bubble
• Mr. Despondency
• Mr. Moneylove
• Mrs. Bats-Eyes
10

11. Foreman Flacutono a.k.a. ?
11

12. Brand Names
Blendings
12
Efferdent toothpaste
Danskin tights
Allerest allergy
medicine
Slimnastics
Mylanta antacid
medicine

13. 13

14. Associations
Chevrolet Lumina
Honda Acura
Mitsubishi Precis
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Altima
Sentra Car
Volkswagen Jetta
14

15. 15

16. • Mexico City Zoo:
– Ying Ying
• Washington D.C.
Zoo:
– Ling Ling
– Hsing-Hsing
• London Zoo:
– Chia-Chia
16
• As a mark of
affection, Chinese
parents often give
their children
double names.
• Since Pandas are
native only to
China, Pandas
also receive
double names.

17. Misspellings
Sunkist Oranges
Jello Dessert
DieHard Batteries
Evenflo baby bottles
Klos kids’ clothing
Mop & Glo cleaner
Sew n’ Vac repairs
17

18. 18

19. Shortened Phrases
19

20. “X-Rated” Brands
Sinex medicine
Sominex medicine
Xerox
Kotex
Clorox
Exxon
Kleenex
Ford Ranger XLT
Hyundai Excel
20

21. 21

22. Character Names
• In Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the
Wind she had a character named
Pansy.
• On the advice of her editor she
changed the name to Scarlett O’Hara.
22

23. 23
Cryptonyms
James Bond, Karl Malone
007, The Mailman (because of his number 32,
the cost of a stamp at that time, and because
“he delivers!”)
In Get Smart Maxwell Smart was Agent 86 and
his sidekick was Agent 99.

24. Karl Malone a.k.a. ?
24

25. 25
Gender Identifications
Authors like S. E. Hinton and J. K. Rowling use initials.
And Mary Evans  George Eliot.

26. 26
Toward Ethnicity
Cassius Clay, Daniel Michaeli, David
Cornwell, Jerry Rivers, Lesane Parish
Crooks, Lew Alcindor, Susan Weaver 
Muhammad Ali, Danny DeVito, John Le
Carré, Geraldo Rivera, Tupac Amaru
Shakur, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Sigourney
Weaver

27. Cassius Clay a.k.a.?
27

28. 28

29. 29
Away from Ethnicity
Aaron Chwatt, Avram Chomsky, Bernard
Schwartz, Carlos Estevez, Carlos Ray, David
Kaminsky, Dino Crocetti, Doris von Kappelhoff,
Enrique Martin Morales, Frederick Austerlitz,
Gerald Silberman 
Red Buttons, Noam Chomsky, Tony Curtis,
Charlie Sheen, Chuck Norris, Danny Kaye,
Dean Martin, Doris Day, Ricky Martin, Fred
Astaire, Gene Wilder

30. Frederick Austerlitz a.k.a. ?
30

31. 31
Jacob Cohen, Jennifer Anastassakis, Joan
Molinsky, Jonathan Leibowitz, Joseph Levitch,
Larry Zeigler, Louise Ciccone Ritchie,
Margarita Cansino, Melvin Kaminsky, Paul
Rubenfeld, Raquel Tejada, Salvatore Bono,
Winona Horowitz 
Rodney Dangerfield, Jennifer Aniston, Joan
Rivers, Jon Stewart, Jerry Lewis, Larry King,
Madonna, Rita Hayworth, Mel Brooks, Pee-Wee
Herman, Raquel Welch, Sonny Bono, Winona
Ryder

32. Jacob Cohen a.k.a. ?
32

33. 33
Toward Formality
Andre Young, Dana Owens, Frances Gumm,
Gary Keillor, James Bumbarner
Dr. Dre, Queen Latifah, Judy Garland, Garrison
Keillor, James Garner
NOTE: We don’t normally go in this direction.
We would prefer to be thought of as informal
and maybe a bit off beat.

34. Frances Gumm a.k.a. ?
34

35. 35
Away from Formality
Aaron Chwatt, Allen Konigsberg, Caryn Johnson,
Clerow Wilson, Cordazer Broadus, Dante Smith, David
Atkins, Gordon Sumner, James Osterberg, James
Smith, John Sanford, Joseph Keaton
Red Buttons, Woody Allen, Whoopi Goldberg, Flip
Wilson, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Mos Def, Sinbad, Sting,
Iggy Pop, LL Cool J, Redd Foxx, Buster Keaton
The rapper Christopher Wallace  Notorious B.I.G.
and then  “Biggie Smalls.”

36. Caryn Johnson a.k.a. ?
36

37. 37
Away from Formality
Curtis Jackson, Leonard Hackett, Louis Armstrong,
Marshall Mathers, Marvin Aday, Milton Superman,
Oshea Jackson, Otha Bates, Phyllis Driver, Robert Van
Winckle, Salvatore Bono, Scott Thompson, Shelton
Lee, Stanley Burrell, Tracy Morrow 
50 Cent, Buddy Hacket, Satchmo, Eminem, Meat Loaf,
Soupy Sales, Ice Cube, Bo Diddley, Phyllis Diller (note
assonance), Vanilla Ice, Sonny Bono, Carrott Top,
Spike Lee, M. C. Hammer, Ice-T

38. Louis Armstrong a.k.a. ?
38

39. 39
Away from Old Fashioned
Herbert Gleason, Goldie
Studlendgehawn, Malcolm Little, Marion
Michael Morrison (also away from gender
ambiguity)
Jackie Gleason, Goldie Hawn, Malcolm X,
John Wayne

40. Marion Michael Morrison a.k.a. ?
40

41. 41
Nicknames
Donald, Edward, Elizabeth, Francis, Gerald, Harold,
Jacqueline, John, Joseph, Josephine, Judith, Leonard,
Lucille, Margaret, Marjorie, Melvin, Nicholas, Patrick,
Richard, Robert, Salvatore, Samuel, Susan, Theodore,
Thomas, William 
Don, Ed, Lizzy/Lisa/Beth/Betsy/Elsbeth, Frank, Jerry,
Harry/Hal, Jackie, Johnny/Jack, Joe, Jo (in Little
Women), Judy, Leo, Lucy, Maj/Margo/Maggie/Meg/
Marge/Peggy/Peg, Mel, Nick (this is his “nick-name,”
Pat, Dick, Bob, Sal, Sam, Sue/Suzie/Suzie Que, Ted,
Tom, Will/Bill/Billie

42. 42
Patronyms
(first names become last names)
Brian, Casey, Connor, Donald, Gerald, Jack,
John, Murry, Neil, Owen, Patrick, Reilly, Ryan,
Will 
O’Brian, O’Casey, O’Connor,
McDonald/O’Donald, Fitzgerald, Jackson,
Johnson, McMurry, Neilsen/McNeil/O’Neil,
Bowen (Ap Owen), Fitzpatrick, O’Reilly,
O’Ryan, Wilson

43. 43
Pen Names
Charles Dodgson, Daniel Handler,
Richard Bachman, Samuel Clemens 
Lewis Carroll, Lemony Snicket, Stephen
King, Mark Twain
And Theodore Seuss Geisel  Dr.
Seuss, Theo Le Seig, and Rosetta Stone

44. Samuel Clemens a.k.a. ?
44

45. • In the early 1800s, Louisa May Alcott’s
father, Bronson, changed their family
name.
• The name Allcox became Alcott.
45

46. Louisa May Alcott
46

47. • When Ernest
Hemingway was in
high school (1916-
1917) he used all of
the following pen
names:
• B. S.
• E. H.
• Ernest Hemingway
• Ernest MacNamara
Hemingway
• Ernest
Michaelowitch
Hemingway
• Ernest Miller
Hemingway
47

48. Ernest Hemingway
48

49. 49
Pet Names
These names tend to be mild insults. Please tell us the
pet names of people you know. For example:
I have a cat that I call “Dipper Hips.”
That’s my cat’s “pet name.”
My own name is Don Lee Fred Nilsen, so people used
to call me Dolphin (DLFN). When people call me
Donald, I correct them by saying, “No, Donald is the
duck.” In the army I went to German operas, so my
buddies called me “Fledermaus.”

50. Die Fledermaus a.k.a. ?
50

51. Muppets: Waldorf & Astoria
51

52. 52
Pseudonyms
Mary  Maria  Marianne
“Ave Maria,” marionnette
Note that in the music industry most of
the Pseudonyms are quite dark or
playful, like the following:
Alien, Buck Satan, Hypo Luxa, Jello
Biafra

53. 53
Recycling of Names
David Copperfield (Dickens Character), Dolly Parton
(Country Singer), & Englebert Humperdink (Opera
Composer), Yogi Berra (baseball catcher) 
David Copperfield (magician, né David Kotkin), Dolly
(sheep cloned from a mammary gland), & Englebert
Humperdink (singer, né Arnold Dorsey), Yogi Bear
(cartoon character)
On Lost, the con-man James Ford takes on the alias of
“Sawyer” from another con-man who goes by the name
of “Tom Sawyer.” He is part capitalist (Ford) and part
con-man “Sawyer.”

54. Who is it? A.K.A.?
54

55. 55
The Name Jacques in France
In France, the non-aristocrats were called “La
Jacquerie.” Originally this referred to any
peasant or non-aristocrat, but later it referred
to the “peasant uprising” that marched from
Marseille to Paris and stormed the Bastille.
In Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, three of
the characters are named Jacques 1, Jacques
2 and Jacques 3.

56. Stage Names
• In 1920, Alan Bolt became America’s
first important sexy movie star.
• But first, he had to change his name to
Rudolph Valentino.
56

57. Rudolph Valentino
57

58. • In his first movie,
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
went by the name of
Arnold Strong.
• His agent told him
that Americans
would never say
Schwarzenegger.
• But he went back to
his original name,
telling his agent,
• “They can learn!”
58

59. Arnold Schwartzenegger
59

60. 60
Symbolic Names
Casanova, Don Juan, Sam, St. Patrick 
a casanova, Byron’s Don Juan, and
Mozart’s Don Giovanni, *Uncle Sam, St.
Patrick’s Day
*Note “Uncle Sam”  “United States.”

61. United States a.k.a. ?
61

62. Place Names
• When settlers came to Arizona, they
invented such place names as:
• Carefree
• Golden Valley
• Inspiration, Paradise Valley
• Phoenix
• Tucson
62

63. • But people just
passing through
Arizona invented
such names as:
• Booze Crossing
• Contention
• Del Muerto
• Grasshopper
Junction
• Hookers Hot
Springs
• Tombstone
63

64. 64
Toponymic Names
Cody, Montana, Tex, The Virginian
Chevy Chase, Dakota Fanning, Indiana Jones,
Minnesota Fats, Rock Hudson & Tennessee
Williams
Cornelius Chase, Henry Deutschendorf, Janet
Rasmussen, River Bottom 
Chevy Chase, John Denver, Janet Reno, River
Phoenix

65. Harrison Ford a.k.a. ?
65

66. 66
Names Web Sites
American Name Society:
http://www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/ANS/
Baby Names:
http://nameberry.com/