Nominative Determinism...

[61653 HTAFC]

Following these two posts in the "Companies You Expect to Disappear Soon" thread, I'll take the suggestion of @Cowley and start a thread for people we've met or businesses seen with appropriately named owners or employees...

I worked in Minehead Wimpy for three summer seasons, or part thereof, in the 1960s. Hard work (sometimes!), lousy pay, but it had compensations of the non-financial kind! Head office was at Winchester Bus Station and the head guy there was Mr Eatwell.

Mr Eatwell!
So often we come across people doing jobs with apt names like this (in fact there’s probably a thread in this I reckon).
Just off the top of my head, when I worked for Social Services a couple of decades ago, the guy who was in charge of the wages was a certain Mr P Money...
A few years before that though when I worked for the Exeter Health Authority one of our upper managers was called Mr Gurkin...
It was therefore a common trick to play on the unwary to tell them to ring ‘Mr Gurkin’ because he had an important message for them, but to then provide them with the phone number for ‘Ede’s Pickled Onions’ - A local firm (that were probably used to us calling).
You can probably fill the rest in...

One of the best I've seen is a funeral director on Bradford Road, Dewsbury with the name "Eric Box"!

 

[YorkshireBear]

There is a highways engineer at a local council I've had dealings with called Mrs Bridge.

 

[Ianno87]

During pregancy, my wife was dealt with by a doctor called "Dr Patient"

 

[adrock1976]

One of the GPs at my local practice is "Dr Legge".

 

[Strat-tastic]

Head of security at my work used to be a Mr. Seargent.

 

[pdeaves]

I know a Mr Fortune who works in finance.

Many surnames are derived from occupations so it shouldn't be too surprising to find a Mr Smith making horseshoes, for example. Of course, in modern society people move around more and occupations are often different, thus diluting the effect.

 

[Geezertronic]

Back in the day, there were some graduate students who came into our place thinking they knew it all - including one called Stuart Dent. We obviously used to call him Stu Dent

 

[Howardh]

We had a teacher called Mr. French who taught......maths .

 

[Cowley]

Many surnames are derived from occupations so it shouldn't be too surprising to find a Mr Smith making horseshoes, for example. Of course, in modern society people move around more and occupations are often different, thus diluting the effect.

Mr Smith would probably now be working in a tyre fitters...

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I once dated a civil engineer who specialised in irrigation. Her surname was... Pool!

 

[YorkshireBear]

We had a teacher called Mr. French who taught......maths .

He let everybody down with his subject choice.

 

[gnolife]

We had a teacher called Mr. French who taught......maths .

I had a very similar one, Mr Cook teaching Woodwork (for clarification on this, my school had it so that everyone had a block on the timetable labelled as 'Technology', which was split into three blocks through the year - Woodwork, Textiles and Food)

 

[class387]

My English teacher is called Henry Jekyll.

 

[gnolife]

My English teacher is called Henry Jekyll.

Presumably there is also an Edward Hyde around?

 

[Howardh]

He let everybody down with his subject choice.

I was good at sums but hopeless at french. Now if I'd have been offered italian...

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There was once a senior executive in one of the big supermarket chains whose name was Mark Price.

 

[Busaholic]

I was good at sums but hopeless at french. Now if I'd have been offered italian...

Why would an MP called Mark Francois be so anti-EU?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Why would an MP called Mark Francois be so anti-EU?

To be fair, there was the former MP with the unfortunate surname "Reckless" up until a few years ago... he still got elected, at first.

 

[Calthrop]

The tone of this thread would inevitably be lowered "as follows", at some point; so the guilty party might as well be me .

Although sometimes given as an instance of nominative determinism; I understand that with Thomas Crapper (1836 -- 1910) inventing various refinements / improvements to the flush toilet -- things worked here, the opposite way round. It was apparently the omnipresent patent-associated plates attached to lavatory cisterns, bearing the name "Thomas Crapper"; which inspired people to coin the four-letter word referring to a particular biological process and matters associated with same.

 

[43021HST]

A good friend of mine who happens to be very good at art, is called A. Painter, her fathers Surname, also Painter works as a Decorator. I kid you not, although I've known her for so long, the joke has long worn thin.

Also don't forget the various FW Paine funeral directors scattered around south west London.

 

[Bald Rick]

The tone of this thread would inevitably be lowered "as follows", at some point; so the guilty party might as well be me .

Although sometimes given as an instance of nominative determinism; I understand that with Thomas Crapper (1836 -- 1910) inventing various refinements / improvements to the flush toilet -- things worked here, the opposite way round. It was apparently the omnipresent patent-associated plates attached to lavatory cisterns, bearing the name "Thomas Crapper"; which inspired people to coin the four-letter word referring to a particular biological process and matters associated with same.

Slightly off topic, but that reminds me of the old Brian Johnston tale about when the Surrey cricketers Alec Bedser and Jack Crapp arrived at their Leeds hotel late the evening before a Headingley test. Jack approached the receptionist. “Bed Sir?” See enquired. “No, Crapp.” He replied. “Second door on the left” she answered.

 

[Busaholic]

Slightly off topic, but that reminds me of the old Brian Johnston tale about when the Surrey cricketers Alec Bedser and Jack Crapp arrived at their Leeds hotel late the evening before a Headingley test. Jack approached the receptionist. “Bed Sir?” See enquired. “No, Crapp.” He replied. “Second door on the left” she answered.

I remember Jack Crapp - he became a first class umpire, so you could honestly say 'the umpire's Crapp'

 

[A Challenge]

One of the amendments on the EU Withdrawal (No 5) Bill in the House of Lords was made in the name of Lord Pannick, which given how the bill was rushed through the House seems appropriate!

 

[OwlMan]

There is a solicitors in Leamington Spa called Wright Hassell & Co.
Edward Wright took James Wright Hassall into partnership which was then named Wright and Hassall in 1875.

 

[Cowley]

There is a solicitors in Leamington Spa called Wright Hassell & Co.

That’s brilliant.