But here comes Judy Graham Swallows on the outside!!

April 5, 2011 2:08 PM

It's that time of year again! Time to vote for the 2011 Name of the Year! This year's contestants include such heavyweights as Col. Many-Bears Grinder, Ebenezer Noonoo, Yolanda Supersad, RexAchilles Imperial, and La'Peaches Pitts.

Last year, Aussie Rules Football player Steele Sidebottom won the audience award, edging out Cameroonian soccer player Banana Yaya, while St. Joseph U. track star Nohjay Nimpson took home the jury prize.

Nominees are collected over the course of the year by the anonymous Name of the Year selection committee. Only verifiable given names are eligible.

Last year's thread.

posted by eugenen (61 comments total)

I think these names deserve a mention.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:15 PM on April 5, 2011

I nominate the talented Imogen Poots.
posted by jbickers at 2:17 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Marijuana Pepsi!
posted by fixedgear at 2:19 PM on April 5, 2011

these are the names of racehorses, right? not people...? right.....?
posted by supermedusa at 2:20 PM on April 5, 2011

Wasn't Draco Slaughter in a band with Yngwie for a while? They did that one about... a dragon, I believe it was?
posted by Wolfdog at 2:20 PM on April 5, 2011

Takes me back to the good old highschool days, going through the phone book and prank calling people with funny names. The best we ever found was guy named Jamida Abdiasis.
posted by mannequito at 2:21 PM on April 5, 2011

Courvoiser Winetavius Richardson is amazing.

Props to whoever named their kid Delorean though.
posted by Put the kettle on at 2:21 PM on April 5, 2011

X'Zavier Bloodsaw was totally robbed last year.
posted by Strange Interlude at 2:22 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

X'Zavier Bloodsaw was totally robbed last year.

I was really pulling for Pamela Balls Organista.
posted by eugenen at 2:23 PM on April 5, 2011

He has a wife, you know.
posted by Decani at 2:31 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

My final four: Ebenezer Noonoo, Monsterville Horton IV, Cruise Citation Mangle, and Basil Smotherman, Jr.

Monsterville for the win.
posted by Iridic at 2:33 PM on April 5, 2011

No way would I vote against a woman who can grind many bears.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:46 PM on April 5, 2011

Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate.
posted by Ratio at 2:48 PM on April 5, 2011 [5 favorites]

I say Charity Beaver was robbed last year. Robbed, I tell you.
posted by Go Banana at 2:49 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh Put the kettle on, there were kids in my high school named both Courvoisier and Delorean. I had no idea Courvoisier was an odd name until college and honestly it just occurred to me now that Delorean is also a bit odd... I also had a classmate whose first name was Ave. Knew her for several years and was flipping through some paperwork one day only to discover that her middle name was Maria. Ave Maria, baby.
posted by Polyhymnia at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2011

Some of their seeding doesn't make any sense. You can't tell me for one second that John Dough belongs as a #2 seed while Shalom Dreampeace Compost is seeded #15 and paired off against the equally magnificent Courvoisier Winetavius Richardson. That's almost as bad as last year's #16 seeding of eventual final-four name Charity Beaver.

My final 4 with good underdogs:
Bulltron: #2 Courvoisier Winetavius Richardson, #11 Jihad Larry
Sithole: #5 Flamur Kastrati, #15 Yolanda Supersad
Dragonwagon: #2 Taco B.M. Monster (way better without the B.M.; I just picture an orange Muppet with a sombrero), #11 Monsterville Horton IV
Chrochtangle: #2 Madz Negro, #16 Cruise Citation Mangle.

But barring a first round upset, pass the Courvoisier, baby.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2011

I remember when the head of equity trading at JPMorgan's asset management unit was a man named Daemon Bear.
posted by nicwolff at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2011

Taco B. M. Monster is a doctor! "Consulting with Dr. Taco B. M. Monster" is going to be my new euphemism for getting the runs.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:59 PM on April 5, 2011 [15 favorites]

At where I used to work, I ordered a number of books for a sweet gentleman named Rowdy Negro (which I think tops Madz Negro. at least in terms of sheer fun.)
The staff were in love with him; we'd run and whisper excitedly to each other every time he came in.
posted by Rumpled at 3:03 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yolanda Supersad is such a good name.
posted by kayalovesme at 3:11 PM on April 5, 2011 [4 favorites]

Joe Shortsleeve is a TV reporter here in Boston
posted by briank at 3:12 PM on April 5, 2011

These are great!
posted by Mister_A at 3:14 PM on April 5, 2011

Mercedes Bunz ftw!
posted by Mister_A at 3:19 PM on April 5, 2011

They left Shanda Lear off the list AGAIN!
posted by Mister_A at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2011

Thorhammer Beowulf
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2011

According to the blog, among the names that didn't make it this year were Clifford Many Heads, Dick Longwish, Vandy Blue Spikes, Harry Baals, and Rockit Storm Pettijohn.

I submit to you that each of these is at *least* as good a name as Sithole No. 3, Lola Porch.
posted by saturday_morning at 3:28 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've got Courvoisier Winetavius Richardson, Quadrophenia Taylor, Taco B.M. Monster, and Orel Oral going to the Final Four, with the Monster winning it all.

Dark horse: Mercedes Bunz.
posted by xbonesgt at 3:35 PM on April 5, 2011

I nominate: Chief Commander Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi. Hell of a musician, too.
posted by ooga_booga at 3:36 PM on April 5, 2011

Monsterville Horton IV. Think about that for a minute.
posted by tommasz at 3:37 PM on April 5, 2011 [7 favorites]

I agree that Taco B.M. Monster is going to take the title, but Basil Smotherman Jr. isn't going to go down without a fight
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 3:50 PM on April 5, 2011

Silly names give me a chuckle, I do declare.
posted by Bushrod Johnson at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Col. Many-Bears Grinder

Impressive.
posted by Bangaioh at 4:01 PM on April 5, 2011

I probably mentioned this last year, but I went to high school with a Liberty Bell and a Chlamydia Johnson.

Monsterville Horton IV is my pick just because there are at least three other Monsterrville Hortons.
posted by cmoj at 4:08 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I used to occasionally talk with Velvie Savage, too bad she's not on this list...
posted by Confess, Fletch at 4:16 PM on April 5, 2011

I went to school with a kid named Lee Kee Bhum. No fooling.
posted by the dief at 4:23 PM on April 5, 2011

I always feel like my brother's elementary school classmate Cinnamon Vermillion deserves some recognition on one of these things. Because that is a truly spectacular name.
posted by Because at 4:35 PM on April 5, 2011

Some names of real life people that I have encountered:
Anil Sexana
Storm Slam
Polly Ester Cotton (a contestant on a TV game show)
posted by robotot at 4:41 PM on April 5, 2011

I'm predicting a deathmatch in the Dragonwagon Regional between Vernon Lee Badmarriage Jr. (Junior!) and Philander Moore.
posted by toodleydoodley at 4:54 PM on April 5, 2011

Flamur, meaning flag, is not an uncommon Albanian name and the last name Kastrati can be traced back 600 years, if not more. So the pronunciation may be funny in English, and fun is fun, but I'm confident this person was not given that name out of mischief or for maximum lulz.
posted by preparat at 5:03 PM on April 5, 2011

I want to read all the books starring Leviticus Payne
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:03 PM on April 5, 2011

I worked with a lovely woman named Amanda Wank. And went to school with twins named A. and M. Sicko.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 5:08 PM on April 5, 2011

We named our newborn Odyssey Dawn, emailed the family photos and the good news. Cousin works for DoD, and apparently forwarded the wrong email. Not too many kids can claim to have a military operation named after them, so we're all quite proud.
posted by the noob at 5:44 PM on April 5, 2011

Can we take a moment to appreciate that the Governor of Idaho is called Butch Otter? Thanks
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:07 PM on April 5, 2011

When I worked at a bank I had a regular customer whose legal name was Alison Wonderland.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:11 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

When I worked at a bank I had a regular customer whose legal name was Alison Wonderland.

One of my parents (I forget which now) used to tell a story about an Alison Wonderland. Could it possibly be there are two? (I guess there must be at least an Alison and a mirror-Alison.)
posted by DU at 6:21 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Could it possibly be there are two? (I guess there must be at least an Alison and a mirror-Alison.)

The one I knew was in her mid/late 20s and lived in Massachusetts about 5 or 6 years ago.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:27 PM on April 5, 2011

I think I only heard the story of Alison Wonderland once and I don't even remember when that was, nor the age of Alison. :(
posted by DU at 6:38 PM on April 5, 2011

According to the blog, among the names that didn't make it this year were Clifford Many Heads, Dick Longwish, Vandy Blue Spikes, Harry Baals, and Rockit Storm Pettijohn.

Vandy Blue Spikes! He wrote a thesis (can't find a good link) about the field site I visited this January. We all thought "Blue Spikes" was a particularly good name for a glaciologist.

Also, a quick Google of his name shows that he recently married one Lindsey Love Sharp, suggesting that the Sharp-Spikes family may be showing up on a future iteration of Name of the Year...
posted by fermion at 7:08 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Butch Otter's ex-wife was Gay Simplot. She kept her maiden name.
posted by leading question at 7:33 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Being caught in bed with a Gay Otter is a sure-fire political scandal.
posted by mannequito at 7:51 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Mercedes Bunz is a media and technology reporter for the Guardian. I really really hope she writes about this.
posted by motty at 9:22 PM on April 5, 2011

Yu Arafuka. That's glorious.
posted by jcm at 9:34 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Mercedes Bunz is a media and technology reporter for the Guardian.

And porn star. Surely. Has to be!
posted by Decani at 3:58 AM on April 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

A favorite of mine was "Wa Feek Eye You". (short a on Wa). The name is amazing, and begs the obvious response. I don't mention it often, I felt some sympathy. But still. I'll only note, I ain't saying why I knew him, nor where.
posted by Goofyy at 5:48 AM on April 6, 2011

In before someone claims their cousin went to school with kids named Oranjello and Lemonjello, or that their aunt taught a child named Sha-theed (spelled "Shithead").

Thanks for the post, I love this sort of thing and onomastics in general.
posted by jtron at 6:56 AM on April 6, 2011

My better half went to school with a girl named Joanna Ryder, which I can assure you is not that flattering when said in an Irish accent…
posted by nfg at 8:09 AM on April 6, 2011

I went to college with a guy named Sadaporn Pornpromlikit. My spelling may be off on that.
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 10:34 AM on April 6, 2011

I went to school with a Myrddin and a Nimrod.

I feel really sorry for those guys in the age of Google.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:11 PM on April 6, 2011

I love name porn.
posted by notashroom at 6:21 PM on April 6, 2011

My final 4 with good underdogs:
Bulltron: #2 Courvoisier Winetavius Richardson, #11 Jihad Larry
Jihad Larry has been removed from the competition, according to the website.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:15 AM on April 7, 2011

After a few drinks late one night last week I emailed Mercedes Bunz out of the blue (so to speak) to ask her a) if she was aware of the contest and b) if she was going to write about it - there is a certain dry humour about her columns in the Guardian which, selfishly, I wished to see applied to the NOTY contest.

The next day I received an extremely polite reply from Ms Bunz thanking me for my email and saying that she thought the whole thing was best ignored (and presumably would not therefore be writing about it). She also told me that she had been unaware of the contest.

I do still find the whole thing hilarious, but I am highly disappointed to learn that they do not bother to contact their nominees. For me that highlights the problematic undertone of pointing and laughing at people from other cultures or sub-cultures running through NOTY - it's not the whole thing here, but you have to ask yourself whether all these names are considered funny or weird in the communities where the people with those names live.
posted by motty at 8:47 PM on April 12, 2011 [3 favorites]