Name of the Year 2010
March 24, 2010 10:18 AM   Subscribe

March Madness just got a little crazier... It's this year's Name of the Year ballot! Names are submitted, verified to be real, then put in an NCAA-style bracket. Nohjay Nimpson might be a favorite this year, but I think Pepi Hamburger is going to be the dark horse. Voting for your favorites starts soon. Previous winners. Previously on MeFi.
posted by battlebison (30 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Looking back over the history there's some fun ones. Jerome Fruithandler makes me smile more than it should compared to the really odd ones.

But I don't understand 1983 Hector Camacho.
posted by selton at 10:30 AM on March 24, 2010


This makes me uncomfortable, though I'm fine making fun of baby names.
posted by anniecat at 10:33 AM on March 24, 2010


Man it's a damn shame they used such a crappy font on the ballot. I can't make out several of the letters.

Rich Tanguy is a great name.
posted by graventy at 10:35 AM on March 24, 2010 [3 favorites]


Jesus Condom.
posted by chugg at 10:38 AM on March 24, 2010


But I don't understand 1983 Hector Camacho.

They left out his nickname -- Hector "Macho" Camacho.

The bar is much higher today, obviously.
posted by brain_drain at 10:38 AM on March 24, 2010


I'm still seething over Telephone Mtoko's defeat last year.
posted by The White Hat at 10:38 AM on March 24, 2010


you know that whoever named Starzann Stipes had been planning that one out for years.
posted by nangua at 10:39 AM on March 24, 2010


I predict a strong run from Selathious Bobo in the DragonWagon bracket. Dude(?) sounds like a Sith Lord.

Graventy, they just reposted it so you can actually read the names!
posted by ecurtz at 10:40 AM on March 24, 2010


Here's the run-up post, where 1) you can read the names more easily, and 2) there's some background on the cast of characters.

I personally think the best combination is interesting first and last names. Last name only (example: Iris Macadangdang) means there are other people with the same last name, and possibly someone with a more interesting combination. First name only, and you sound like an old-timey prospector or maybe a hobo (like Ms. Spontaneous Gordon). But a combination of both first and last means embracing the family name and making it more (as seen with Nohjay Nimpson).

Yes, it's a bit of point-and-laugh type humor, but this world is rough and if a person's gonna make it, they've gotta be tough. They'd have to get tough or die, and I think it's the name that helped to make them strong.

Also: nicknames are cheating. Hector "Macho" Camacho? Keith "Tiny" Gallon? The latter has a number of articles naming him as simply "Tiny Gallon," but it's still a nick-name.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:48 AM on March 24, 2010 [3 favorites]


Their number 1 seed in the Chrotchtangle bracket is going out in the first round. Just-in'love Smith over Charity Beaver? What were they thinking?
posted by ecurtz at 10:50 AM on March 24, 2010


Dick Smallberries JUNIOR? What did his father want, someone to commisserate with?
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:53 AM on March 24, 2010


I was for calling bullshit on Lolita Respectnothing, but lo, down on the second page of google results, was a lonely maxpreps page...

But I don't understand 1983 Hector Camacho.

They left out his nickname -- Hector "Macho" Camacho.

The bar is much higher today, obviously.
posted by brain_drain at 1:38 PM on March 24 [+] [!]


I still don't get this. it's not even that fancy of a nickname. in PR families, "Macho" is just what they call the little boy, so it's like a Mama nickname - "¿y como e'ta el macho?"
posted by toodleydoodley at 10:53 AM on March 24, 2010


also - Foxy Foxworth - I want to see a birth certificate.
posted by toodleydoodley at 10:55 AM on March 24, 2010


Every time I see the name of the acting President of Nigeria I get a little chuckle.
posted by deadmessenger at 10:56 AM on March 24, 2010


Their blog post on Hector Camacho. Which basically says it was a poor choice, but they were still young.
posted by smackfu at 10:59 AM on March 24, 2010


I'd like to see a demographic breakdown...
posted by jckll at 11:01 AM on March 24, 2010


It's Can Du's year. I can feel it!
posted by vibrotronica at 11:02 AM on March 24, 2010


Their number 1 seed in the Chrotchtangle bracket is going out in the first round. Just-in'love Smith over Charity Beaver? What were they thinking?

Hah! I just said that exact thing to a friend. Charity Beaver is a three seed, at least.

Do they explain somewhere where they get the names? It'd be nice if they were all sourced to news articles or something.
posted by graventy at 11:04 AM on March 24, 2010


graventy: Do they explain somewhere where they get the names? It'd be nice if they were all sourced to news articles or something."

Usually during the voting for each matchup they explain who each contestant is and where their name was found (usually local news or sports or something).
posted by battlebison at 11:08 AM on March 24, 2010


My favorites are all in Crotchtangle. Dr. Festus Dada and Romuluis Marino are my picks for the regional final, but the good doctor will have a tough time against Charity Beaver, as will Romulus against Mz. Foxworth.

I think of this contest as a best name rather than funniest name contest, but I doubt enough others do for the really good ones to get through. With that in mind, I'm going with Dick Smallberries Jr. in the finals against either Charity Beaver of Foxy Foxworth, either of which would beat Richie Jr.

Wildcard: Gregor Schwinghammer Jr.
posted by cmoj at 11:23 AM on March 24, 2010




I've got X'Zavier Bloodsaw pulling out a win over Nohjay Nimpson to make the Final Four. Dick Smallberries makes it to the regional championship, but I just can't bet against God's Power Offor. Can Du takes the Dragonwagon regional in a walk to face Pencilman Jeffries, who just edges out Dr. Dada to take the Crotchtangle crown. The final matchup will be Du vs. Bloodsaw. Du's 10 seed is a big mistake. The overwhelming positivism of the name is going to take him/her all the way.

But yes, Charity Beaver is going to update Just-InLove Smith in the first round. I also predict very strong showings from Typhoon Nurse and Cynnamon Crabb, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Napoleon Einstein hang around for a while.
posted by vibrotronica at 11:44 AM on March 24, 2010


I'm gonna take Dick Smallberries Jr. over Rich Tanguy in one semi; with Charity Beaver over Can Du in the other, and Smallberries taking the crown with a withering blow of berries to the beaver. There's something about junior...
posted by mrgrimm at 11:47 AM on March 24, 2010


That bracket looked startlingly like my last Blood Bowl team roster.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:35 PM on March 24, 2010


The thing about brackets is that sometimes ones that ought to rank highly are paired with other hi ranking ones. So "Stalin Felipe" is paired up with "Hitler Makofane" Both of those names are better then "Syessence Davis" or "Roy Spancake"
posted by delmoi at 5:28 PM on March 24, 2010


Steele Sidebottom gets my vote if only for this.
posted by yellowbinder at 8:05 PM on March 24, 2010


They left out his nickname -- Hector "Macho" Camacho.

And that his rival in those days was Julio César Chávez (their sons are now rivals).
posted by Pollomacho at 5:30 AM on March 25, 2010


I should add that JCC's name has always made me think, "Yes you can, cross the Rubicon!"
posted by Pollomacho at 5:31 AM on March 25, 2010


Possible contender for next year right here.

Is there a Most Unfortunate Byline Of The Year competition?
posted by motty at 6:36 PM on March 26, 2010


A friend of mine got an email from a customer service representative at a bank named Snoop Oblater.
posted by thekilgore at 1:47 PM on March 31, 2010


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