Nominative determinism, or the hypothesis that people are more likely to have the profession that fits their name, is a phenomenon that has fascinated me for much of my life. I don’t think I have a name that predisposes me to anything, though perhaps in another universe I am someone who has an urgent need for archery. I’m a big baseball fan and there are numerous examples of this across generations of players. My personal favorite is the pitcher Grant Balfour. There’s currently a minor league pitcher in the Phillies system named Chuck King. There have also been many Homers and Walkers in the majors. Many Nintendo fans will know Bowser, the main antagonist of the Super Mario series of games. It was perhaps fate, then, when the company promoted Doug Bowser to be president of its North American branch. Perhaps you saw the news that Hungary recently elected a new Prime Minister, Peter Magyar. The Hungarian name of the country is Magyarország, which roughly translates to “land of the Magyars.” It would be as if the American president was named “Paul America.” It’s not entirely random — many surnames come from occupations or locations, for example. According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, the study of the “origin, form, meaning and use of names,” is called onomastics. The Library of Congress maintains an extensive database on history and genealogy that includes thousands of documents on the origins of names and how they came to be. Spend some time clicking around, maybe you’ll learn something about yourself.
Solve Today’s Capture
Column of the WeekThis week, Callie Holtermann, a reporter for the Styles desk, wrote: “My great-aunt Pat liked to savor the Sunday puzzle at her kitchen table while enjoying her favorite breakfast: a cigarette. I cannot recommend this from a health perspective, but I can tell you she was a superior solver.” Solve today’s puzzle, by Freddie Cheng.
How are we doing? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to crosswordeditors@nytimes.com. Thanks for playing! Subscribe to New York Times Games. Want to see more of The New York Times in your Google search results?
|
