Nathalie Portman’s husband, Benjamin Millepied, is a famous dancer and choreographer. He is also one of those who have an aptonym, and like him, some are particularly funny.
“You live up to your name!“Here is the sentence that people who have an aptonym must hear throughout their lives and all day long. A situation which does not necessarily have to be funny for the choreographer Benjamin Millepied, the husband of Nathalie Portman, or even the famous rugby players David Mélé and Fabien Pelous, as well as the cyclist Marco Velo… Like them, many personalities and ordinary people have a surname which perfectly corresponds to their profession or their activity. This is also the case of the former Minister of Agriculture Edith Cresson, or of Caroline Aigle, the first female fighter pilot to have been assigned, in 1999, to an Air Force combat squadron. you also the world water skiing champion Pierre Plouffe and the French fencer Laurence Epée?
And the examples are numerous. “It always makes me laugh when I see reports on the television news with the name of the person interviewed on the banner, like “Monsieur Taureau or Monsieur Leboeuf, who works as a butcher, Madame Boulanger who sells her bread.. .“, Justine admits to us. By digging a little deeper, some have even made this aptonym a strength, like the Maxime Pinard vineyard, located on the island of Oléron. Others, conversely, do not necessarily draw a benefit of this name within the framework of their profession. Imagine having an appointment with Mr. Piquemal, nurse, who asks you if you are ready for your blood test…
The aptonym comes from the Quebec neologism bringing together the terms “apte” (which is appropriate) and “onyme” (referring to the name), according to the definition in the large terminological dictionary of the Office québécois de la langue française. In France, Sandrine Campese wrote a book on the subject, entitled “Little unusual dictionary of aptonyms” after coming across a winegrower called Bernard Bourrée.
But does the last name influence their profession? According to the author, the aptonym is not always the result of chance. “When we ask the question to the main stakeholders, they recognize that their name played a role in their career“, specifies Sandrine who knew a divisional commissioner called Hélène Dupif. “She said that she was very happy to have that name and that if she had been called something else, she might have done something else.“, she explains. Let us also remember that certain surnames also refer to a physical trait, which is not always easy to carry, and sometimes, to a character trait. The comedian Thierry Leluron was the The perfect example of the cheerful character who lived up to his name.