One of the greatest qualities of people with odd names is their tendency to pass them on. From the seven Outerbridge Horseys to Clarence Birdseye II to Arthur, son of Arthur, son of Arthur, son of Arthur, keeping a family naming tradition alive is the lifeblood of the Funny Names Blog.
Return Meigs Sr, who responded to all “return” puns with a swift strike of his sword.
Today’s subject fits that pattern. Return J. Meigs, Jr. was the first Chief Justice of the Ohio State Supreme Court in 1803. Later on, appropriately enough, he was named Postmaster General by President Madison. It is unknown if it was Meigs who initiated “return” service in the Post Office. One can only hope.
Return J. Meigs Sr. was also an accomplished man and, like many large-egoed gentlemen of the past, decided that the only good name for a son would be his own. Return Senior was a General in the Revolutionary War, and among his many significant war efforts was the famous Meigs Raid on the rather unappealingly named Sag Harbor in New York. Meigs senior was also a pioneer, exploring the Nortwest Territories after the war. Someone had to do it and it might as well have been someone named Return.
Sadly, Return Meigs Jr. did not have a son to pass his name onto. But in a happy, if slightly absurd, turn of events, his family came to the rescue! Return had two brothers, who each named one of their sons after him. Thus, the world got Return Meigs III and Return Meigs IV, who were not directly descended from Return I and II. One can only imagine what their wives thought of this decision.
A quick internet search reveals that there are still 10 people in America with the first name Return today. Four of them carry the last name Meigs, making the name nearly as venerable as Outerbridge Horsey has turned out to be. Perhaps one day, one of them will become incredibly famous, and return the name to its former fame.
Special Announcement!
Next week, we will be unveiling a new page on our blog: Funny Names Theory. This page will be a place where we compile all of the theories that we, some of the world’s most eminent nameophiles, have developed in an effort to advance the rapidly-growing scientific field of funnynameology. To celebrate this unveiling, we will be posting previews of some of our theories over the weekend. The best part: in recognition of your enlightened readership (and leadership), you get to choose the theories we preview – but only based on their names.
I wonder if there was any confusing family reunions. Thanks for posting this is great writing and I share it with my family.Have a great weekend.I will see you when you RETURN. (a little play on words from your post.)
Thank you kindly for your nice words. I hope to see YOU return to our blog!
Here’s a funny name that, with your interest in history, may not qualify for the blog, but it’s awfully rich in syllables. Benedict Cumberbatch is an actor who plays the new incarnation of Sherlock Holmes on PBS. I think his parents were theatre people too, so there might be some fun name lore there too.
Benedict Cumberbatch certainly qualifies! We’ve had a few more historical entries this week, but you’ll find modern-day actors like Bitsy Tulloch or Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje in our archives as well. Thanks for the reminder on mr. Cumberbatch!
In doing some research, I came across the name “John Poop” I assumed it was a typo obut now I’m not so sure.
Haha, it’s hard to say – but whether it’s true or not, I feel sorry for the guy.
Psst… look out for a shout-out in our 100th post that we’re putting up early this morning (June 19th).
You guys have me scanning the censuses for funny names instead of the research I should be doing. LOL
Will definately read your post today.
Thanks! We actually rescheduled it because of a miscalculation, so it’s today’s post (June 20th).
We can only hope to meet Return Meigs XXVII Special Steelbook Edition today.
To be honest, I don’t know what a Special Steelbook Edition is, but Return Meigs XXVII sounds like an exceptional idea!
It’s one of the many presentations for DVDs and Blu Ray movies. You know, like a movie sequel.
Bring on the new theory page!
Marti
Kudos on your continually interesting blog.
Thank you! I stumbled upon this comment looking through old posts. We’d love to see you again!
[...] power, with the slightly less-accomplished – and slightly less-amusing – lineage of Return J. Meigs (which started 35 years later) its closest known [...]
A strange twist … Not only am I in Ohio, I have visited Fort Meigs and grew up in Meigs county.
[...] that’s a great start) but also an accomplishment or two. Say, inventing stuff, or being Postmaster General, or maybe hitting people in the face really [...]