You may have read that yesterday was long-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II’s 89th birthday. But it was also a day of birth for much funnier-named folk than Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Yep, that’s her regal name. It’s not quite as interesting as singer Iggy Pop (not to be confused with Iggy Azalea, whom we profiled less than a year ago), who turned the big 6-8, enjoying his Medicare benefits while sitting topless on a couch. Does he even own shirts? And nope, Iggy wasn’t his real name. He was born James Newell Osterberg, Jr.
Who else ate cake yesterday? Little Jason Duggar turned 15, surrounded by many of his 18 brothers and sisters. Peace out, Jason.
Jason, the one who fell 12 feet into an orchestra pit and broke his leg, carries a rather normal name. However, let us recall that ALL of his siblings have J names:
Joshua, twins Jana and John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, and Josie. And that, my friends, is NOT normal at all.
Yesterday was also the birthday of actor and musician, Jencarlos Canela, whose name sounds like two names squished together. Jencarlos was the protagonist Ángel Salvador in the telenovela Más Sabe el Diablo—more than the devil knows?
Everybody’s favorite Croatian pop singer, Severina Vučković (here, let me help you; it’s pronounced sɛʋɛrǐːna ʋût͡ʃkɔʋit͡ɕ) turned 43. Her latest album, released in 2012, was called Dobrodosao u klub, which means “welcome to the club” and was probably about getting old and joining the 40s club.
Those of you in the over-40s club may remember Anthony Quinn, who would have turned 100 yesterday, had he not died at age 86. He was born in Chihuahua (yes, like the dog) as Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca. And Oaxaca, as we all know, is one of the 31 states which makes up the 32 federative entities of Mexico, best known for its indigenous peoples, including Zapotecs and the Mixtecs. But you knew that.
Honorable mention of funnier foreign-named but less widely-known folks born on April 21st include:
- Wladyslaw Rzepko and Vojtech Rihovsky, composers (both now decomposing)
- Hippolyte Taine, French philosopher/historian
- Gijsbert van Hall, banker/mayor of Amsterdam (1957-67)
- Feike P. Asma, Dutch organist
- Choh Hao Li, bio-chemist professor who isolated growth hormones, Dave
- Souleymane Cisse, director (Waati, Yeelen, Finye, Baara)
- Aleksandr Ivanovich Laveykin and Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin, Russian cosmonauts
Well, that about wraps it up this Earth Day. Throw your trash away and recycle plastic bottles. And if you have 19 children, please don’t give them all J names.
The Blog of Funny Names 
Not all J names here :))))
Ha ha!
Reblogged this on I Don't Get It.
I laughed despite the fact my tongue now needs a chiropractor. 🙂
🙂
Hahaha, I don’t know what hat means, but it’s amazingggg!!!
lol, Dave. I tried to pronounce words my tongue was never destined to wrap itself around. 🙂
I know the letters appear to be the same but my,my, they do have a strange arrangement don’t they.
Indeed.
This post had me at Jinger. Jinger?!?!? Jinger! The world is a magical place!
I know, I know. I want to tell them how English works. Ginger is how this one works. But she explained that after she’d named the first three J’s, she didn’t want the 4th to feel left out, and so it has continued. They should do “Jose” but still have it sound like the H.
Oh, I get it!!! I thought it was pronounced with a hard “g” like “zinger”, not a soft one like “ginger”. Kerbey, for once you’re making me say “I get it. Things DO make sense!”
And good idea on Jose!
I would have wanted to be left out. Completely. But it could have been worse–their last name could have been Jugger. Or Bugger. Mugger. Fugger….
Valid points, these.
I like how we’ve found a situation where Iggy Azalea is the one who wears MORE clothes! Iggy Pop is quite the fella!
Ha ha, that IS ironic!
At least they’re not all named George.
Ah, yes, Mr. Foreman has proven even stranger. I think his naming is PRIDE, PRIDE, PRIDE.
Last thing before I run off to my “practice of medicine” session… who’s the dude who breaks chains using only his deltoids, pecs, lats and rhomboids? Is that one of the folks mentioned in the post?
That’s Anthony Quinn! He was an actor back in the day.
And coincidentally, my daughter is in Oaxaca this week.
That is a weird coincidence!
yep, iggy, little duggar and tony quinn – all very similar in looks and personality )
Like they’re related! Ha ha.
Iggy Pop is 68? Wowza. Good to know he’s still out there searching and destroying shirts on the regular.
I fondly remember Severina’s 2006 Eurovision effort linked below. My favorite part is the middle of the bridge when the music stops and she yelps out “Africa Paprika” for no apparent reason. Good stuff.
I think the Church Lady would watch this and say, “Isn’t that special?” It’s like a lurid bellydancing-sounding frenzy with a hint of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Maybe she said “Africa Publica”? My best guess is she was referencing the South Bronx DJ, Afrika Bambaataa, as a huge influence on her career.
I am continually amazed at the strangest names going around! Smiles!
This is an awesome post, Kerbey! Love how you pulled so many fun names in–sort of like a birthday edition of Funny Names in the News. You may have started something here. Perhaps you should be BoFN’s birthday correspondent? I think yes you should. Who knows, maybe even a pay raise in it for you.
Make it double, and I’ll do it! But what about the days when NO ONE has a funny name? Only John Smith and Mary Jones getting older…
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Oh, Kerbey, I dearly hope that Cisse’s partner referred to him (her? as Souleymate. Great post here, my friend.
I do, too!