This was a morning of discovery.  Scanning through the recently arrived New
Yorker magazine, I encountered a new word:  euonym.  It is pronounced in three
syllables as…  yu-o-nim. 

A euonym is a name well-suited to the person, place,
or thing so named.  There is another word
that is just about the same thing:  aptonym, sometimes spelled aptronym.  It is defined as a name that fits a person’s nature or occupation. 

Examples would be such things as Jane House, the
real estate agent, or Dr. Butts, the proctologist.  Then there is the infamous law firm Dewey,
Cheatham & Howe.  Or Cutter &
Sons, butchers.  I invite you to think of
more.

There is yet a third word that is a cousin of the
above two.  It is charactonym.  This is when a name suggests the personality
traits of a fictional character.  Examples would be Willy Loman, from Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” or
Daddy Warbucks, Lil Orphan Annie’s benefactor. 

The opposite of these words (an antonym!) would be
this marvel:  caconym.  It is pronounced kak-uh-nim.  It is defined as an inappropriate or bad word due to being
poorly constructed, ugly, insulting, etc.  For instance, the n-word would be a caconym.  Or a person with a name that is very
difficult to pronounce would be suffering under a caconym.

I see a party game here…