names pt. 2.5

first draft

In jokes and stories, certain surnames and surname forms are likely to appear. They will be typical of a group that is looked down on in society or allowed to be made fun of. At the turn of the 20th century, many jokes in the US involved people with German/Yiddish or Scottish/Irish names. The M(a)c- prefix is still used for funny names, e.g. Homer Simpson renaming Marge "Chesty McBoob". Another example is the early 20th century comic character Boob McNutt.
The surname Jones is also used often for funny or light-hearted characters, possibly because its large number in the population make it easy to use without seeming to point to any particular person, thus avoiding provable insult or slander. Some examples are Jughead Jones, Skippyjon Jones, and America Jones. Even Bridget Jones could fall into this category.