A gag name is a pseudonym intended to be humorous through its similarity to both a real name and a term or phrase that is funny, strange, or vulgar.
The source of humor stems from the double meaning behind the phrase, although use of the name without prior knowledge of the joke could also be funny. Examples of the use of gag names occur in works of fiction in which there is a roll call, a listing of names, or a prank call. Some names that would be considered gag names have been adopted as stage names by performers, often in the adult entertainment industry.
Occasionally, real people with a name that could be interpreted as a funny or vulgar phrase are subject to mockery or parody. Former US Congressman from New Hampshire Dick Swett 's name, when pronounced, sounds like common slang for male genital perspiration "dick sweat". Other names in politics which could be regarded as gag names include John Boehner , Harry Baals , Dick Armey , Dick Pound , Dick Kink , and Tiny Kox although Boehner's surname is properly pronounced "bay-ner", someone who has not heard the name in news coverage could mispronounce it as "boner", while Kox's name could be vulgar in English "cocks" , but not in his home nation's Dutch.
Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith released a brand of matches named Dickheads , modeled after established brand Redheads. Roller derby teams and players frequently use gag names. Often, these are double entendres or suggestive. The genuine Indian name " Dikshit " "dick shit" has been repeatedly mocked in mass media, often to the offense of people bearing the name.
Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya 's first name has been typed as Hard-dick in some social media posts and comments. Another well-known example was the Canadian Dick Assman "dick ass man" , who received some public notoriety in for his name over the course of four months, especially from the Late Show with David Letterman. He died in In , Seattle resident Rudy Pantoja Jr. In October , two amateur improvisational actors played a media prank, pretending to be newly fired Twitter employees " Rahul Ligma " and "Daniel Johnson" on the eve of Elon Musk 's takeover of the company, and multiple major media outlets reported the incident as actual news.
