So what's in a name? At times, chuckles

Dear Readers:

Mail keeps arriving regarding names that match occupations. My staff and I have been having a wonderful time reading it, and I would love to share more with you. So, if you're up for a chuckle, read on. (If not, just go back to the national news.)

Dear Abby:

When I saw the letter about Miss Hunger, the dietitian at Stout University, I had to write. My father was born in Menomonie, Wis., where Stout is located, and later taught there. He used to tell me about a law firm there called Ketchum and Cheatum. Also, he had a high school classmate named Iva Liver.

-- Ann H., Columbus, Ohio

Dear Abby:

The day your column on funny names appeared, I had a good laugh and then began reading the front section of the paper, where I encountered the following. It's from the Associated Press with a byline of Lauran Neergard, which I am enclosing. It's titled "Circumcision of African men can cut HIV risk by half." The physician quoted from the World Health Organization is Dr. Kevin De Cock. I could not believe the two articles appeared in the same newspaper on the same day.

-- Bonnie in Wabash, Ind.

Dear Abby:

For many years the Internal Revenue supervisor in Oklahoma City was "I.M. Filer."

-- Anonymous in Oklahoma

Dear Abby:

My sister lives in Williamsville, N.Y. (near Buffalo), where there is a funeral home that seems nothing out of the ordinary, except for the name: Amigone Funeral Home. (Am I Gone.) True! Look them up -- they're in the phone book!

-- Alaine in Jamestown, N.Y.

Dear Abby:

I have two names for you. My daughter's pediatrician is Dr. LeFevere, and my former priest was Father O'Pray.

-- Stephanie in Bloomington, Minn.

Dear Abby:

When I first moved here, I was looking for a new ob/gyn and came across a listing for a Dr. C. (Cynthia, I believe) Hymen.

-- Megan in Stratford, Conn.

Dear Abby:

I once met a liquor salesman named Casey Sause.

-- Pamela in Baton Rouge, La.

Dear Abby:

I have diabetes and see a dietitian and a diabetes educator. Their last names are Short and Stout. I'm sure they never hear the end of it.

-- Nancy in Noblesville, Ind.

Dear Abby:

Years ago, here in Fort Worth, Texas, we had a doctor named Dr. Rumph. His specialty? Proctology, of course!

-- Had to Laugh in Fort Worth

Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.