Many of the characters in Orneryboy have names based on a word that has something to do with their personality or occupation. The obvious ones are Orneryboy, who is ornery; and Dirtygirl, who is dirty. Another obvious one is Mr. McMeddle, the meddling neighbour. And mentioned by name in this strip is Dr. Keck. “Keck” just means “throw up”. It was the only word that sounded cool.