Post History

Calling another by name when one is exasperated

In my English-speaking culture, when two people are in conversation, usually we don't bother addressing each other by name—or even by any substitutive term of address, like ‘sir’/‘ma'am’ (formal) or ‘bud’ (informal)—once we have each other's attention, unless there's a power/status differential and the subservient party is leaning into the bowing and scraping.

But there's one exception that's interesting to me that happens among equals: when one party is exasperated, they can express this by using the other party's name where it would otherwise not be needed or used. I do it reflexively; I can't really articulate why or how it communicates ‘my patience is thin’. (Ex: ‘Don't forget about the Smiths visiting tomorrow.’ ‘Yes, Alex, I won't forget about the Smiths! You've reminded me six times today!’)

Does this phenomenon have a name? How widespread is it among Anglophones, and how old is it? Does it occur in other languages or is it specific to some subset of Anglophone cultures?