How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Young Frankenstein.
Quote #1
FREDERICK: That's Fronkensteen.
What's in a name? Lots, apparently. Many people change their names to create a new identity for themselves. There's no way Oliva Wilde wants to be remembered as "Oliva Cockburn," and Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder both changed their names (Melvin Kaminsky and Jerome Silberman just didn't have that certain je ne sais quoi, we guess). But Frederick doesn't change his name to Freddie Franks; he keeps the name, just ditches the familiar pronunciation. As if this makes a difference, right? A typical Mel Brooks comic touch.
Quote #2
STUDENT: But aren't you the grandson of the famous Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who went into graveyards, dug up freshly buried corpses, and transformed dead components into—
Here we see why Frederick insists on pronouncing his name differently. His grandfather is seen as a crackpot. It would be like if you were a descendant of Hitler and insisted "It's Hightler." But again, the student sees right through it. We're starting to see Frederick's inability to escape who he really is.
Quote #3
FREDERICK: But I'd rather be remembered for my own small contributions to science, and not because of my accidental relationship to a famous… cuckoo.
There are multiple ironies here. One is that "Fronkensteen's" small contributions to science are in the same field as his "cuckoo" grandfather. And another is that, as you know, Fronkensteen ends up succeeding where his grandfather failed.