Claude and Maude. George and Peaches. Helen and Hiram. Scarlett and Sherman. Thelma and Lewis. Tucker and Marietta.

Fine monikers all.

But the winner in the AJC's "Name the Mike Luckovich 'Odd Couple' Contest" was Eb and Flo, rather than nine other finalists, some listed above.

The winning names were submitted by David Beauvais of Atlanta and Marcia Blake of Milton. Each will receive a signed Luckovich cartoon.

For years, Luckovich has featured the formerly nameless couple in dozens of cartoons. The paunchy man and high-haired woman (one reader suggested naming her Aquanetta) are usually shown commenting on the news in front of their giant TV screen.

Blake suggested the winning name because "Luckovich's cartoons mirror the ebb and flow of current events." Beauvais noted "the back and forth with those two fits." Readers agreed, giving Eb and Flo more than 600 of the nearly 2,800 online votes, outdistancing runner-up Clayton and Vidalia by 172 votes. The AJC chose the 10 finalists from 1,150 reader-submitted names. Among the most clever were anagrams of Mike Luckovich (Chuck and Lovi, Chuck and Oliv, Vicki and Mel Houck). There were several plays on the cartoonist's name, including Mora and Les Luck (a finalist) and Luke and Vic.

The most-often submitted couples' names were Claude and Maude, and suggestions based on TV couples abounded: Fred and Ethel, Archie and Edith and Gertrude and Heathcliff.

Georgia-related suggestions were common: George and Mary Peachtree, Rhett and Scarlett, Al and Martha Mitchell, Hattie and Jack (a homage to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport) and Peachie and Bubba, and there were tips of the hat to Atlanta: Addle 'n' Ta, Al and Lanta Jones, George and Alanna. City combinations (Dalton and Fayette, for example) were popular, and three were finalists.

Some readers attempted to adapt AJC: A.J. and Constance (or Connie), Al and Joan Coffee ("the cartoons are like a fresh cup of coffee," the reader explained), Hazel and A. J. Cee, and A.J. and Jaycee Vicholuck.

Some puns were downright groaners: Mr. and Mrs. N.D. Know, Ida and Noah, Ima Nowet and Al, Ima and Yule B. Apalled, Edie and Ott, Spag and Hetti Meatball and Ima and Yura Slugg.

The couple's ideological leanings were popular submissions: Pharr and Ultra Left, Lefty and Demmy, Big Libba and Al, Libby and Con.

The last may be the most politically accurate assessment of the couple. "She'd probably be voting for Obama and he'd probably be voting for McCain," says Luckovich. For the record, no one submitted Barack, though we did get seven Johns and one Bill and Hillary.

 MIKE LUCKOVICH / Staff