The article analyses the name of the principal character of Vladimir Vysotsky's song A Parody of a Bad Crime Story and attempts to describe the character's image as refl ected in his name. The poetonym is considered in the article as a kind of literary device, an onomastic mask behind which the character hides his true face. Seeking to reveal the characterizing effect of the name John Lancaster Peck, the author considers the sense-making potential of each of its elements, as well as of their combinations as they occur in the text of the song — in the fi rst and subsequent acts of naming the character. For each of the name's components, the author suggests a series of associative meanings that determine the reader's and the listener's perception and interpretation of the name.