Growing up in the US in the 70s in a neighborhood not known for its ethnic restaurants, when mom speared beef and vegs on those scary steel swords of hers, she always called them shish kebabs. Reflecting back, it now strikes me as odd that a woman of her age/background would even be cooking this dish for her family. She probably bought the skewers and then went to the library to research what they were and for what they were used. (Remember those pre-www days when we had to actually go to the library?)
Purely out of habit I still call them kebabs.
