How do you respond to an inappropriate question on an interview?

[Nathan]

In college I took a seminar on how to conduct yourself during a job interview. I majored in Middle School Education with an emphasis on Social Sciences. It's a tough job market and I put in over 100 resumes, and went on maybe a dozen interviews and was fortunate enough to be offered a job.

One of the jobs I was passed over started out like this:

"So you're Nathan..... ? God, what a name. Kack-zmark?"

"It's Kaczmarek" (Kaz-mare-ICK)

"What kind of name is that anyway?"

I wanted the job so i didn't press the issue. I just said "It's a Polish surname. It means 'Innkeeper'."

Of course this was totally unprofessional and I don't know why I didn't get the job. I know there are a lot of qualified teachers out there, and I get mad thinking that I might have lost a job because I was being interviewed by a better educated Archie Bunker.

I'll never know and in the end it turned out well. But I was curious about how to respond to an inappropriate question like this? Is there any way to answer it and still get the job?
@ Hunch: "God what a name!" is not asking for a pronunciation, it's making a statement--and not a positive one--about a my last name. Inquiring about my "heritage" is not material to the job. I also said I MIGHT have been interviewed by a better educated Archie Bunker and I WILL NEVER KNOW. That's not jumping to a conclusion, that's saying that there is a POSSIBILITY that will never be certain. In fact it's the opposite of jumping to a conclusion. It's explicitly stating a conclusion is impossible to reach.

[Deandre]

Say, "Thats not something that I feel comfortable discussing at the current time"/

[D.B. Cooper]

With an inappropriate answer.. He makes fun of your name, you counter attack with about how his mother is a whore.

[JohnPaul]

They're probibly testing you just laugh along

[mario]

Tell him: "Oh, it's Polish, don't you like it?" Joke around a bit. You don't have to take things so seriously, people like those personalities that know how to respond with a bit of humor.

[nadia]

You should have said, yes its Polish, and given the meaning. Laugh it off and steer the interviewer back to asking important questions dealing with the job. Any discrimination could be brought to higher, and THEY would have got in serious trouble. But then again maybe he was testing you, just in a very rude way.

[Natasha]

I don't think it was unprofessional for them to be curious about ur last name and ur background..but I do think .. that ur background (being polish) has nothing to do with your capability/qualifications for the job. If you didn't get the interview it was probably for some other reason.
I get asked about my last name a lot..because It's asian and I don't look asian at all. I look italian or brazilian, some kind of european and I constantly get asked about my last name..I don't take it the wrong way and neither should you. I just take it as like hmm..this isn't really an interview question..but they are just probably interested to know so I'll just be polite and tell them. They were probably just curious and asked about your name. Ps. Polish people are awesome.

[A Hunch]

he didn't know how to pronounce your name and wanted clarification of the heritage - the question is inappropriate and he is a bigot?
WOW, that is quite a jump you have made.... with your narrow-mindedness are you sure education in the best career choice?

[David]

A huge chunk of my job is conducting employment interviews. I don't know any personnel managers whose favorite part of their job is conducting employment interviews. First it eats up a huge chunk of your time. Secondly, you're going to end up disappointing almost everyone you interview.

But I've been on both sides of the desk in employment interviews and it's a lot easier asking the questions. That's why when I interview people I try to set them at ease. I don't play "gotch-ya" games and I don't ask BS questions like "what's your worst quality."

So he didn't handle it very well. It was not professional and it was not appropriate. Is he a bigot? I don't know. It just could have been you happened to get scheduled at the end of a long day of interviews. He's only human and humans get tired and then they say things they wouldn't have normally.

He should have handled it by asking you to pronounce your name and then repeating and asking if I got it, and then proceding to the interview.

You handled it well. It's always best not to burn your bridges. Good luck on your teaching career.