# Do they say anything about people with two LAST names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168 "2018-05-31T03:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/1 "2018-05-31T03:59:19Z")
Like Baker Mayfield and Hunter Strickland, the two examples that shot off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/2 "2018-05-31T04:18:50Z")
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are last names. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/3 "2018-05-31T04:47:09Z")
Those are rather rare as last names. Matthew_s_ is super common, and I’ve encountered numerous people with the surname Mark_s_ (presumably Marx is a variation of same.) Never encountered or even _heard_ of anyone with the last name Mark or Matthew. I remember the name of [Frank Luke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luke) from reading about history, aside from that I cannot think of anyone else with that last name nor have I ever encountered anyone. I’ve never heard of, or met, anyone with the last name John. I know of the artist Jasper John_s_. Actually, I can remember one guy with the last name John. [Gottfried John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_John), who played Orumov in _Goldenye._ I remember his name because I had a _Goldeneye_ poster as a kid and I have a photographic memory. According to the Wikipedia article about him, he was German, which means that his name would be pronounced “Yoh-n”, not “John.” That’s the one and only person I can think of with the last name John. So, while those surnames exist, they are not common. And nobody really “says” anything about them. Someone I can think of with two truly “last namey” last names, is Rogers Hornsby. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/4 "2018-05-31T04:51:20Z")
My father had three last names. Both his first and middle names were picked because they were the family names of two well-off relatives, in the (sadly futile) hope that he would be recognized in their wills, if not sooner. He hated his first name and eventually legally changed his middle name to his first name and NMI. On looking at the other responses, now I’m not sure if this is what the OP was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/5 "2018-05-31T04:57:21Z")
I still don’t feel like I quite understand the question. “They” who? What sort of things might “they” say? Are you asking whether naming your child that way will get them teased on the playground? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/6 "2018-05-31T05:07:23Z")
We had a family in our community with the last name Mathieu and a family last name of Daniel. No _S_ My son has 3 last names, his first name is shortened to a nickname. But I am like you, I don’t know what the point is. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/7 "2018-05-31T05:57:06Z")
Matthew or Mathew is a pretty common surname among Indian Christians. I presume the OP is asking about people who have a first name that is typically a last name? Like the popularity of Mackenzie in the 90s? Or people with two literal last names like Delano Roosevelt? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/8 "2018-05-31T06:00:20Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I’ve never heard of, or met, anyone with the last name John. I know of the artist Jasper John_s_. Actually, I can remember one guy with the last name John. [Gottfried John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_John), who played Orumov in _Goldenye._ I remember his name because I had a _Goldeneye_ poster as a kid and I have a photographic memory. According to the Wikipedia article about him, he was German, which means that his name would be pronounced “Yoh-n”, not “John.” That’s the one and only person I can think of with the last name John. There’s Elton John and Olivia Newton John. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/9 "2018-05-31T06:17:52Z")
Fair point, although John is not Elton’s real surname nor is Elton his real Christian name, and Olivia has a double-barrelled British-style hyphenated name, so her true surname is also not John. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/10 "2018-05-31T06:28:42Z")
I knew a guy who had my two names, reversed. So either I have two last names, or he had two last names, or maybe I have a lastname first and a firstname last or… FWIW, Olivia’s paternal grandmother was a Newton. Her paternal grandfather was a John. (Lucky he wasn’t a Figg ~) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/11 "2018-05-31T07:37:13Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I’ve never heard of, or met, anyone with the last name John. I know of the artist Jasper John_s_. Actually, I can remember one guy with the last name John. [Gottfried John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_John), who played Orumov in _Goldenye._ I remember his name because I had a _Goldeneye_ poster as a kid and I have a photographic memory. According to the Wikipedia article about him, he was German, which means that his name would be pronounced “Yoh-n”, not “John.” That’s the one and only person I can think of with the last name John. There’s Tommy John, the baseball pitcher. In 1974 he had surgery to replace a damaged ligament in his pitching arm. The operation was so successful, he came back and pitched 15 more seasons and won 164 more games, out of his 288 total victories. His comeback was considered so miraculous, the procedure is now commonly known as Tommy John surgery. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/12 "2018-05-31T09:06:09Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I knew a guy who had my two names, reversed. So either I have two last names, or he had two last names, or maybe I have a lastname first and a firstname last or… > > FWIW, Olivia’s paternal grandmother was a Newton. Her paternal grandfather was a John. (Lucky he wasn’t a Figg ~) Are you Keith David or David Keith? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/13 "2018-05-31T09:25:09Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Like Baker Mayfield and Hunter Strickland, the two examples that shot off the top of my head. That a lot of us are from Spanish-speaking or Portuguese-speaking countries, or from certain Indian regions? What else would “they” say, in which context and what the heck is this about? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/14 "2018-05-31T12:25:35Z")
[Sutton Foster.](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1900397/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm) I don’t know what “they” say about her, but I say “Is it Sutton Foster or Foster Sutton? I can never remember.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/15 "2018-05-31T14:12:30Z")
It was common during Puritan days. Cotton Mather, for instance (Cotton was his mother’s maiden name). Choreographer Hermes Pan (born Hermes Panagiotopoulos). Hermes is used as a [last name.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_(surname)) Newspaperman Clark Kent. [Donald](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_(surname))Trump ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/16 "2018-05-31T14:31:44Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Fair point, although John is not Elton’s real surname nor is Elton his real Christian name, and Olivia has a double-barrelled British-style hyphenated name, so her true surname is also not John. Maybe I was talking about [Elton John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John_(footballer)) and not [Elton John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John). But even if it was the singer, Elton John is his real name. He was born Reginald Dwight but he legally changed it to Elton John in 1972. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/17 "2018-05-31T14:55:44Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I still don’t feel like I quite understand the question. “They” who? What sort of things might “they” say? Are you asking whether naming your child that way will get them teased on the playground? Nothing sinister. Just sometimes you’ll see threads about people who have “two first names” like Robert Roy or Amy Matilda (first name Amy, last name Matilda) and we’ll all have a fun time thinking of famous people with those sorts of names and arguing over what constitutes a first name. The OP here is asking for people who have “two last names” like Baker Mayfield, because the OP hasn’t seen it come up much, if at all, in comparison to threads or real-world discussions about names. It’s not a matter of anyone saying anything negative or positive about two-last-name folks. Just a matter of whether the “phenomenon” comes up at all. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/18 "2018-05-31T20:19:06Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [Sutton Foster.](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1900397/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm) > > I don’t know what “they” say about her, but I say “Is it Sutton Foster or Foster Sutton? I can never remember.” And her older brother [Hunter Foster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Foster). Both theatre actors. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/19 "2018-05-31T21:42:45Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > …It’s not a matter of anyone saying anything negative or positive about two-last-name folks. Just a matter of whether the “phenomenon” comes up at all. Maybe a bit negative. Isn’t the original expression something like “never trust a man with two first names?” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/20 "2018-05-31T21:46:43Z")
There’s **Taylor Swift** , and Wikipedia says that her real name. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168.md?page=2)