# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/21 "2018-05-31T21:48:02Z")
> [@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. That’s as may be but her grandfather was well-known mathematician Fritz John. He was German born. I have noticed that Haitians often have family names as first names and frequently common first name as family name. For example, my wife had a colleague named Asselin Charles. When I was in HS I had a classmate named Coleman Paul and boy didn’t have a hard time getting it straight with other people. Not that he was Haitian. ---
**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, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/22 "2018-05-31T22:08:20Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > 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. Yes, we wandered off topic pretty quickly. So to get back on track, here are the ten most common surnames in America and eight people who have them as their first name: [Smith Cho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Cho) [Johnson Beharry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Beharry) Williams - couldn’t find anyone with the first name Williams [Brown Holmes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Holmes) [Jones Leandro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Leandro) [Miller Huggins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_Huggins) [Davis Webb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Webb) [García Íñiguez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_%C3%8D%C3%B1iguez_of_Pamplona) Rodriguez - couldn’t find anyone with the first name Rodriguez [Wilson Pickett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Pickett) ---
**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, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/23 "2018-05-31T22:16:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, we wandered off topic pretty quickly. > > So to get back on track, here are the ten most common surnames in America and eight people who have them as their first name: > > [Smith Cho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Cho) > [Johnson Beharry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Beharry) > Williams - couldn’t find anyone with the first name Williams > [Brown Holmes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Holmes) > [Jones Leandro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Leandro) > [Miller Huggins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_Huggins) > [Davis Webb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Webb) > [García Íñiguez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_%C3%8D%C3%B1iguez_of_Pamplona) > Rodriguez - couldn’t find anyone with the first name Rodriguez > [Wilson Pickett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Pickett) [Williams Pérez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_P%C3%A9rez) (because I knew there \*\*had \*\*to be a Venezuelan guy named that). I know it’s a stretch, but [Rodriguez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/24 "2018-06-01T05:18:55Z")
Some of these given names seem odd. “St.John,” “St.George,” etc. weren’t too uncommon as a given name (often but not always they were mother’s maiden surname); for example [St.George Ussher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George_St_George,_1st_Baron_Saint_George), a distant cousin of the famous Bishop Ussher. When St.George was elevated to the Irish House of Lords and given his maternal grandfather’s title, he became known as _St George St George, 1st Baron Saint George. :eek:_ At least two great-grandsons of Henry Wriothesley were given the name “Wriothesley,” not as bad as it seems perhaps, since it is pronounced “Risley”. (Henry Wriotheslsy was the ‘Fair Youth’ made famous in the poems written by his prospective father-in-law.) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/25 "2018-06-01T07:34:46Z")
Meriwether Lewis (the Lewis of Lewis and Clark) had his mother’s maiden name as a first name. And speaking of Clark’s, there’s that infamous space alien who goes by the pseudonym Clark Kent. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/26 "2018-06-01T13:19:57Z")
Those of you of a certain age may remember McGeorge Bundy, who was National Security Advisor under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He got his unusual name from his grandfather, who was also named McGeorge Bundy. And _he_ got the name from his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth McGeorge. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/27 "2018-06-01T13:36:36Z")
Speaking of US Presidents, how about Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Gamaliel Harding, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt? ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/28 "2018-06-01T14:17:06Z")
There’s the former President of Nigeria with one of the coolest names ever, Goodluck Jonathan! ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/29 "2018-06-01T14:33:52Z")
There’s a musician in North Carolina named Jones Smith ([current band](http://folkstonestringband.com/)) and his brother used to be in a band with a drummer that had “two first names” and they’d introduce the drummer as such. I forget that dude’s name tho… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/30 "2018-06-01T14:51:22Z")
Broderick Crawford ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/31 "2018-06-01T16:20:57Z")
My brother did the “last name for a first name” thing with three of his kids; he has a Beck, a Jackson, and a Bailey. Beck is actually named for guitarist Jeff Beck, so it was definitely a last name before it was a first name. ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/32 "2018-06-01T17:12:09Z")
My first and last names can be either first or last names. However when I was named NO ONE had my last name as a first name; also no one in our area had my first name as a last name. I am 66 and STILL I get smarmy comments from people. “Oh! You have two first names.” or “Oh! you have two last names.” I would legally change my last name; but I can not think of one that can not also BE a first name. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/33 "2018-06-01T18:59:27Z")
Another one: Jackson Browne. Looking him up on Wikipedia, it turns out that Jackson is actually his middle name; his first name is Clyde. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/34 "2018-06-01T19:06:14Z")
Morgan Freeman is one. My BILs first name is Wilson. He went by his middle name. There’s a actress named Heather Tom. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/35 "2018-06-01T19:13:07Z")
> [@Sveltington](#): > > My first and last names can be either first or last names. However when I was named NO ONE had my last name as a first name; also no one in our area had my first name as a last name. I am 66 and STILL I get smarmy comments from people. “Oh! You have two first names.” or “Oh! you have two last names.” > I would legally change my last name; but I can not think of one that can not also BE a first name. My last name couldn’t be a first name unless you were seriously strange. Come to think of it my maiden name couldn’t be a first name, either. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/36 "2018-06-01T19:40:07Z")
Cross referencing lists of the 100 most common first names and 100 most common last names: Alexander - #47 first name, #96 last name James - #1 first name, #71 last name Russell - #93 first name, #97 last name Scott - #39 first name, #34 last name Thomas - #9 first name, #12 last name ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/37 "2018-06-01T20:10:40Z")
[Hunter Stockton Thompson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson) always seemed like a perfectly normal guy. 😉 (First name from maternal grandmother last name, middle name from maternal grandfather’s middle name.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/38 "2018-06-02T00:06:12Z")
I had a friend whose first and last names were both common as both first and last names. Say, Douglas James. He had his phone number listed as James Douglas, so it was in the phone book under D, as Douglas James. He didn’t need to pay the fine for having an unlisted number, he just told his friends that his name was in the phone book, but reversed. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/39 "2018-06-02T00:23:07Z")
> [@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.” Surely that’s a village in Bedfordshire. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168/40 "2018-06-02T00:24:41Z")
I got stopped by a cop named Brian Bryan. I commented on his name and as my surname is strange he commented on it. I didnt get a ticket, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-say-anything-about-people-with-two-last-names/815168.md?page=3)