# Husbands and wives with the same first name **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873 "2007-03-06T23:08:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/41 "2007-03-07T17:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=AHoosierMama] My cousin Dawn married Don. [/QUOTE] Some people don’t pronounce Don and Dawn exactly the same. They may pronounce the vowel in Dawn a little longer, and possibly with a little more rounding of the lips. ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/42 "2007-03-07T17:49:57Z")
We have a Jocelyn and Jocelyne (aka Joss and Jossi). ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/43 "2007-03-07T18:24:24Z")
I have met a guy named Sophocles Sophocles. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/44 "2007-03-07T18:26:57Z")
A close friend of mine has a younger brother named Kerry who married a woman named Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/45 "2007-03-07T18:28:44Z")
I think I’ve told this story here before. My husband swears it’s true, and his mother has confirmed. Growing up, he had a male teacher in school whose first name was Shirley. It’s rare but not unheard of. He married a woman named Shirley … and they went on to have two children, a boy and a girl. And they named them both Shirley. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/46 "2007-03-07T19:13:40Z")
[QUOTE=AHoosierMama] My cousin Dawn married Don. [/QUOTE] Now that’s just freaky, because _my_ cousin Dawn also married a Don. Do your Dawn and Don live in Minnesota, by chance? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/47 "2007-03-07T19:43:04Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Some people don’t pronounce Don and Dawn exactly the same. They may pronounce the vowel in Dawn a little longer, and possibly with a little more rounding of the lips. [/QUOTE] Close enough tho 🙂 We have a family friend whose name is Dawnald (male). He has never (to our knowledge) been involved with a female with any same-sounding name though. ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/48 "2007-03-07T20:37:43Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Some people don’t pronounce Don and Dawn exactly the same. They may pronounce the vowel in Dawn a little longer, and possibly with a little more rounding of the lips. [/QUOTE] Right - this varies by accent. In NY their names sound quite different, but in the midwest - not so much. ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/49 "2007-03-07T20:39:32Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] Now that’s just freaky, because _my_ cousin Dawn also married a Don. Do your Dawn and Don live in Minnesota, by chance? [/QUOTE] Nope - TN now, by way of Buffalo, NY. Considering the Buffalo weather tho - it might as well have been MN 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/50 "2007-03-07T21:06:24Z")
[hijack] I used to work with an older man- who was rather strange by most standards- who was named I think Joseph Mitchell or something like that. To our company picnic he brought his two brothers, who looked almost identical to him, and introduced each of them as Joseph Mitchell. When we were all flabbergasted, they acted as though it wasn’t very unusual (surely though they had been asked this their whole lives!?) and shrugged it off with “It’s what Mom named us…” [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/51 "2007-03-07T21:23:25Z")
[Quote=AHoosierMama] My cousin Dawn married Don. [/quote] [QUOTE=Max Torque] Now that’s just freaky, because _my_ cousin Dawn also married a Don. Do your Dawn and Don live in Minnesota, by chance? [/QUOTE] I have a second (or something) cousin Don who married Dawn (they’re in MA). ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/52 "2007-03-07T21:35:06Z")
Maternal grandparents were Eddie and Teddy (though Teddy was a nickname, short for Teddy Bear). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/53 "2007-03-07T22:21:39Z")
[QUOTE=Jelymag] [hijack] I used to work with an older man- who was rather strange by most standards- who was named I think Joseph Mitchell or something like that. To our company picnic he brought his two brothers, who looked almost identical to him, and introduced each of them as Joseph Mitchell. When we were all flabbergasted, they acted as though it wasn’t very unusual (surely though they had been asked this their whole lives!?) and shrugged it off with “It’s what Mom named us…” [/hijack] [/QUOTE] I’ve heard of Spanish or Italian folks using the first name Maria for all the girls, but I assume they would go by the middle name. What was that Newhart thing? “This is my brother Doug and my other brother Doug?” My mom has a cousin Russell Russell. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/54 "2007-03-07T22:25:20Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I’ve heard of Spanish or Italian folks using the first name Maria for all the girls, but I assume they would go by the middle name. What was that Newhart thing? “This is my brother Doug and my other brother Doug?” My mom has a cousin Russell Russell. [/QUOTE] heh… > [@Larry](#): > > Hi, I’m Larry. This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/55 "2007-03-07T22:33:42Z")
George Foreman has 7 children – 5 boys named George and 2 daughters, Freeda George and Georgetta. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/56 "2007-03-07T22:55:01Z")
Famous people? Nope. But I knew a couple in Lyons, Colorado, who’s first names were LaVern (him) and LaVerne (her). I don’t remember their last name. Both were devoted activists in their little town, and the newspaper I worked for had a special style just for them – on first reference, we used first and last name; subsequent references were all first name. It was just easier that way. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/57 "2007-03-07T23:17:20Z")
My youngest step-daughter is Stacy. Her husband is Tracy. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/58 "2007-03-07T23:59:33Z")
This is totally off-the-wall, but yes, I’ve known of several couples with the same names. In the 70s, I was part of the Sikh religious group known as 3HO. When the group first started up, the teacher, Yogi Bhajan, matched up quite a few couples, many of whom he then gave new names - and usually they were both the same. Other than that, I’ve also known a few Christopher/Christine couples who both went by Chris and Chris. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/59 "2007-03-08T01:22:41Z")
I can’t think of any personally, but the OP made me think of the WKRP episode with the Rev. “Little Ed” Pembroke, the former wrestler turned radio preacher. Johnny Fever: Why do they call him Little Ed? Venus Flytrap: Because his wife is Big Ed! ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873/60 "2007-03-08T03:19:46Z")
I know two couples who are each Carl and Carol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/husbands-and-wives-with-the-same-first-name/394873.md?page=4)