# Sharing a name with a famous song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023 "2017-02-17T03:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/61 "2017-02-21T06:49:58Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Does _anybody_ pronounce them differently? I dated a girl who had a father named Don, and a sister named Dawn. I got pretty good at discerning the difference between the two. And, as **eschereal** noted (without knowing), I live in the Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/62 "2017-02-21T08:08:23Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > . > . . .As for the hummers, it’s kind of cute so long as it’s not overdone. At least those _will_ remember my name 🙂 you said a mouthful! mc (sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/63 "2017-02-21T08:48:53Z")
Sorry back, no idea what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/64 "2017-02-21T08:52:10Z")
a hummer is a slang term for blowjob. . .just a stupid teenage boy type joke. mc ---
**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:** [February 21, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/65 "2017-02-21T18:32:47Z")
> [@LightWithoutHeattttttttttttttt](#): > > I went to high school with a girl named Roxanne. She heard it EVERY day … mostly from me. Also dated a girl named Bernadette. I never had heard the song before then. But whenever I would introduce her to someone or mention her name, people would sing out “Bernadette!”. I had a cat called Cirocco, she answered to Rocky, Roxy and, of course, RRRRoxanne. She didn’t mind though 🙂 ---
**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:** [February 21, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/66 "2017-02-21T18:45:01Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > People around here pronounce “Dawn” as “Don”. It’s very confusing! Once I noticed that most people in Buffy said Dawn as Don I couldn’t unhear it. Rather annoying 🙂 Edited to answer Son of a Rich, I’m British and the sounds are very different to me. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/67 "2017-02-21T18:52:23Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Does _anybody_ pronounce them differently? For me, they are the equivalent of the cot/caught examples; some merge them and others don’t. daughter/dodder Dawn/Don water/wadder dog/dot ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/68 "2017-02-21T18:54:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Years ago, I knew someone whose name was Lola… > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That was my grandmother’s name. She died in 2007, around the time it started rising rapidly in the baby name department. > > Not sure she ever heard the song. But did she get whatever she wanted? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/69 "2017-02-22T16:55:17Z")
I was 10 when Tommy Tutone made my name famous. Over the years a number of people have sung it to me – one former co-worker did it nearly every time he saw me, which I’ll admit got a little old – and for a while I even had “867 V309” as my license plate (someone else had 867 5309). Doesn’t bother me. I hardly ever get that anymore, though. My team lead tends to greet me with “Jenny from the block!” and some other co-workers like to quote a minor _Family Guy_ character, but I haven’t heard a reference to the song in a while. My mom would sometimes sing Donovan’s “Jennifer Juniper” to me, but no one else has ever mentioned it. Likewise, no one has ever picked up on The Killers’ “Jenny Was A Friend of Mine.” My favorite contemporary band, Cowboy Mouth, had a minor hit a long time ago with a song called “Jenny Says”…I’d actually be pretty tickled if anyone ever sang that to me. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/70 "2017-02-22T18:10:32Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Does _anybody_ pronounce them differently? 😕 Of course 😕 Have you never heard someone enunciate the _awe_ sound? What about words spelled with _au_, such as “sausage” or “applause” ? Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/71 "2017-02-22T18:29:14Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > We’ve got a Brandy/Brandi (not sure of the spelling) starting here next month. Alas, no one gets the joke when I comment “I hear she’s a fine girl.” And, yes, I’ll stop before she starts working here. _No one_ deserves being reminded of Looking Glass songs. One of my co-workers a few years back was named Brandi. Yeah, she totally hated that song. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/72 "2017-02-22T18:36:05Z")
Turns out, we have a new colleague in Europe named Gaston, who’s been showing up in my emails lately. A coworker came by to comment on one of those emails, and just stared at me blankly when I replied “Noooo oone incorporates gels like Gaston…” _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/73 "2017-02-22T18:38:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I worked with a woman named Roxanne, who once said, “After all these years they make a song using my name and she’s a prostitute?” Same reaction from a HS classmate on our 10-year reunion back in 1982. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/74 "2017-02-22T18:47:11Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Turns out, we have a new colleague in Europe named Gaston, who’s been showing up in my emails lately. A coworker came by to comment on one of those emails, and just stared at me blankly when I replied “Noooo oone incorporates gels like Gaston…” > > _sigh_ He’s especially good at incorporating! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/75 "2017-02-22T19:36:13Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Years ago, I knew someone whose name was Lola… My son, who’s in fourth grade, has a classmate named Lola. When we noticed this, my wife and I looked at each other and said of her parents, “what _were_ they thinking?” > [@Crotalus](#): > > My name is [Timothy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_(song)). When the song of the same name was popular I was a junior in high school. I remember getting tired of cannibalism jokes pretty quickly. But if you ever stop posting here, we’ll ask, “Where on earth did you go?” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/76 "2017-02-22T19:41:18Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I was 10 when Tommy Tutone made my name famous… Did you enjoy _Forrest Gump_? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/77 "2017-02-22T20:11:19Z")
My daughter-in-law is a Brit and her name is Jude. I haven’t gone there. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/78 "2017-02-22T20:24:56Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Did you enjoy _Forrest Gump_? For the past 16 years, my computer shut-down sound (on both work and personal computers) has been Forrest saying “Bye-bye, Jenny.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/79 "2017-02-22T20:30:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > For the past 16 years, my computer shut-down sound (on both work and personal computers) has been Forrest saying “Bye-bye, Jenny.” 😃 If I was your coworker I would get a big kick out of this 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flaming\_yawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@flaming\_yawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flaming_yawn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023/80 "2017-02-22T21:26:54Z")
Just last week met a woman at a birthday of a mutual friend named “sherry” I of course almost got smacked by said woman as I started to sing Oh Sherry… I bet she thinks I’m the worst now… but hey as a child growing up with the name Ann and a mother with a propensity for giving me home perms…I also had it tough but knew that the sun WOULD come out tomorrow… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharing-a-name-with-a-famous-song/780023.md?page=5)