# The joys of having a common name **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2001, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325 "2001-07-31T11:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/21 "2001-07-31T16:33:14Z")
No problem, I see upon review that my comments in the first post were poorly phrased. My apologies as well, Abby ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/22 "2001-07-31T21:44:36Z")
I, too went to high school with a namesake. The other guy had a different middle initial and spelled his first name differently, but we both went by the same diminuitive. He got in trouble fairly often, so I was always getting asked about things I’d supposedly done that I had no idea about. A bit irritating, but not too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/23 "2001-07-31T21:47:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Tansu \* > > \*\*When you introduce yourself to people, do you still have to put up with “hilarious” _“Steve Wright In The Afternoon”_ jibing? \*\* > > In a word, yes. > > In more than one word; yes, I [censored] well do! These [censored] [censored] [censored] people think they’re so [censored] original, I got sick of that [censored] joke after the first dozen times I [censored] heard it… grrr… grumble… [censored]… > > I suspect the other Steve Wright feels the same way, but I’ve never asked him. Come to that, I think _most_ of the other Steve Wrights feel the same way. Why couldn’t _we_ have got the respected Labour leader, and the John Smiths got the DJ? \*\* Just wait until the footie fans start with Stephen Wright (Liverpool) and Steven Wright (formerly Rangers). ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/24 "2001-07-31T21:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*I’m the only one of me there is in the whole world. You search on my full name, and you get me. Just little me. La la la. \*\* Me too. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/25 "2001-07-31T22:02:48Z")
At the age of 29, I met for the first time this summer someone who spells his last name the same as mine, and yet isn’t related to me. Growing up, my first name was one of the most popular around. There were regularly two or three girls in each class who shared my name. Finally, after eighth grade, I’d had enough. I switched over to my middle name and have been happy ever since. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/26 "2001-07-31T22:13:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crusoe \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > > \*\*I’m the only one of me there is in the whole world. You search on my full name, and you get me. Just little me. La la la. \*\* > > Me too. \*\* Me three. The only people I’ve seen who spell my name like I do (Kerry) are guys. There’s one girl in my school whose last name is pronounced the same as mine, but spelled completely differently. On the first day of freshman year, I was told to go to the wrong homeroom because the dean thought I was her. I’ve never met anyone with my name, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2001, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/27 "2001-07-31T22:28:13Z")
My name is Rose Jackson. How common is that? A Google search turned up over 500,000 hits. I am **not** related to Samuel L, Shirley, Andrew, Kate, Jesse, Michael, Janet, LaToya, and no, not even Tito. In fact, I am not even _really_ a Jackson, that is my married name. I was kind of happy to be rid of my ethnic Italian maiden name, because no one could ever spell it or pronounce it. My joy was short lived though, once the Jackson jokes started. Next time someone asks if I’m related to a famous Jackson, I’m gonna lie and say yes. 🙂 Rose (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/28 "2001-08-01T00:14:00Z")
my first name is common in russia, my last name is extremly common in denmark. only in the usa would the two get together, so two commons can make an uncommon. i changed to my initials as soon as i could. it drove me daft to correct pronounciations, now i only have to correct for my last name. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/29 "2001-08-01T00:58:24Z")
I have a common first name, but a bizzarely weird last name. I was sure I was unique, until one day when I stuck my name in a web white pages thingy, and I found another one of me living somewhere in Colorado. I was crushed. Oh, and when I hear Steven Wright, I think of the comedian. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/30 "2001-08-01T00:59:10Z")
When I was in college, another student in the same year had the same fairly common first/middle/last combo as me. One semester I went to pick up my financial aid check, and it had “our” name and her social security number (which doubled as student ID) on it. If she had gotten there first and was less than honest, she could have walked off with it. ☹ Search on Mr. S’s name and you find him and a guy who’s buried in Texas. Both of his names are unusual, and the combination makes him nearly one of a kind. (I kept my own name when we married, only because it was mine and I saw no reason to ditch it!) ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/31 "2001-08-01T01:07:47Z")
In my small town of ~5000 souls, only half of which is non-hispanic and thus more likely to have a first and last name that is non-hispanic, there are FIVE people with the same first AND last name as me; that’s one per 1000, or–if one only considers the non-hispanic population wherein my name is common, one per 500. The downside is that I MUST use my middle name, or at least initial, professionally, which I think sometimes looks a little silly. The upside is, someone could try to search for MY name on google and be overwhelmed with hits, thus granting me a little extra anonymity. So much so that without qualm I freely use my “real” name. Love, John White ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/32 "2001-08-01T01:32:43Z")
My name is so common that there’s another one of me living on the same street. Every once in a while the mail has to be exchanged. Now, “Robert” (though I go by Rob, and went by Robbie) has caused me way, way more trouble than my last name (though it is also very common). In elementary school, I was in a class with 3 other “Robert”'s. Now in university, I’ve got a really good friend who’s in the majority of my classes and whose name is also Rob. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/33 "2001-08-01T01:42:45Z")
There are three people with the same name as me at Mississippi State University. I anticipate problems. There is also a porn star with my name. FETISH porn. She’s a “well-endowed blonde for whom the word “goddess” was obviously invented.” SHE’S STEALING MY GROOVE! ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/34 "2001-08-01T02:01:51Z")
There’s only one of me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/35 "2001-08-01T02:02:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > \*\*my full christian name is yucky. i’m named after a grandmother so i can’t change it. \*\* Your grandmother’s name is yucky? Is that German? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/36 "2001-08-01T06:19:16Z")
Hey, I share my name with a Broadway actress. La via e’ bella! ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/37 "2001-08-01T06:45:31Z")
I detest having a very common first name/last name combo. When I was in elementary school, I was always in class with someone with the same first name as I. When I was in middle school/high school we moved to a different town. There were no students in my class with the same first name, but there was one with the same last name. And no, we were not related, even though the town only had about 4,000 people. In my college’s student directory, there are 7 of us with the same first name/last name, and two of us with the same middle initial. (Not to mention an additional person with a first name with a common alternate spelling.) I wonder how much of their mail/email I will get this year. ---
**Author:** ![Kipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kipper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/38 "2001-08-01T06:53:23Z")
I have a very uncommon last name. There is to my knowledge only one other person in the country with the some first name last name combo. There are only two families with the same last name in my city, I recently found that we are related, they just emigrated about 120 years before us. The down side is even though I have a simple to spell and say name people still stuff it up. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/39 "2001-08-01T14:16:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > I went to school with a Ty. His mother said she wanted a name that was short and only had one spelling so that there would never be any confusion over his name. Instead, he’s endured a lifetime of > > Numbskull: Name? > Ty: Ty > N: Ty? Is that short for Tyrone? > T: No, it is not. > N: Well, what is it short for? > T: It’s not short for anything. It’s just Ty. T-Y. > N: Are you sure? _laughs_ Yes, that’s it _exactly_. There is, IIRC, roughly similar reasoning from my parents explaining why they chose such short names for their children: My father despised when people automatically called him “Chuck”, so they chose names that couldn’t be shortened or ‘nicknamed’. And, yes, the other edge of the sword is that now I get asked, “What’s it short for?”. TANJ. …and just try to find anything with MY name pre-printed on it. It don’t happen. But my brother gave me a hat that brilliantly skirts the problem. He was leafing through a catalog of minor-league baseball team memorabilia when he found a hat which he had to buy for me - a hat with MY name on it! So now, though I’ve never once seen them play, I proudly support the **T** ampa **Y** ankees! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325/40 "2001-08-01T20:40:35Z")
I have a common last name witn an ‘a’ in it. Because of the somewhat unusual way it’s pronounced, people always want to spell it with an ‘o’, which is the spelling of another common name. In elementary school a teacher had the ‘o’ version of the name. I was constantly asked “Is she your mom?” even though our names were spelled differently. Duh. I knew a guy who had a common name, and so did his fiancee…the same common name. The best part was they were from the south, so no end of ribbing ensued. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-joys-of-having-a-common-name/74325.md?page=3)