# Three names Bad, two names Good; or Am I Just Prejudiced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 17, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503 "2002-05-17T05:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/1 "2002-05-17T05:27:01Z")
People who _choose_ to call themselves three glorious names, as opposed to all us ignorant joes who think two names will do. I constantly find exceptions, but the non-exceptions are so annoying. Like **Michael C---- G-----** , the local child psychologist/ media sound-bite provider, who has stated that it’s okay to put professional surveillance onto your child to find out if they are taking drugs (Ecstasy was the drug in question). After all, you’re protecting them from themselves. And the question of how you ever regain your teenager’s trust when he finds out somehow didn’t come up in that interview. Or **Patricia C---- H------** , whose stupid video I just watched (hence this agonised thread), and who reckons Humour dissolves Stress, and decorating your briefcase, or having a wheelbarrow race during work meetings will take away stress. Well, perhaps looking at workplace practices, goals,business plans and the goal-setting process might actually make a **lasting** difference, dear. Besides the scary **Farrah Fawcett Major** There are thirty or forty Hollywood three-namers, most of 'em in Daytime Soaps, none of whom is exactly of an endearing nature. **Frances Ford Copolla** made good movies, sure, but would you want to marry into his family? Unless you were hoping for a small role in The Godfather Episode One? And **Camilla Parker Bowles**! Am I not right? Red (“Right”) Boss ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/2 "2002-05-17T05:30:52Z")
I think an exception can be made for Mary Tyler Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/3 "2002-05-17T05:41:08Z")
Let us not omit the [Classic Middle Name](http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/nw011125.html). ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/4 "2002-05-17T05:44:09Z")
John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray. . . You may have something there. ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/5 "2002-05-17T05:45:04Z")
In the immortal words of George Carlin… “Pick a fuckin’ name, Lady.” ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/6 "2002-05-17T05:51:19Z")
But what about James Earl Jones? Is there anybody cooler than him? ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/7 "2002-05-17T06:02:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*Let us not omit the [Classic Middle Name](http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/nw011125.html). \*\* You know, as soon as I saw the thread and the OP, that is **exactly** what I thought of! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/8 "2002-05-17T06:11:32Z")
Michael Carr-Gregg is a hyphenate, so is he really a three-namer? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/9 "2002-05-17T06:20:57Z")
Now I see that they are all hyphenates, but you have cruelly torn the hyphens off them. Next you’ll be after Bob The-Builder and Bozo The-Clown. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/10 "2002-05-17T16:08:35Z")
Um, we had John Quincy Adams and William Henry Harrison-I don’t know how you’d catagorize them, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/11 "2002-05-17T17:08:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by galen ubal \* > \*\*But what about James Earl Jones? Is there anybody cooler than him? \*\* James Earl Jones is a special case. If you ignored his middle name, he’d be Jimmy Jones, and that just doesn’t fit him at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/12 "2002-05-17T17:23:48Z")
See, I have a problem with the people you can recognize by a single name- your Chers, Madonnas, Jackees, Oprahs, Rosies, Celines, etc… Doubly so if they’ve ben dubbed a “diva” by People magazine or VH1. [sub]What about Charles Nelson Reilly or World B. Free?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/13 "2002-05-17T17:55:17Z")
How does Jean-Luc Picard fit into your scheme of things? Considering that my name’s pretty similar, I’d like to know. ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/14 "2002-05-18T07:22:33Z")
Okay, so there’s a few good triple-barrellers. But Anna Nicole Smith… ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/15 "2002-05-18T07:38:10Z")
I use my middle name professionally so that I can be identified uniquely. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/16 "2002-05-18T07:52:14Z")
Sorry, I believe Jesus H Christ screws up your theory. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/17 "2002-05-18T13:06:57Z")
Hilary Rodham Clinton seemed much more human when she was referred to as Hilary Clinton…when she started insisting on the 3 names, she got a lot scarier. ---
**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 18, 2002, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/18 "2002-05-18T13:07:33Z")
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Lloyd Webber are two of my favorite people. What are four names? Like George Herbert Walker Bush? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/19 "2002-05-18T13:32:37Z")
Totally agree. And yet… For three years, I’ve left my name and research interests all over the internet. Now I’ve married and taken my husband’s surname, I don’t want to offend him by continuing to post under my maiden name, yet I don’t want to confuse people by suddenly appearing under a new name, so I’ve compromised by posting using my three names 🙂 I’ll be sure to slap my wrist on your behalf, Redbuddy. This is the only aspect of my life where I’ve used the three barrelled name - in real life, I can stop and explain that I’m the same person as before, it’s only difficult on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503/20 "2002-05-18T16:05:15Z")
What about Kool Moe Dee, Al B. Sure!, and Doug E. Fresh? do they count, and are they good or bad? And as far as Al B. Sure! is concerned, is there a rule for people with punctuation as part of the name? 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-names-bad-two-names-good-or-am-i-just-prejudiced/109503.md?page=2)