Name Nonsense – Just for fun

Names are interesting. Given names and surnames are often interchangeable. Mr. James could very well be Mr. James James. To cite a few examples of common given names that are also common surnames: Arnold, Alfred, Clark, Edward(s), David, Thomas, Robert(s), John(s), Alan, Elliot(t), Frank(s), George, Gary, Hank(s), Harold, Kelly, Mark(s), Joseph, Paul, Donald, Raymond, Russell, Michael(s), Michelle, Mitchel, Steven(s), Vance, Wayne, Wallace, William(s) and the list goes on.

I often recall the character from the classic cult novel Catch 22. When the son of the Major family was born they thought it clever to provide the given name Major. When Major Major joined the military he eventually attained the rank of Major thus becoming Major Major Major.

Names that are also colors are also interesting. Red is a common first name and then there is the legendary Erik the Red. Mr. White could easily be a man of color and Mr. Black could be white. Mr. Brown could have any color skin tone. Mr. Green is probably not green. Given names can also be colorful: Scarlet, Ruby, Hazel to name a few.

Women can also be named for months, but typically only three: April, May or June. March can be a surname and a few men have been “given” the name of August.