What is the odds ?

I once worked for a guy who checked into a hotel on vacation. Turns out there was a KKK convention of some sort going on in that town and his name was the same as the leader. He didn't get the greatest customer service, and it didn't help that he looked like (more) disgruntled Dick Cheney!

According to all the internet searches I am the only one in the U.S.

Some people are grateful for that.:B

20 years ago our 9 year old son had a stroke. My husband was traveling for work so had highway patrol looking for him. Oldest son has same name. Him & his girl friend on way to hospital witness an accident & she was a nurse so they stopped to help until ambulance got there. When they arrived Denny handed officer his license to get his info so they could leave & officer had the driver in the accident license in other hand. Officer just shook his head: he was holding licenses for 2 people with the same 1st & last name! Apparently he hadn't gotten the word that he was supposed to be looking for someone with that name because he didn't ask either of them. But later on that night the driver from the accident got a call that his son was in hospital & wife was looking for him. We did find husband & get him to hospital. Now I'm off to check where our name is on the list of 100

Another name complication story:

We were in Lakeland, FL one Spring month, and wanted to visit DW's brother Bill -- who had just moved down and was living in a Holiday Inn temporarily.

We had the name of the hotel but not his room number, so she called and asked the hotel operator for the room of "William Horton" (her family surname).

She heard the telephone answered by a deep, melodious voice that didn't sound like her younger brother.

What we didn't realize was that Lakeland was the Detroit Tigers' Grapefruit League home -- so we were connected to Willie Horton, the Tiger Hall of Famer!

He was a total gentleman about the mix-up, and invited us all to a Tigers' game and dinner afterwards.

Another long-time member of this forum has the same name as I do and we are close in age. We have had the pleasure to meet - one here and one in their home town. Additionally, he is a Vietnam war hero.

I worked at a cemetery once and found myself buried there. Pretty weird to see my tombstone. My wife and sister-in-law have the exact same names.

B.O.

My married last name is unusual and with the spelling he or she would be related. Less than 40 people with the last name.

dieharder wrote:
I have a very common French surname and given name, but I guess my only issue might be if I spend time traveling in Quebec, which I avoid.

That being said, I do remember a friend of mine in the process of approving an application for an official document for someone who had the exact same surname, given name, and date of birth as I do. Strangely, he also looked strikingly similar to me. so much so that they came up to me at lunch and said that they approved my application that morning. When I told them I never applied, we went through the files and found the application and I looked over the documentation to make sure this wasn't a case of attempted identity theft, which it wasn't. That was too freaky, it was almost like I was looking at a picture of myself when I wasn't.

Long lost cousin?

hawkeye-08 wrote:
My uncle was searching family tree a number of years ago, he traced back to Wales and when on business in that part of world, stopped by to see some of the folks with the same last name. There were 13 pages in the phone book for that last name in this one small area. He found where our family came from but I don't think he ever sorted out all the details.

We had health insurance company merge my household and that of another with the same last name and different first names and addresses. It took several years to get it all cleared up.

Glad it worked out for you...

Williams, Evans or Jones?

My uncle was searching family tree a number of years ago, he traced back to Wales and when on business in that part of world, stopped by to see some of the folks with the same last name. There were 13 pages in the phone book for that last name in this one small area. He found where our family came from but I don't think he ever sorted out all the details.

We had health insurance company merge my household and that of another with the same last name and different first names and addresses. It took several years to get it all cleared up.

Glad it worked out for you...