You might not know that I have an incredibly common name. Like, back in the early 2000s when Blockbuster was still a thing, there were six Kathleen W.'s at my local Blockbuster. According to the Internet, Kathleen is the 36th most popular name for women in the United States. W. is the 109th most popular surname for people in the United States. According to a site called "How Many of Me," there are 475 people with my name in the United States. I think there are actually way more. One of them lives really close to me. I even know the street she lives on because she and I frequent many of the same stores where they look you up by name to give you credits and such.
For sake of name comparison, I searched the names of my June Blogging Challenge Compatriots. According to the site, there are 205 people who share a name with MM, 39 who share a name with jdoc, and only 8 that share a name with LH. I think we can agree that my name is the most common.
Very frequently, I get email for other Kathleen W.'s. Usually, I write the senders back. Hey, I'll say. I'm not that Kathleen W. I thought you might like to know! For a long time, I got emails meant for a Kathleen who was a Yearbook rep in Texas. I always felt really bad about these because they were from teachers. These poor teachers, I'd think. Their messages aren't getting to the right person!
Recently, I've started getting emails for a Kathleen W. who is some kind of legal professional. She's supposed to be on a Board of Directors for a Court Advisory Committee. I get agendas, call-in numbers, PDFs with lots of data, etc. I've tried numerous times to get off of the mailing list.
"I'm not the right Kathleen," I write. "I'm a different one who is a teacher in Minnesota!"
And then, I'll continue to get the emails.
Finally, I Replied All. "I am on your email list in error," I said. "If you have a Kathleen W. in your group, she is likely not receiving your emails."
I got a response from the Leader. "I met a Dr. Kathleen W. at a conference who indicated she was willing to serve on the board. Please let me know if you are that Kathleen W."
"I am not that Kathleen," I replied. "That one might still be willing to serve on your board!"
I hope she is. I feel attached to the board and their mission and their call-in numbers. Come on, Kathleen W.! Represent!
3 comments:
Okay, wow - listen to this. My old last name, the one before I married Pronto, is the 3rd most popular name in the United States. There are 3,865 people with that Kathleen W. name in the US. But I've run into way more with my current name. Odd, no?
Wow! Thanks for the research. In college I did receive the incorrect bank statement of another MM with the same name. It was delightful until I realized it was not my money.
I know there's a pro golfer with my name.
I wonder how many people with my name are women & how many are men.
Fun post, woman.
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