My parents saddled me with the given name of William, which naturally evolved into Bill. I was named after my father, whose named was David Herbert, but who for some reason had acquired the nickname Bill.
There's nothing intrinsically wrong the name Bill. It's just that the name Bill Brown is so common that even the smallest burg has two or three. And not all of them are people whom you wish to be confused with. Every time we've ever purchased a house, I have had to sign affidavits that I am not the Blll Brown who has had a mortgage foreclosed, filed bankruptcy, or has some other blot on his record.
When your last name is Brown, you definitely need a given name – or nickname – that has more than one syllable.
From childhood to high school graduation, people called me Billy; some people in my hometown still call me Billy. But when I got to college, every automatically called me Bill – it sounded more grownup, I think – and it has been Bill ever since.
Except that it hasn't been, and I can't exactly blame my parents, though I think have a first and last name start with the same letter is at least a contributing factor.
It didn't begin until after I graduated from college, but since then, an amazing number of people get fixed into their minds that my name is Bob.
It is not just strangers to whom I am introduced as Bill and who two minutes later are calling me Bob. As a young reporter, I covered City Hall in St. Petersburg, Fla. On my news gathering rounds, I stopped in the city manager's office every day. About half of the time the receptionist greeted me as Bob. I would correct her, and I would be Bill for a day or two, but then I would revert to Bob. Her explanation for the name confusion was, "You just look like a Bob."
I suppose Shakespeare (or Juliet) was right, but still I used to bridle at being called Bob. No longer, though. People whom I see regularly, including one whose own nickname is Bill, alternate between calling me Bill and Bob. I just smile and respond to whatever name they call me; I guess if I ever run for office, I will have to put my name on the ballot as Blll Bob Brown.
(My wife, whose given name is Adelaide, has a totally different problem. No one calls her Shirley or Barbara or Sue. But they can't seem to say Adelaide. It comes out Adeline, Adalie, and even Natalie. Like me, she's learned to put up with it.)
Still, I wonder what a Bob looks like.
Contact the writer at billatthelake@gmail.com
