Random Thoughts

[defaux]

who the hell names their kid McGeorge?

Mr. Fly (senior). That was the alternate timeline though, when McMarty stepped on a butterfly.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

who the hell names their kid McGeorge?

They couldn't decide between naming him after George Washington or Douglas McArthur, so they compromised and named him McGeorge since Dougshington was just too weird.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Fell into a bit of a JFK, LBJ, Vietnam era rabbit hole. I forgot about NSA McGeorge Bundy and, well, who the hell names their kid McGeorge?

McGeorge is certainly more familiar as a surname (The McGeorges are a branch of the MacFheorais family which moved from Ireland to Galloway, in southwestern Scotland).

But I looked up why his parents named him that. From Google:

"McGeorge Bundy was named "McGeorge" after his paternal grandfather, whose first name was McGeorge, as confirmed in biographical documents.

His father was Harvey Hollister Bundy, a prominent Boston lawyer and statesman, and his mother was Katherine Lawrence Putnam.

He was nicknamed 'Mac'."

Hope that answers that!

 

[Schism]

Fell into a bit of a JFK, LBJ, Vietnam era rabbit hole.

Don't forget Nixon.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Don't forget Nixon.

I find the Nixon/Kissinger era far less interesting. Goes for a lot of the 70s. Not sure why.

 

[Schism]

I find the Nixon/Kissinger era far less interesting. Goes for a lot of the 70s. Not sure why.

Can't go wrong with JFK of course.

It's interesting since I think a lot of discussion on presidents boils down to specific things like JFK's assassination, or Nixon's Watergate. Or at least that's how it generally seems.

 

[JLT]

Fell into a bit of a JFK, LBJ, Vietnam era rabbit hole. I forgot about NSA McGeorge Bundy and, well, who the hell names their kid McGeorge?

There are a lot of last names popping up as first names, often as the mother's maiden name. A common mistake is "John Hopkins"... the hospital and university...which is actually "Johns Hopkins."

NB: It used to be obligatory not to omit the "the" from "the Johns Hopkins University." I always thought they were trying to give a Sharper Image patina to their college. They don't seem to be as strict about that nowadays.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Using mom's maiden name as a given name is a common practice in parts of the South. My son's middle name is my mom's maiden name.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

My son's middle name is my wife's surname.