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.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

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.

I'm not American, or ever been to America, and even I know the name "Johns Hopkins". (It doesn't make sense to me, but I know it's supposed to be that way).

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.

That's all well and good, but if a boy's middle name can be a woman's maiden name, is it possible for that maiden name to be one that only women can have? That could be the case if the family is Scandnavian (e.g. Leifsdottir, etc.).

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

Maybe it's just me, but I've seen a lot more TV documentaries and "special features" about the Nixon/Kissinger years, far more than I've ever seen about LBJ. (JFK documentaries have been done to death - pardon the pun - but most of them concern his assassination, naturally).

Speaking of JFK, I wonder why no documentaries focus on his early years -- e.g. his childhood, his war service etc. I know he commanded a PT boat during WW2. I'd like to hear more about that.

As for LBJ, all I know about him is that he took over after JFK was killed, that he was extremely unpopular because of the Vietnam War, that he hated and envied Ho Chi Minh ... *shrug* and that he had a strange obsession with showing off his *ahem* organ in public. I wonder how he was never charged with indecent exposure, at least.