Recently my wife ran into a man she'd met several times. In a conversation soon after, she berated herself because his name escaped her. Instead of his real name - Peter - she found Joseph was lodged in her head. Sound familiar? Many people lament their inability to recall names and conflating one common name for another seems pretty widespread to me. Following some reflecting, I have a theory on this conflating thing.
Caveat first: My theory is not aimed at giving any reader an excuse for making a sincere effort to recall names. But while trying to re-assure my wife about her Peter vs. Joseph dilemma, offering first the old standby that perhaps this Peter looked like a Joseph she once knew, followed quickly by the logical but boring explanation that both are classic men's names from the Bible, I realized neither of those could reasonably explain my own trifecta of perpetually conflated women's names: Janet vs. Karen, Kathy vs. Nancy, Laura vs. Sarah.
If any reader shares my pain, i.e., has already mistaken a Janet for a Karen, or a Kathy for a Nancy, or a Laura for a Sarah - as I have many times - my apologies for re-hashing your past embarrassment. But please note: Each name in these devilish pairs has five letters, two syllables, and at least two shared letters. Come on, you have to admit there is ample room for confusion. OK sweetheart - scrutinize Peter vs. Joseph one last time. Two out of three ain't bad.
The next time any of you conflate, take note of what your two names share and report back to me. Unless what you note does not support my theory. In that case, keep it to yourself and develop your own theory.
Hello, Pat. While I cannot recall a time when I have made a similar error, although I am 100% sure I have, my mistakes seem to be more with either remembering the face but not the name or coming close but still not the correct name. For example, we have recently joined a group of retirees from where we used to work. We've only attended 3 or 4 of the events so far - luncheons usually. And, while I recognize the faces of the people that we worked with for well over 30 years, the names .... well, not so much. Maybe those 'Hello, My Name Is ___' stickers would be beneficial. As for what else I have been guilty of, I have often mistaken a 'Mary' for 'Marie' and a 'Bob' for a 'Bill'. Close, but ...
ReplyDeleteYour post and Kim's example, makes me realize we are not alone in this. Not that I really thought it was ever just me - lol.
Be well,
Bob
Bob; Three comments in one day, again; man, what a mensch you are. Mary for Marie shares two of the elements I mentioned, i.e., same # of syllables, and two (actually, three) shared letters so once again, my theory is 67% valid for that devilish pair that trips you up, just like Peter for Joseph trips up my wife. Bob for Bill only share one of the elements i.e., both are one syllable, so you're on your own there. Now, if you'd said Bobby for Billy you'd be back in 67% territory and I would have given you a pass.
Delete