Here we go...maybe the last great TIME WASTING thread of the off season...

[WizardofhOgZ]

This came up because I submitted a candidate to a client; he was subsequently hired (I'm in the staffing business) and started yesterday. The client emailed me a little while ago to razz me because it turned out that I had spelled the candidate's last name wrong.  I had presented the last name as "Reid", when - in fact - it was "Ried".  Not a huge deal - I know this client pretty well, but he was busting my balls a little bit, because our mistake caused him to generate the wrong ID, etc. (getting his workstation set up) because of the error.

Turns out the mistake was made when our admin - who transfers "raw" resumes to our formatted version - "read" it as "Reid" (easy mistake to make in this case, IMO) and when I got the resume (it had been sourced by someone else in my office) to present to my client, I saw nothing wrong with the name Reid (sounded like the name she had told me) and just forwarded it after proofing.  Had it been, say, "Smjth" instead of "Smith", I'd have seen it right away.  But I don't ever think I've seen the last name Ried; if I have, I don't remember it.  On the other hand, I've seen "Reid" and "Reed" many, many times, so there was nothing unusual that stood out.

It got me to wondering, and I found this (see link below) site that you can put virtually any existing last name (this is for the USA), and it will tell you where that name ranks in terms of most frequently held among US citizens (based on the Census).  Sure enough, "Reid" is about a top 200 name (averaging the last 2 censuses), and "Reed" is even more common - around the 50th.  However, "Ried" is down around 19,000.

It's a fun thing to play around with.  Everyone will put their own name in - of course.  Then, probably, their spouse's maiden name, in-laws, friends, etc.  Just an interesting little time-killer for the last few days of summer doldrums.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/thesweetestsound/popindex.php?name=white&Submit=Submit

The site asks if you can identify the most common 7 surnames in the USA.  I took about 2 minutes and jotted down 7 - four of them were correct.

[HogShat]

29897 for mine....

[pignparadise]

111,703 for mine. My wife's name did not exist in their database

[MO.Hog]

29897 for mine....

#1 here

[WizardofhOgZ]

#1 here

And I'll bet that neither you, nor anyone else was/would be surprised by that name being #1.

[MO.Hog]

And I'll bet that neither you, nor anyone else was/would be surprised by that name being #1.

Not at all, didn't stop me from making sure though haha.

[Sow’sEar]

nice.

here is another good site if you are interested in how many people have your same first and last name combo

www.howmanyofme.com

[hawginbigd1]

#6 and #7 here.

[thirrdegreetusker]

I tried to guess the top names, without looking at the list. Of my first 6 guesses, 5 were in the top 7.

[Sow’sEar]

Another neat site to kill time on is:   www.globalrichlist.com

put in your net annual income and it will tell you how wealthy you are compared to the global population.

its unreal how wealthy we are in this country...  makes you really think...

[Biggus Piggus]

In 1990, Poot was ranked #54858.
In 2000, Poot was ranked #61159.

The name Poot has been searched 4 times
out of 2965162 total searches on the Popularity Index.

[Biggus Piggus]

Piggus, as a surname, does not exist in this database, because it is not among the most common names in the United States.

You are the first visitor to this site to enter that name (out of a total of 2965164 name entries).

[Doug]

nice.

here is another good site if you are interested in how many people have your same first and last name combo

www.howmanyofme.com

There are 9 people with my name... and two of 'em are here, in Georgia. The other DH works for Coca Cola (mid-level executive, I believe). I'm the only one, when my full name is used.

[robs4516]

I was shocked, shocked to find that Smith is the #1 name in the USA!!!

In 1990, smith was ranked #1.
In 2000, smith was ranked #1.

The name smith has been searched 29740 times
out of 2965230 total searches on the Popularity Index.

[WarPig88]

This came up because I submitted a candidate to a client; he was subsequently hired (I'm in the staffing business) and started yesterday. The client emailed me a little while ago to razz me because it turned out that I had spelled the candidate's last name wrong.  I had presented the last name as "Reid", when - in fact - it was "Ried".  Not a huge deal - I know this client pretty well, but he was busting my balls a little bit, because our mistake caused him to generate the wrong ID, etc. (getting his workstation set up) because of the error.

Turns out the mistake was made when our admin - who transfers "raw" resumes to our formatted version - "read" it as "Reid" (easy mistake to make in this case, IMO) and when I got the resume (it had been sourced by someone else in my office) to present to my client, I saw nothing wrong with the name Reid (sounded like the name she had told me) and just forwarded it after proofing.  Had it been, say, "Smjth" instead of "Smith", I'd have seen it right away.  But I don't ever think I've seen the last name Ried; if I have, I don't remember it.  On the other hand, I've seen "Reid" and "Reed" many, many times, so there was nothing unusual that stood out.

It got me to wondering, and I found this (see link below) site that you can put virtually any existing last name (this is for the USA), and it will tell you where that name ranks in terms of most frequently held among US citizens (based on the Census).  Sure enough, "Reid" is about a top 200 name (averaging the last 2 censuses), and "Reed" is even more common - around the 50th.  However, "Ried" is down around 19,000.

It's a fun thing to play around with.  Everyone will put their own name in - of course.  Then, probably, their spouse's maiden name, in-laws, friends, etc.  Just an interesting little time-killer for the last few days of summer doldrums.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/thesweetestsound/popindex.php?name=white&Submit=Submit

The site asks if you can identify the most common 7 surnames in the USA.  I took about 2 minutes and jotted down 7 - four of them were correct.

I thought this would be another stadium debate thread.

[Oklahawg]

Piggus, as a surname, does not exist in this database, because it is not among the most common names in the United States.

You are the first visitor to this site to enter that name (out of a total of 2965164 name entries).

Oklahawg as well. Doug's site shows that there are "1 or fewer" of me. Many would suggest "fewer".

[Dr. Starcs]

Amy Reid or Amy Ried?

Both

[porknbeans]

#125577

But it's a very famous name in Belgium 
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/Urbanus
http://www.comicvine.com/de-avonturen-van-urbanus-123/4000-441966/

[Hog N Bama]

I just remember the general rule I before E, except after C. That's how I remember to spell Bielema 

[Hoggish1]

14,279 here

[longtimeHogfan]

#2 then
#2 now

[longtimeHogfan]

There are 9 people with my name... and two of 'em are here, in Georgia. The other DH works for Coca Cola (mid-level executive, I believe). I'm the only one, when my full name is used.

Before I retired there were two of us in our company with the exact same first, middle & last names.  We were constantly getting our 401K, Credit Union, Expense reports, etc., etc., confused.   When dealing with anything financial within the company we got to where we'd both caution that there are two of us in the system and I'm the one down here or up here as the case may be. 

[BirmingHam]

There were two of us in my Air Force basic training flight with the same first and last name  On the initial roll call, the TI was getting pissed until he looked down the list and saw two with same first and last names.  The other guy was from Minnesota, both of us were white and around the same height.  I was about to beat the sh@# outa that other guy after the TI called my name 3 times with two people yelling "here".

[RebelliousHog]

#5672 in 2000