What's In A Name?

The other day I was cruising home on the highway in my hot rod aka the Camry, when I came up against another 2006 pearl grey Toyota Camry, JUST LIKE MINE!  I was eager to see who was driving MY car down the highway so I sped up to get a look. Driving the exact same car was a man who looked like Jed Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies. I was immediately annoyed. He shouldn't be driving my car. Someone who looks like ME should be driving my car. I had an urge to run him off the road or have his car repossessed. But I didn't. I hit the gas and he ate my dust.
 
I began thinking about why I got so annoyed with him driving the same car. Is it because we associate the type of car we drive with our identity? It must be. I certainly didn't want to be identified or have my car identified with him. Moreover, I also get annoyed when I find that others share my name.
 
If you do a Google search on your name, (I know many of you have but won't admit it), you will find that there are others that share your name. It is a bit disconcerting when you see photos of them. All sorts of people share the name Marc Haynes of every type ethnicity imaginable.  There are African Americans named Marc Haynes, three British guys named Marc Haynes, and some business man in Arkansas named Marc Haynes. Under Google images, there I am the third row down. Wah wah wah. :(
 
Names are the ultimate identifying feature, so when you meet or see someone with your name, it is jarring.  I also never understood why certain people on Facebook have to be friends with others of the same name. OK one or two ain't bad, but several? More than ten? That's down right creepy.
 
I joke around that if I were a serial killer, I would only go after those with my name. That way, my ranking on Google would dramatically improve. (Relax, it's just a joke people!)  I get this feeling that if someone has my name and it's spelled the same way, it's trespassing!  And it's not like I have the most common spelling of my name. After all, it could be Mark Haines or Mark Hanes. In fact, I probably have the rarest spelling of my name.
 
According to the website http://howmanyofme.com/search/ , there are 42 people in the US with my name but I don't know how accurate there website is.  Hmmm ... so that's 41 people that I will have to "visit" at some point in the near future ...
 
At the website http://www.namestatistics.com/,  Marc is the 201st most common first name. OK, I feel a little better.
 
Sometimes first names go over the top. We have seen them in Hollywood. Certain celebrities have named their kids very different names:  Apple, Jermajesty, Rocket, Seven, and Ocean just to name a few.  I have read and understand some of the reasons behind why these parents named their kids these interesting names but I really feel that they are setting them up for some bullying down the road.
 
I have to say the most interesting named person I have been friends with is my friend from high school, Jinga. She was a breath of fresh air in high school, extremely unique, outgoing, and beautiful. She wore her name proudly. I am still friends with Jinga and I am happy to say she hasn't changed a bit. So maybe for those Apples, Oceans, and Rockets out there, there is certainly hope that they will live wonderfully fulfilling lives and rock their unique first names!
 
Now as for me, I will be content being the neurotic Marc Haynes. I will correct you every time if you misspell my name, too. I have issues, OK? I guess I should be happy though, that I am not named Mark Haines. There are 160 of them that I would then have to eventually "visit." 

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