Name Uniqueness Issues

The cluster focuses on the non-uniqueness of personal names, with discussions about common names causing identification problems, suggestions for rarer names, and observations that many people share the same names.

📉 Falling 0.4x Politics & Society
4,358
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#9007
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
238
2014
310
2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2019
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2020
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2021
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2022
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2026
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Keywords

e.g pudding.cool US www.bbc AskReddit reddit.com ycombinator.com FYI NPR SurnameMapWhack names uncommon common unique baby determinism people tell voices journalists daughter

Sample Comments

joe_fishfish Apr 9, 2022 View on HN

They seem like common enough names, what's the issue?

istorical Feb 1, 2020 View on HN

How do they handle extremely common names?

elevatedastalt Jan 27, 2025 View on HN

Unfortunately many people have unique enough names that that much will be bad enough.

cballard Feb 18, 2016 View on HN

Some people have the same name as other people.

gnulinux Nov 29, 2023 View on HN

Just use less common names like Brice or Werner or Rubin?

unfunco Apr 18, 2014 View on HN

It's entirely possible that two or more people share the same name.

0xrisk Sep 15, 2022 View on HN

that is crazy. Perhaps your family name is common in that region?

thaumasiotes Jan 31, 2024 View on HN

That's a bizarre concept. Names are generally not unique.

quickthrower2 Mar 7, 2019 View on HN

Most names (first name plus surname) are not unique.

G4BB3R Mar 23, 2021 View on HN

I think it's because most of english names are already taken.