It’s always weird and wonderful to encounter someone with your same first name…and totally off-putting to meet someone with the same first and last name! Thanks to social media and people search engines like Spokeo it’s now easier than ever to find out who shares your name and see what similarities you might have in common.
The most common last name in the U.S. may be “Smith” and Michaels and Marys rampant, but what happens when two people with more unique names cross paths? Here are four incredible relationship stories of same-named people.
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Late in 2014 a heartbroken Jordan Axani posted a strange request on social media site Reddit. He’d booked a non-transferrable round-the-world trip with his girlfriend at the time but they broke up – now he needed someone with her exact same name to step in and use her ticket. Oh, and they had to be Canadian. It didn’t take long for 18 “Elizabeth Gallaghers” from Canada to respond, and Jordan selected a 23-year old student from Nova Scotia as his lucky travel companion. The two went on the “platonic” trip together in December and though they say no sparks flew, they had a great time.
This one’s a story for the ages. When two identical twin boys were born in 1940 and adopted by separate Ohio families no one thought anything strange. But when they reconnected (stories are mixed on how they found each other) in 1979 after 39 years apart? That’s when things got weird. Turns out both boys were christened “James” by their adopted parents but both chose to go by Jim. They each married women named Linda, divorced, then married women named Betty. Oh, and they both had sons they named “James Allen”…all without ever knowing the other existed. They may not have had the same last name but the coincidences are spooky!
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Hildebrandt
In 2008, Kelly Hildebrandt (female) searched Facebook for same-named people and came across a rather-cute Kelly Hildebrandt (male.) She sent him a private message, the two started chatted, and five short weeks later Mr. Kelly Hildebrandt was flying from Texas to Florida to hang out with Ms. Kelly in real life. It didn’t take long for the two to move in together and, low and behold, become engaged! (They had trouble booking a honeymoon because cruise lines kept thinking they’d double-booked their reservation by mistake.) While the two wed in 2010 the union didn’t last long. They’re now divorced but this radical Facebook love story lives on.
In 2001, actress Angela Shelton felt compelled to find other Angela Sheltons around the country and hear about their life experiences. A survivor of sexual abuse herself, Shelton met with over 40 other Angela Sheltons, all found online, and noted that an astonishing 70% were also sexually abused at some point. She wrote a poignant book about the experience called Finding Angela Shelton and also decided to turn the story into a documentary, titled “Searching for Angela Shelton.” The film was met with so much acclaim Shelton founded the Angela Shelton Foundation in 2003 and still works to help survivors of abuse to this day.
Are you curious who has the same name as you?
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