If you had a laughable make-fun-of-it-able last name that would lend itself to ridicule wouldn't you change it before you entered politics?

Your last name kept you out of politics? Seriously? I think you would have been great so why wouldn't you change your name to make that possible? Would your family object? Oh I just thought of a question Sbf and so I'm gonna ask it. Thank you for your reply!   :) This post was edited by RosieG at October 14, 2018 7:26 AM MDT

Partially. Too many of those whose votes I would need already know it, and I respect my family too highly to ditch it for personal gain (stage names don't count).

I kinda thought there might be family consideration therein. Well it's your country's loss m'dear in my opinion but I think a life in politics for an honest person isn't gonna be pleasant for thep person or his/her family so you probably dodged a bullet there. Thank you for your reply! :)

Bruce was never a sissy  name in Australia - it was so common that the Monty Python gang referred to all Aussies as "Bruces". Bruce Woodley is an amazingly talented songwriter.

:):):)

I did not know that bh. Well my name is Rosemarie which I'm sure you know and giving that handle to a little kid didn't help me at all when I was younger. I was surrounded by Janets and Debbies and I wished my first name were Ann. My last name is an Armenian name and that got butchered badly by teachers who didn't know any better.  I dreamed of being "Ann Blake". I kid you not. If there is an  Ann Blake out there somewhere I don't know her but I wished to have her name. Now of course I like my name.  Thank you for your reply! :)

Like the poet, Robert Blake?

I know who the actor Robert Blake is but I am unfamiliar with a poet of that name. Do you mean Robert Burns perchance or William Blake?  The names were not meaningful but plain as plain can be. Those were the plainest names I could think of other than smith or jones which didn't  appeal to me. Did I answer your question bh? This post was edited by RosieG at October 14, 2018 9:05 AM MDT

Seriously? Ann without an e is Plain Jane and unfinished, Anne with an e looks far more distinguished. Agree or dis, and why?

The e is silent so it is of no practical use. I did a riff yesterday on the silliness of silent letters in a question Sbf. Perhaps you saw it? Also "less is more". Since Ann has fewer letters but sounds the same it is really more. It is unfettered and unencumbered with a useless geegaw. Unembellished. The lines of Ann are sleek and aerodynamic. Not so with Anne. Further 3 is a magic number. The third time's the charm. (There's 3 strikes and yer out but let's set that aside for the moment). You say Ann or Anne and how does the sound change? It doesn't. Economy of words. Pithy. Succinct. There is much beauty in brevity. So I guess I dis but most respectfully so. Eye of the beholder don'tcha know? Now for example there could be a Richard  who is called Rich (my son) or Rick (others I know) or even Ric and that stands out because of its economy of letters. It could be Rik too and I think maybe the Danes might spell it that way. There is also Richy and Richie and Ricky and Rickie. What's in a name anyway? It's very personal. Now if I were Ann and you wrote me a note and spelled my name Anne I wouldn't get all huffy puffy. Unlike some spelling police I don't carry a perpetual steel rod up my butt. Let's see can I beat this horse any deader?  Thank you for your questions. Yes seriously. It's Ann for me or would have been in that small window of time when I was a kid! :) This post was edited by RosieG at October 14, 2018 4:07 PM MDT