What's in a Name?

Today, my buddy Matthew (should I start calling you Matt? I think I'm now the only person on the planet who calls you Matthew. I'll bet even your mother calls you "Matt" ...) blogged about a web site where you can learn fun facts about your name. Here's what I learned:

- Etymology (word origins)

First Name:
Origin -- Greek (Root: Phillip)
Meaning -- Lover of Horses

Surname:
Origin -- (Origin Scottish Locality) A district in Ayrshire, Scotland. The name signifies the dwelling of the chief or king, from the Saxon, cyning, Dutch, koning, a leader or chief, and ham, a house or town.


- "31% of the letters are vowels. Of one million first and last names we looked at, 74% have a higher vowel make-up. This means you are modestly envoweled."


- "According to the US Census Bureau, 0.197% of US residents have the first name 'Philip' and 0.0545% have the surname 'Cunningham'. The US has around 300 million residents, so we guesstimate there are 322 'Philip Cunningham's."

Among these 322, here's what I've found:

• An Assistant Professor of Meteorology at Florida State University

• A Human Rights Activist who, formerly exiled from the U.S., is now a visiting fellow at Cornell University in New York.

• A member of the U.S. bishops’ Advisory Committee on Catholic-Jewish Relations (Source)

• An Assistant Basketball Coach at Mississippi State University.

• A Photographer

• From outside the country, A Scottish Folk Music Composer

• And finally, a California pastor of a Baptist church who allegedly embezzled from the church he worked for.

Yeah, that last one isn't creepy at all.