First things first, this is a running joke in my group of friends. A couple of my friends jokingly said I should write a post about this, and I told them "hey... you might have something there". This week’s post is somewhat satirical and will be a more humorous one, but I still stand by my belief that you shouldn't date anyone with the same name as your ex and let me tell you why.
You might be wondering why I have this firm belief... Let me tell you a story. You know how we all know a billion Brandon's, Sarah's, James, John's, Marie's, etc.? You must know a few people who have the same name as your friends with common names. Well, what if I told you that I've dated three guys with the same name? Yeah... I know... It's a lot. According to an article called "Top Names Over the Last 100 Years" by the Social Security Administration of the United-States, the name "Philip" is the 97th most popular given name for a boy, which I think is funny because many of my friends don't know any other than the ones I dated. I guess I attract guys named Phil? But come on... THREE! AND, they we're "Philippe" 's... which is the French spelling. Which brought me to look up how common it was in Quebec... According to Prénoms Québec, Philippe is the 65th most popular name. So, I mean... it's not like it's ultra-common. Yet somehow... three Phil's. The first Phil was my first boyfriend in the ninth grade (who is now one of my best guy friends), the second was in early 2017 and the third in early 2018. Needless to say, I've established that guys named Phil are off limits from here on out. The three following reasons are my reasons why I think that you should avoid dating guys with the same name as your ex.
1. They bring back unwanted memories
We often associate memories to names and places. Well, when you say or hear a name, things might come back, which can be hard when your current boyfriends name is the same as someone you dated and might have not ended things on a good note with. Certain names just make you shudder a little bit, so of course you wouldn't necessarily want that to happen every time you say your current boyfriends name, right? It's even more awkward when you're telling a story to someone or reminiscing with your current boyfriend and realize "Oh wait... that was the other...". Oups?
2. Your friends and family will get mixed up
Do you know how many times I've been asked "Wait, which Phil is this?". It can get quite confusing... The same can happen when you're talking about different friends with the same name of course, but it's just a little more annoying when you need to specify which ex you are referring to. But hey, sometimes you might be talking about more than one at the same time. Last summer, I was riding my bike with the most recent Phil. We were at the light and I was leading us. I look over and I see 2017 Phil standing on the corner at the light. Before I could turn my head, we make eye contact and he waved enthusiastically... So, I had to wave back. When we started peddling again and made it to another red light, I turned around to Phil and said "That was Phil number 2"... Which brings me to my next point.
3. You end up having to number them
Maybe I don't have to do this, but referring to the different Phil's as Phil #1, #2, and #3 just makes things a lot easier when they do come up. It also just makes it kind of funny. I had told Phil #3 that I had dated two other Phil's before him, I just never imagined I would have both of them in the same area at once. I always get a good laugh and sometimes end up having to explain to people why I refer to someone as #2 or #3, to which they are always quite surprised and ask me how I managed.
A friend of mine met a guy that she was very quickly attracted to. She had the courage to ask for his name and number... You can just imagine how much she laughed to herself when he said his name was Phil. She knew of my history with them and I always jokingly said that "Phil's are the worst!". Well it turns out that this Phil is actually really great. We all laugh about it and I've poked fun at him when we've all hung out.
All jokes aside, maybe I'll meet the man of my dreams and he will have the same name as an ex. I mean... I really hope he doesn't but hey... I would be open to finding out if dating another guy with an ex's name is worth it, but I might be a little wary.
I hope that this blog post made you laugh! It was a different one, but I had to rise to the challenge that my friends Angie and Marie gave me ;) Make sure to be subscribed for notifications of new posts, out every Monday morning!