Would you use a surname as a first name of your surname can also be used as a first name?

All this talk about confusing surnames and first names reminds me of when I once had to fly on a business trip to Munich. The PA who had booked my ticket forwarded me the confirmation and I tried to check in for the flight online and couldn't do it. When I phoned the airline to

Other people won't get it. He'll get lot's of "so, that's Mr S Carter then"

I know this will happen because I get it all the time. I'm double barrelled and my surname gets misheard and misunderstood by everyone, except the DCs school. It's like Spencer-Carter and everyone assumes I married a bloke called Spencer Carter and so clearly I am Mrs Carter

I think the main problem would be if you had a Surname Firstname name, as people would be more likely to be confused and switch them.
Something like Harrison John.

I think it depends on what it is. To me some are more "acceptable"/I prefer them. Campbell, Hudson, Hunter, Carter, those kinds of names are too surnamey to me. Harrison and Taylor would be more acceptable (to use examples of names used on the thread.)

I wouldn't use a surname as a first name regardless of my surname.

I knew a guy who had the same first name as his surname. Poor kid he got bullied a lot.

It's absolutely fine. However I work in health care and when calling in patients from the waiting room, it gets very confusing and I often call them Surname-Firstname by mistake!

Hang on. No his actual email would be JamesAdam.company wouldn't it because they are usually back to front. They type AdamJames.company. I think. Do they? Dunno. Anyway it's confusing, is my point

It's once they are an adult and sending emails for work that it's a bloody nightmare. I know a guy whose surname is a first name - let's say his name is Adam James. He's always being called James in work emails. He hates it, but not much his parents could do about it really. Sometimes he doesn't get emails because people type JamesAdam.company into the 'To' field.

To intentionally do it when you can choose not to use a 'surname sounding' first name with a confusing surname just seems harsh, because let's be honest, it's pretty likely to get annoying. And it's them that have to live with it not you.

Personally, I find it very confusing but I have a problem with names generally. Well, remembering them.
So, somebody called Mr Campbell Thomas just does my head in.

I like many of the last names used as first names but I cannot cope with this trend, so I wouldn't.

In my line of work I come across this all the time and sometimes both ways around: Mr Blair David and Mr David Blair. Gah!

In the Deep South of the US it is very fashionable for girls to have first/Christian names that can be English/British surnames - I went to the University of Virginia and there were loads of sorority girls (blonde, of course) named Taylor, Tyler, Madison, Ashley, Ainsley, etc. Names like McKenna, Mackenzie, Riley and Kennedy are also, bizarrely, popular for girls.

My (maiden) surname is often used as a boy's first name, and we gave it to DS as his middle name, with a first name that is most often a first name but I have seen as a surname. When I registered him for his nursery the teacher assumed his name was double-barreled. But for one letter his surname (my DH's) would be a first name which could have made things rather confusing.

I know someone who's first name is common as a first name or surname and his surname is a common first name. It's confusing at work where often names are "surname, first name"

I think I'd try and avoid the scenario in the OP but if it was the only name we both loved, I'd go for it

Sprinklestar so interesting that Preston is a preppy name in the US. I don't know anyone here with it as a name and, if I did hear it, it would just make me think of the town. Which doesn't have any preppy associations. Would be kind of like calling a kid Detroit.

My surname is a girl's first name in this country, but I have the French spelling of it. People quite often get it wrong. But still its not a 'would you have' with me - its my name and anyway I like it so thats that. I don't think its a big deal really Im not over-precious about mistakes (unless in writing), we all have to get used to unusual names nowadays, and we do

I went to school with a Jackson Todd. He found it very annoying to always be explaining the correct order of his names.

It can work.

I live in the US and it is very common here. We know children with Christian names like Harrison, Taylor, Preston, Smith(!), Lincoln... My children do not have names like this! I think it's awful! Incidentally, Preston is considered very 'preppy', so rather like Sebastian in the UK.

Hahaha, my son is a Carter and my brother was a Spencer.

And yes, my surname before marriage was a male firstname/surname so my brother was forever being referred to as Surname, Spencer which he corrected but I don't think it was that much of a big deal to him.
He loved his name, my parents saddled him with an awesome one! Spencer, middle name 1, middle name 2, middle name 2, SURNAME.

I have 2 sons both with surnames for first names but we have a Scottish surname (which could also be a first name I guess but most people here would assume surname).

My DD went to primary school with a girl called Morgan who had two surnames. She sounded like a firm of Solicitors or chartered accountants, e.g. Morgan Taylor Edwards.

I do actually know a kid whose name is either Owen Lucas or Lucas Owen.

Sometimes I think I've sorted it out, and then I forget again which way round it is.

I have - so long as the two names work well together I can't see a problem. Never been an issue for my 6yo DS so far. It might help that our surname is a name that is quite rare as a first name these days!

I know a few people with names like this and they sound fine. Their names are all very solid, typical English names too (rather than something that may sound a bit more American). In fact one of them has the first name Thomas, while it's the other's surname! The only major issue they have is people using the wrong name when their name shows up as Surname, First name on emails.

I think it's fine
But then I do live in Scotland and a lot of trad scottish boy's names are both. I know a Harris Gordon and a Gordon Harris!

If you think about it Campbell, Cameron, Fraser, Donald, Murray etc all started out as surnames and are acceptable as first names. Even MacKenzie is becoming quite common.