Lynne/lynette slater same person in eastenders - she started off lynette, then it become Lynne and retconned that she was never lynette.
However there's also Belinda slater which is also very similar.
I knew twins b/g - b Alexander g sasha 😕
Also sisters Marie and marina
George Foreman named several of his sons George.
"I don't get how jacob and James are the same name??" Basically Jacob is the original Jewish version so james is sort of a nickname/anglicisation? Jacobean era - era of James vi's rule, Jacobites - supporters of James vii and his descendants and their claim to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland.
Reminds me I once knew a Jack Johns.
Dad once had a boss - Richard Dickinson.
"Went to school with the female twin, Oscarina. It was shortened to Oscie. Her twin was Oscar." In Scotland? There's a tradition (I think mainly highlands) here of naming first born child if a daughter after the father but feminising by adding -ina. So thomasina, Benjamina, adamina, Jamina... I almost did that for dd but exh didn't like it.
Also in Scotland you of course have Mac/mc so Gregor MacGregor, Craig McCraig etc
And then Catholics doing the saints name, sometimes you get lucky...sometimes not so much if your born on a day where there's not many saints assigned that day and what there is are bizarre or there's only a male or female saint 'available'
This is all making me think of 2 Michael McIntyre routines:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_YL9QotBM
This one IS MY LIFE I have spent my WHOLE BLOODY LIFE spelling all my names because my parents gave me
A forename that is pronounced differently in Scotland than England, as I am a Scot, the scots pronunciation is really the correct one - FAR too many English people have tried over the years (especially teachers 😡) to tell me I am pronouncing MY OWN NAME wrong - err no!
A middle name saints name that NOBODY has ever heard of!
A surname (admittedly this was not truly choice of course) that can be spelt 3 different ways, and also isn't very common/well known, so again weird pronunciations.
I then married a man who's name I took thinking I wouldn't have to spell it - except I do because there's 2 spellings of it too!
But I can't complain to dd as we gave her 4 names (long story family issues) all of which can be spelt in at least 2 different ways. (And 4 names plus their length means form filling is somewhat tricky!)
Normal people can set up email addresses confident in the knowledge that when they have to give them out...its relatively simple... Not for us! In addition my married name is also the name of someone famous in parts of the world (but with the English pronunciation) . I have one email address that is just initials and surname which I use 'professionally', but the one I use more regularly is a daft made up one but which is easy to give out (and gives people a chuckle). NIGHTMARE!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=d6r6nhBcIbA
I grew up not knowing ANY of my aunts, uncles, parents or grandparents 'proper' names until I was fairly old relatively speaking because they ALL go by either derivative nicknames of their true forename (of the already mentioned James/Jacob type) or by their middle names (preferring them to their forenames) by characteristic based nicknames (eg "lofty", "tiny", "rusty" - bloody confusing! - one gets called a characteristic nickname NOT because they have the characteristic but because in other ways they are very like a relative who did! Far too outing to say what but think blonde person nicknamed "rusty" - utterly bizarre!
Mind you I'm to blame for one - I couldn't pronounce my brothers name as a child so he's ended up stuck with just the last syllable as a nickname within the family!
"I know an Ian John. It's basically the same name twice. Just why." Tautology. Most commonly seen in place names eg Lake Tahoe, river Avon, easy Timor...