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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I'm currently sat in a and e

148 replies

Anon9898 · 03/10/2025 23:47

I'm currently sat in a and e and I have nothing to think about.

My husband said do you think and a e doctors and nurses treat more then one person of the same name each day.

Not just doctors or nurses but teachers, sales people. How many times a day see or treat someone with the same name

Please forgive me I am very bored. My son has fallen asleep while waiting to hear of max fax.

OP posts:
AhBiscuits · 04/10/2025 08:54

I know a Claire Jones too.

PortSalutPlease · 04/10/2025 08:59

It’s happened a few times that I know off. Largely where the clinician has called “Josie Smith” through from the waiting room and when they’ve checked DOB it’s the wrong Josie Smith.

Justbecauseyoucandoesntmeanyoushould · 04/10/2025 09:00

I knew a blended family whose daughters ended up with the same names. Each parent had 2 girls from previous relationships, both had coincidentally given them the same forenames (e.g. Sarah and Emma). When the parents married, they all took the same surname. They ended up with two Sarah Smiths and two Emma Smiths.

AhBiscuits · 04/10/2025 09:03

I have an aunt and SIL with the same names, which I imagine is pretty common. They both have popular first names and took our family name.

CurtsyFriends · 04/10/2025 09:10

ResusciAnnie · 03/10/2025 23:53

I was looking at someone’s name the other day, it was like Claire Jones or something, and I thought god I bet there are at least 5 of those in this town alone! Pretty good if you don’t want to stand out but I can’t even remember it as it was that much of a nothingy name.

I see multiples of first names all the time in my job - Ian, Tom, Charlotte, Sarah, Sophie and Emily and Jane! But not the same first and last.

I have known 3 people called Claire Jones.

user765378 · 04/10/2025 09:11

There were 2 mums of kids in my ds primary school with exactly the same name.

ClassicStripe · 04/10/2025 09:20

I know of two children who were at the school with the exact same name. Common first and last name. So we had Harry Green and then the other one called Harry Green and then his class name attached.

dizzydizzydizzy · 04/10/2025 09:34

VeryViolet · 04/10/2025 08:34

I knew two cousins who both knew that their wives were expecting "in the summer" but hadn't realised their due dates were just a week apart. In the event they both gave birth to daughters on the same day. Same fairly unusual surname, and they both used the same family name as a middle name. And they both chose the same first name, just because it was a name they liked.

So, second cousins with identical names, and the same date of birth. It wasn't a problem when they were children as they lived quite a distance apart, but became a problem when they both applied for student grants to go to university.

The student loans company is hopeless. Friend's twins who obviously have different first names, but the same date of birth and address. The SLC went into meltdown o we that!

Sillysaussicon · 04/10/2025 10:04

Yes it's happened on wards when I was a nurse. Makes things super high risk as likelyhood of medical errors shoots up. Admins would flag it on entry hopefully and everyone would need to be made aware, because any staff might be called on upon in a resus situation to treat the patient and imagine if they had the wrong notes or allergy status or something like that. Its also really hard in intensive care, paediatrics, dementia care, really anywhere where you can't rely on a patient to be awake or able to tell you their full name reliably. There's probably a strict protocol that I'm sure the admins would know, what you see them do on reception is really the tip of the iceberg with that job!

Pieceofpurplesky · 04/10/2025 11:27

As a teacher and when I was at school.
at school two boys had matching names that were quite common, think James Smith style. The two boys I taught with identical names were more unusual - but both a musician of the day (not Noel or Liam but of that ilk). Surname was not common but not rare. Thing is one was naughty and one was good - the poor good one often got sanctioned for the naughty one as he was first on the register!

Original poster
Anon9898 · 04/10/2025 13:16

ForNoisyCat · 04/10/2025 07:51

I’ve learned the hard way to always take a book or magazine. If I knitted or embroidered I’d take that too

ps hope everything ok

Edited
Show quote history

I took books for my son but he slept through most of it!!. Should of took my knitting.my embroidery at the minute is massive!

OP posts:
Curledup14 · 04/10/2025 13:56

Who was the patient?

Yellowpingu · 04/10/2025 14:39

My brother was sedated prior to gallbladder surgery when he heard the surgeon and a load of students discussing ‘his’ brain surgery. He couldn’t speak thanks to the sedative but thankfully they realised in time that they had 2 patients with the same Christian and surnames. Just about scared him to death!

1543click · 04/10/2025 15:07

There are 8 people with my first and middle name at my Dr's practice. I was in hospital with someone with the same name . They put a sticker on your notes to remind them apparently.

Original poster
Anon9898 · 04/10/2025 16:13

Curledup14 · 04/10/2025 13:56

Who was the patient?

My 8 year old had an accident at school

OP posts:
QueenOfCastille · 04/10/2025 16:17

@3pearsi also had a friend move into a house where they had the same name as the previous residents, who were then chased by bailiffs for the previous owners. Their name was also Williams. So is that coincidence, or is it the same couple? 🤔

QueenOfCastille · 04/10/2025 16:20

I sat in a meeting at work (about 12 people) and two of them had the same name, though different spellings (Clark/Clarke)

I’ve also previously worked in a company with two people who have exactly the same name. If you mentioned them, the question was always “is that the Reverend XX, or the idiot XX?”

Bbq1 · 04/10/2025 16:28

I'm a TA and meet and work daily with numerous children named Evie/Eva and Mollie.

Halloweengaul · 04/10/2025 17:57

I was in hopsital with a woman with the same full name has me born the same year. I recently found out we named our child the same name too.

Curledup14 · 04/10/2025 17:58

Halloweengaul · 04/10/2025 17:57

I was in hopsital with a woman with the same full name has me born the same year. I recently found out we named our child the same name too.

Did you become friends then?

WannaFOffOnHoliday · 04/10/2025 18:01

I rang the hospital once where my grandma was a patient to check up on her
There was another woman with the same first and last name and same dob in the hospital at the same time as her. I couldnt believe it

KsbskGVDKDbs · 04/10/2025 20:42

I worked as a supply teacher for a few years. In one reception class I worked in once there were two children with the same fairly uncommon first name and very similar surnames… think Kaiden Thomas and Kaiden Thompson. The children in this class had pictures of animals alongside their names on their peg labels, tray labels etc. The staff in this school called these poor boys Kaiden Cow and Kaiden Butterfly!

Ghhbiuj · 05/10/2025 07:44

dizzydizzydizzy · 04/10/2025 08:41

Yes I am in exactly this same situation as your Claire Jones. Over the years, I’ve occasionally experienced surprising coincidences, some of which are in my PPs.

But what happens very frequently - probably once a week - is mistaken identity on email. My email address is simply my name as one word before the at symbol and then a common email provider after the at symbol. (I got that email addess in about 1994, so didn’t need to use numbers or symbols or extra words)

Anyway, I am always getting appointments emailed to me for other women of my name, I have had ‘my’ electricity bill for my house in Los Angeles, a boarding pass for a flight from Vancouver to San Francisco, other people’s family photos, queries from US tax advisors about my income, surveys about my experience of having surgery in some hospital I have never heard of.

Some woman even used my email address for her Plenty of Fish account. I logged into her account (terrible security!) and changed all the details about the type of men she was looking for - I made up something ridiculous - at least 6’5”, loves ballet and is fluent in Japanese and Italian. 🤣

Show quote history

That's funny. I've got a name that I think is relatively rare. First name is common, surname I've not met one outside my family. I've worked at very large places and never had a name clash (total of about 300k on their systems)

But even so, my email is my name at Gmail dot com. And I regularly get random emails.

I suppose the world's population is big enough

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