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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Dave David Davey

Quick: Think of people named Dave, David, or Davey. Try to rattle off 10 each. Then see if there are any common bonds, such as personality or profession, among people who go by one name or the other. Are there significant differences between Daves, Davids, and Daveys? Which comes first, the personality or the choice to either remain a David or switch to Dave or Davey?


Dave Annable

Dave
Dave Lettermen
Dave Chappell
Dave Thomas
Famous Dave
Dave Matthews
Dave & Buster
Dave Barry
The Dave Clark 5
Dave Brubeck
SuperDave
David Beckham

David
David Petraeus, soldier
David, King of Israel
David, statue by Michaelangelo
Henry David Thoreau
David Frost
David Brinkley
Dwight David Eisenhower
Harley Davidson
David Ben-Gurion
David Schwimmer

Davy Jones
Davey
Davy Jones, sailor of Davy Jones' locker fame
Davey Faragher, bassist for Elvis Costello
Davy Jones, Monkee
Davy Jones, baseball
Davey Johnson, baseball
Davey Lopes, baseball
Davey Williams, baseball
Davy, still in the Navy (probably will be for life)
Davie, a town in Florida
Davy Crockett, pioneer with a coon skin cap

Alright, here comes the analysis.

But first, the back story. When I was 9, we moved from Lincoln, NE to Minburn, IA. There were 24 kids in the entire 4th grade class: evenly split between12 girls and 12 boys. Among the 12 boys were, incredibly enough, three Davids. This presented a problem for the teacher, who offered this solution: one of us would remain David, while the other two would choose, henceforth and evermore, to be either Dave or Davey.

Amazingly, this worked out without a hitch. I liked Dave best. David Watts preferred David. Davey Repp was fine with Davey. And so it was. And so it remained...

Do you agree with this analysis? Do the Daves, Davids, and Daveys in your life conform to or defy these stereotypes?

Daves
Musical, attracted to the entertainment industry, humorous, light-hearted, they crave attention, they may be a bit quirky, they are capable of deep thoughts.

A Dave among Daves

Davids
With one notable exception, all of the sample Davids are elegant, powerful, and smart. (What is David Schwimmer doing in here? Does anyone take him seriously?) And what about Daaaa-viiiiiid Letterman? I know it's the David Letterman show, but he is correctly grouped with the Daves. In contrast, Davids are kingly and authoritarian.

The prototypical David

Daveys
Baseball players, bass players, and people whose name rhymes with Navy. All are remarkably committed to their career choices.

Davey--why not?

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