McGrath of Harlow said (inter alia):

I imagine in Canada there must be a lot of confusion about people called Jean.

Some acquaintances of mine, from here in Indiana, were living in Quebec some years ago, and had a girl baby there. They filled in whatever official form it was with the given name "Jean". "No," said the authorities, "you can't name a girl that. That's a male name!" They were forced to spell it Jeanne.

On another subject, we have my father-in-law, born maybe 1880, whose name was Courtney Oronto Moore. These days one runs into a lot of female Courtneys. Probably not many Orontos, though, of either sex.

And one more (which I've related in other threads, but it's too good not to repeat):

At the beginning of my 9th grade year, which I guess would have been 1943, there was a new girl in school, who showed up, having gone to school elsewhere previously. I say "showed up" because I don't think any formal paperwork transfer had previously come for her.

So the teacher passed around a sign-in sheet among the class, with the instructions to "Put down your complete, formal name. No 'for-shorts', no nicknames."

I don't remember what her last name was, but say it was Schwartz. So she put down "Jack Schwartz". The teacher admonished her: "No, put down your REAL name! No nicknames!" The girl told her, "That's my name, Jack!" The teacher wouldn't believe her, and Jack wouldn't budge. So she was sent to the principal's office, who would surely get to the bottom of it.

The same scene ensued in the principal's office, with insistence on the "real" name and her obdurate answer of "Jack". "All right, young lady, you go home and bring your mother or father in, and we'll get the real name from them!"

Both the mother and father came in and assured the principal that my classmate's name was indeed Jack--not Jac, not Jackie, not Jacquelyn, but J-A-C-K, Jack!

Frankly, I don't envy the young lady.

I wonder whatever happened to Jack.

Dave Oesterreich