As I understand it, Bob Zimmerman first spelled his professional name "Dillon" because he was something of a fan of Matt Dillon (James Arness), the protagonist of "Gunsmoke." Then he heard about Dylan Thomas and changed the spelling. The given name "Dylan" has been around for a long time. It's Welsh, and it means "man from the sea."

'Course you have to be careful of initials, too. Long ago, in the comic strip "Gasoline Alley," Skeezix (!) and Nina Wallet (her maiden name was "Clock") were trying to think up names for their newborn son. They came up with a perfectly good pair of names: Michael Thomas. Then, one of the other characters in the strip said, "Not a good idea. Think of the initials:   M. T. Wallet."

When I was working for the telephone company back in the late Seventies and Eighties, a large percentage of the female operators, most fresh out of high school and on their first jobs, were named "Kathy" (no, not "Katherine," just "Kathy") and "Tammy (not "Tamara," just "Tammy"). Sigh. . . .

Tom and Ray Magliozzi ("Car Talk" on NPR) got a call from a listener a few weeks ago. She said her name was "Magica." One of them asked her where the name came from. Her answer was, "Hippie parents."

Don Firth