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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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Category: Personal
Posted on: November 20, 2007 6:33 PM, by PZ Myers
An article in the NYT on surname frequency settles the most important issue of our time:
Myers | 83 occurrences/100,000 people, rank 85. |
Meyers | 21 occurrences/100,000 people, rank 528. |
Now can everyone please start using the dominant, correct spelling?
YES! Send me a free issue of Seed.
If I like what I see, I'll receive 5 more issues (6 in all) for just $19.95. If I'm not completely satisfied, I'll simply write "cancel" on the invoice and owe nothing. The free issue is mine to keep.
(Non-U.S. subscribers, click here.)
Comments
Posted by: Zarquon | November 20, 2007 6:40 PM
Or, you could rejoice in your reputation as a latter-day Shaksper.
Posted by: Nathaniel Meyers | November 20, 2007 6:41 PM
I think you only *notice* the misspellings. I *swear* I must get more misspellings then you do. (And *man* does it *bug* when people refer to Myers Rum or Myers lemons and expect me to be amused.)
BTW, doesn't it bug you that the "y" isn't well balanced by an "e" are each side?
Posted by: j | November 20, 2007 6:41 PM
Ha! I actually read about this on Pandagon, and after I checked for my surname and my friends' surnames, the next thought that came to mind was "I wonder whether 'Myers' or 'Meyers' is more popular."
Posted by: Corey Schlueter | November 20, 2007 6:41 PM
My last name is not on the list. But I looked up Martin, because there are a lot of Martins living around here, is 17th.
I still do not understand how anyone can misspell Myers.
Posted by: Moses | November 20, 2007 6:44 PM
Not even in the Top 5000. Which is not a surprise. My family has been here from the earliest days of Colonial America (400 years by the time I hit retirement), but we're ALL descended of the one man who was part of a very small family (surname) in England who had one son before he died.
Posted by: Rob the Lurker FCD BMWCCA | November 20, 2007 6:51 PM
Funny, I saw that item yesterday and after looking up my name (in the 2100's), I looked up "myers" and "meyers" and was suprised by the results.
Posted by: Jim MYers | November 20, 2007 6:56 PM
You would think the most phonetically intuitive spelling would the one most chosen, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be the case. More than 50% of the people who have to spell my name misspell it AFTER seeing it written correctly.
Posted by: PZ Myers | November 20, 2007 6:58 PM
Doesn't it bug you to have that redundant "e" in your name? Or do you pronounce it "Mee-yers"?
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 20, 2007 7:06 PM
Not even there, not suprising given Mr Shrek and I combined both our names with a hyphen when we got married so its brand new made up name. Oooooh, don't we sound new age. I swear we did it just to drive the government department that issues driver's licences here absolutely bananas. They could cope with me changing my name after marriage but not my husband. Some old crusty bitch at the counter even told us it JUST WASN'T PROPER to do that.
Posted by: Greg Laden | November 20, 2007 7:08 PM
Crap. I'm not even on the list. In fact, nobody seems to be on the list, almost. I think it was rigged.
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 20, 2007 7:08 PM
Not to mention the cheap thrill its gives Mr Shrek to tell people he had a "maiden" name. Honestly, what a poser!
Posted by: Geral | November 20, 2007 7:13 PM
http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames2k.html
There is a list by the Bureau that has a far more complete list. 151,000+ records in Excel and my last name is number 18,165.
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | November 20, 2007 7:14 PM
Of course you overlook the etymology: it comes from the Greek:
Μυερς
which is how I shall henceforth spell it.
Posted by: danley | November 20, 2007 7:23 PM
What about Myerz? A transitional fossil option.
Posted by: Ted D | November 20, 2007 7:28 PM
Sure thing Mr. Mayears sir, I'll get your name spelled right.
Posted by: Carlie | November 20, 2007 7:31 PM
I'm #1! I'm #1!
Posted by: Ross Nixon | November 20, 2007 7:32 PM
But how is it pronounced?
My pick - "My ass"
;-)
Posted by: Dan | November 20, 2007 7:45 PM
My-Yers! As in that's my marmalade. Yers is in the dumpster behind the bowling alley.
Posted by: PZ Myers | November 20, 2007 7:49 PM
Yeah, right, Mr John "532" Wilkins. Even "Meyers" outranks you.
Posted by: Wiseass | November 20, 2007 8:04 PM
Now that we got the last name straightened out, do you spell the first nane with a "v" or "ph," Professor Meyer? I always get confused.
Posted by: Loei Meyer | November 20, 2007 8:06 PM
I assure you, it's equally annoying to have an "s" constantly added to your name.
Posted by: Lori Meyer | November 20, 2007 8:08 PM
Although I apparently can't even spell my first name right...
Posted by: Mike Haubrich, FCD | November 20, 2007 8:10 PM
Greg, change your middle name to "bin." My last name doesn't come up at all, but it might be a different story if we went by the Duetsche census, nicht wahr?
Posted by: Tatarize | November 20, 2007 8:14 PM
Heck I've read this blog for years and misspelled Myers in a post just the other day. It was a blemish on an otherwise extremely witty dig at Behe (in the Order of Molly thread).
*sigh*
My name is often spelled right even though it's less dominant.
Posted by: Dan | November 20, 2007 8:17 PM
My current surname is the eighties, but it was chosen specifically for being hyper-normal.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | November 20, 2007 8:32 PM
Now can everyone please start using the dominant, correct spelling?
OK, but I refuse to say "PeeZee".
And 'Karosas' isn't on the list. I didn't realise there was such an anti-Lithuanian sentiment in the US. We were the first to jump the sinking Soviet ship, for cryin' out loud.
Pfah. Buncha ingrates.
Posted by: khan | November 20, 2007 8:54 PM
Some cousins have the last name 'Meier'; that was always getting screwed up.
Posted by: Charon | November 20, 2007 8:58 PM
To those not looking at the complete list (well, the N>=100 list):
Schlueter 7093
Laden 30552
Haubrich 23848
Currently I seem to be winning, coming in at 59293. (Or losing, if you prefer, but I'll think of it as winning.)
Posted by: Ivor the Engine Driver | November 20, 2007 9:04 PM
Thought you should know that the World's Best Brother-in-Law, Floyd Myers, died this morning in his sleep at 4:05 a.m.
Posted by: Brian English | November 20, 2007 9:04 PM
I scored 692. Well, that's an insult. My surname is the language the article was written in after all. huff
Posted by: Adam S | November 20, 2007 9:11 PM
I share your pain. My last name ends in 'myer' but everybody wants to spell it with 'meyer' even though that last name (with meyer) doesn't exist.
Posted by: melior | November 20, 2007 9:13 PM
I always thought Ernst Mayr spelled it the original way.
Posted by: Nathaniel Meyers | November 20, 2007 9:15 PM
Doesn't it bug you to have that redundant "e" in your name? Or do you pronounce it "Mee-yers"?
Nope. It's pronounced the same as yours (I assume). I always thought the two "e" made the name appear balanced which "Myers" without the extra "e" doesn't.
Weird, though the number of times it gets misspelled. I've met far more "Myers" than other "Meyers"
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | November 20, 2007 9:21 PM
I can appreciate your quandary. I try to always state my name clearly and intelligibly. Would you believe that about half of the time someone responds, with an indulgent smile, "Schmitt?"
Maybe I need new teeth.
Posted by: ethan | November 20, 2007 9:39 PM
Perhaps, just as my first name's skyrocketing into the top 10 baby names made everyone suddenly be able to spell it, this will teach everyone how to spell my middle name.
I must also forward this to my mother (it's her last name).
Posted by: Geoff | November 20, 2007 9:51 PM
I will be sure to tell my sixth grade math teacher Mrs. Meyers that she in a minority. It would give me pleasure to also tell her that her jokes were really bad and my fellow students thought she was a bit of a jerk.
Though I kinda liked her because she was good humored. Name misspelled and all.
My fellow students were jerks.
Posted by: Isaac | November 20, 2007 9:54 PM
Heh!
Isaac 42,400,000
Issac 3,240,000
There is actually one thing good about the bible!
Posted by: Dan Myers | November 20, 2007 10:03 PM
If I may make my own little contribution to this discussion: http://monster-blue.blogspot.com/2006/12/my-mey.html
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 20, 2007 10:27 PM
For many years New Scientist has run tongue-in-cheek articles about the phenomenon known as nominal determisnism. I'm trying to track down the original article from the early 1990's which isn't in their archives but for now:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15821319.000-feedback.html
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 20, 2007 10:29 PM
My interest in this started when my fathe, who is an ENT Surgeon, gained a resident called Dr Death. He pronounced it "Deeeth" but we all knew better.
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 20, 2007 10:30 PM
Um, that should be NOMINATIVE determinism. Squirmy six month old on lap makes for good typos.
Posted by: HP | November 20, 2007 10:31 PM
Huh. My last name is Peirce. Pee-ee-AYE-arr-cee-ee. "Just like the famous philosopher," I cheerfully explain to the blank, uncomprehending stare of the clerk at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. "You know, C.S. Peirce -- founder of semiotics, inventor of multivalued logic? No relation, of course -- that I know of ha-ha! He pronounced it 'purse,' but I pronounce it 'pierce." ... Okay, you're typing it backwards. Ee and then Aye. Yeah, yeah, 'and sometimes P.' I blame my Dad. Slow down and try again. Now hit Enter. There ya go."
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | November 20, 2007 10:41 PM
Okay, okay, you win. Now that you've won, could you go eviscerate the racist dork Lord Saletan for us? Thanks.
Posted by: foxfire | November 20, 2007 10:56 PM
I just gave up trying to figure out how you spell it and adopted Dawkins P-Zed. Besides, P-Zed sound a lot cooler than Myers (and yes, I don't see any correlation between you and http://www.fredmeyer.com/homepage/index.htm)
Posted by: Cyde Weys | November 20, 2007 11:00 PM
I'm not surprised at all that I don't rank anywhere on that list. Even though we, too, came over on some of the first boats to America.
Posted by: Moopheus | November 20, 2007 11:28 PM
"There is a list by the Bureau that has a far more complete list. 151,000+ records "
My name didn't even make this list. An endangered species. As far as I know, everyone with my last name is descended from my great-grandfather or his two brothers.
Posted by: Bride of Shrek | November 21, 2007 5:37 AM
I just want to hear PZ say he's "dominant" again. Grrrrrrrrr. Woof.
Posted by: BigBob | November 21, 2007 6:03 AM
Bit of Genealogy for you - the way our families originally spelt our names was determined by the teacher who taught your first literate ancestor to write it down. Thus two members of the same extended family, attending different schools in neighbouring villages could get different spellings. Neither is right, neither is wrong. Also, checking back through the records, census, births, marriages and deaths, officials filled in the forms for those who couldn't write, hence a family will change the spelling of its name overnight. Read 'em and weep.
Bob (Big)
Posted by: Dawn | November 21, 2007 6:42 AM
BigBob - not only last names. My great-grandfather wasn't sure what my great-grandmother's middle name was, so on their marriage license it was arbitrarily listed as Helene. (And he had her brother with him...who said not a word!) And, BTW...her middle name was Nancy.
Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | November 21, 2007 7:39 AM
The phonetically sane way in German is Meier, which appears to be the most common version in German-speaking countries. But you can also get Maier, Mayr, Mair, and Meyer...
My mother occasionally forgets some of those of her 5 siblings. Maybe that's why my generation hasn't got any. But then, over here almost nobody ever uses more than one given name, no matter how many they have.
That's the kind of English name that might as well be spelled with a Chinese character. That would even have an advantage: it would cure people of the idea that there ought to be a connection between the way it's written and the way it's pronounced.
I've never seen your spelling. Try Weis, Weiss, Weiß, even Weihs... and Wyss, arguably.
In places where the orthography doesn't apply to names, that is. Where my name comes from, it does.
Posted by: imsd007 | November 21, 2007 8:27 AM
Hi David,
Phonetically sane or not: according to Wikipedia
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meier_%28Name%29
the most common spelling in Germany is "Meyer" (100.638), followed by "Meier" (44.996) and "Maier" (40.246).
(This may be different in Austria or Switzerland)
In the list of most common names in Germany "Meyer" is no. 6. If you count other variations of this name, it is no. 2.
This does not even count "Mittermeier", "Grönemeyer", "Sedlmayr", etc. etc.
Posted by: PZ Myers | November 21, 2007 8:34 AM
THIS. IS. AMERICAAAAA!!!
Posted by: Bee | November 21, 2007 8:57 AM
Now, PZed, the correct spelling, as used by the original land grant settlers in my neck o' the woods, is 'Meaghers', pronounced just as you pronounce 'Myers'. There are whole communities with the name (and at least one of them has the reduced spelling, Myers - hey, do you have ancestors in Nova Scotia?).
Posted by: Ginny | November 21, 2007 9:59 AM
i beat you by 2 spots, pz!
Posted by: TimmyTheBrave | November 21, 2007 10:18 AM
> THIS. IS. AMERICAAAAA!!!
(At the risk of a kick in the virtual nuts)
No mate, this is Earth! Your community is global.
Timmy
Posted by: Odd Jack | November 21, 2007 10:25 AM
Sorry, sir! But in my weak defense, in all my time in Minnesota, in the news or in family circles, I have only seen it spelled one way.
But when I realized my error, I saw I was being an utter prat.
Posted by: Another Meyers | November 21, 2007 10:56 AM
And for those who live in Michigan or surrounding states there is the giant superstore Meijer, which has the original Dutch spelling (when you write and ij in cursive, it's just the same as a y with two dots on top).
Posted by: Clare | November 21, 2007 12:14 PM
The great, pioneering Bollywood actress, Sulochana (real name Ruby Myers) had similar problems getting her name spelled right, it seems. So you are in good company, PZ.
Posted by: Nathaniel Meyers | November 21, 2007 5:31 PM
"I assure you, it's equally annoying to have an "s" constantly added to your name."
-Lori Meyer
This is a weird thing. Myers is about eight times more common than Meyers (no surprise to either PZ or me), yet Meyer is about eight times more common than Myer. What's that about?
I don't mind the people who misspell Meyers so much (except when I say "M -E- Y -E -R -S" "Nope, can't find your file." "Did you look under M-E-Y?" "It's M-Y-E-R-S, right?" "No. It's "M-E-Y-E-R-S, with an E between the M and the Y." "M-E-Y?" "Yes, M-E-Y" "Ok, M-E, M-E, is it M-E-I-R?" I'd like to say that is exagerated but it happens at least once a month) But I hat it when people spell Nathaniel as "Nathanial". ("Don't most people spell in Nathanial?" "No, very rarely and archically it is spelled Nathanael and I once met a son of an illiterate herion junkie who spelled it Nathanul but no-one, ever, any where at any time, in any place, has ever spelled it Nathanial" "What about Nathaniel Hawthorne?" ARGGGHHHH!)
Posted by: Nathaniel Meyers | November 21, 2007 5:41 PM
Okay, which is more annoying, do you figure?
PZ's dilema of often having his name misspelled despite the fact that his is the far more common spelling, or my dilema of having my name nearly always misspelled because it is the far less common. Actually, I get the "s" left off probably more often then I get the "e" left out.
Posted by: J Myers | November 21, 2007 6:15 PM
Yes, Tatarize, and you were playing off my comment at the time.... you really have no excuse for that one!Posted by: imsd007 | November 21, 2007 9:03 PM
>> the most common spelling in Germany
> THIS. IS. AMERICAAAAA!!!
Oh, I'm sorry - I must have missed an "AMERICANS ONLY" disclaimer somewhere. ;-)
I thought the name "MYERS" is most likely of German origin.
Posted by: Nathaniel Meyers | November 21, 2007 10:43 PM
My Meyers is of russian origin (from Meyerovitch). I guess the "s" is from "ovitch". Don't know if the "e" makes it russian...
Posted by: Keith Douglas | November 23, 2007 8:51 PM
imsd007: But as I understand, the "y" in German is almost obsolete; it would stand to reason that names suffer from archaisms, no?