Funny names

For the past month or so, I've been working on our annual 40-page graduation tab. It features pictures and names of all graduates in Litchfield County.

It's tedious work, placing photo after photo after photo - all of the same size, lined up in a row. But it can be fun, too, because some people have odd names. I found myself reflecting over a lot of strange things, such as names that can be both first and last names in the U.S., or names that can be both for boys and girls. See my lists below.

Names for boys and girls:
Leslie
Cory
Leigh (Lee)
Frances/Francis
Hailey/Haley
Jesse/Jessie

First names that can be last names:
Alexander
Christopher
Cole
Dillon (Dylan)
Donovan
Kelley (Kelly)
Lee
Leslie
Morgan
Ralph
Renate
Richard
Ryan
Thomas

Fun names that have a meaning:
Archer ("I use my bow and arrows every day")
Ashburn (ha, and this one is a reverend!)
Beavers ("are we building a dam?")
Best ("I'm the best!")
Bridges ("I cross the waters frequently")
Cash ("I don't carry any on me, sorry")
Couch ("No, I'm not a couch potato")
Cry ("I always cry")
Diamond ("A girl's best friend")
Gasser (can you even imagine?)
Godburn (are we burning God now?)
Grey ("gosh, I feel blah")
Farmer ("Yes, I live on a farm")
Flowers ("gee, it sucks to be a guy")
King ("I'm the king of the world!")
Mica (the mineral?)
Minor ("No, it's actually my major")
Parent ("I'm too young to have kids")
Pope ("No, I'm not THE pope")
Saltman ("I could use some licorice!")
Seaman (pronounced "semen," need I say more?)
Smart ("Of course I am!")
St. Sauveur (pronounced "saint savior" - the almighty)
Weeks ("I've been trying to graduate for weeks!")
White (that can be tough)
Woods ("I'm an outdoor kind of guy")
Yard ("I like being outside")

Names that mean stuff in other languages:
Finkelstein ("finch" and "rock" in German)
Himmel ("Sky" in Swedish)
Knaublauch ("Garlic" in German)
Nygren ("New branch" in Swedish)
Summa ("sum" in Swedish)

I actually came across one guy named the same thing for first and last name, but now I cannot remember what it was.

I know we have some weird names in Sweden, like the ones that mean "bear" (Björn) or "path" (Stig) or "stone" (Sten), but I cannot imagine anyone being called Anderson Anderson or Johnson Johnson (I have, however, met someone whose father's name was Mårten Mårtenson).