In answering a personal survey recently, I was asked my name, apparently so the surveyors could verify my existence.  Hesitantly, I gave my name as ‘Graham’…and wasn’t asked for anything further.  But then I was asked for an email address.  The surveyor cheerfully told me I could give a false email.  So I made up a Hotmail address.   When I ask my children the surname of their friend Jack or Amy, they look at me strangely – why do you want to know that?  Everywhere, first names seem sufficient to identify people, even in my choir when the ‘three Grahams’ stand next to each other in the bass back row.  Which brought me to the questions of what is a person’s ‘name’…and what will be in the future?Read More »