I Am The Only Thomas Carten In The U.S.

Or so I thought. Then I went to “HowManyOfMe.com” for an unpleasant surprise, because I like being unique. You know, the only ambidextrous broadcast engineer who is a notary public, Braille transcriber, with the highest class of amateur radio license, in my day job. Most likely the only one of that class.

Thomas is the eleventh most popular name; only 664 Cartens are around. No, I am not alone: There are five people named Thomas Carten. I even found one with my middle initial. Tom, as a legally given name, is less popular, with no Tom Cartens among them. 173,572 people are legally named Tommy, but none in the Carten family. The vast majority of these are guys, but an occasional gal pops up in the bunch.

Despite my being a minor celebrity, due to my decades-old work in broadcasting and my inclusion in Marquis’ “Who’s Who in Entertainment,” I did not make this site’s list of famous names.

Four people in the U.S. have my maternal grandfather’s name; six have his wife’s name; but only one person has my mother’s maiden name. It would be spooky to meet her.

Everybody has a story.
Marjorie Snyder caught the eye of Albert Katinsky. While working up on a roof one afternoon, he saw her walking down the street, and scurried down the ladder just to meet her. Six months later, they began dating, and not too long later, they knew they would marry.