Hello, My Name Is, a weekly column, gets the story behind unique names on campus. Here is life not being named "Joe Schmoe."
Besides having the same name as three of his relatives, Reginald Jones IV has also been confused with being royalty and one of the most successful businessmen in the U.S. So it's no wonder why he's so crazy about his name.
Name: Reginald Lamont Jones IV
Major: MMSS and Economics major, ’15
Hometown: Greenwich, Conn.
How did the name Reginald Jones come to be in your family?
The name Reginald Jones is pretty common in Wales, where my ancestors are from, and Lamont has some sort of family significance, but my dad doesn't remember off the top of his head.
Have you ever had any interesting experiences because of your name?
My name is a family name. It’s Reginald Lamont Jones IV. People have been like “Oh, that kind of sounds like royalty." But it also has caused me a lot of issues with Social Security, just because my dad and grandfather both have the same name too. Also, it's kind of hard for people to understand my name when it's loud.
Also, there was another guy in Greenwich named Reginald Jones. He was the former CEO of [General Electric Co.], and so I’ve also commonly had people think I’m related to him. But I think I’ll have more interesting stories when I go for job interviews and they know who he is.
Do you have any nicknames?
My first name has a lot of nicknames: Reg, Reggie. I usually go by Reg but I’ll respond to anything. My dad is called Regg, because it alternates through the generations in order to not be responding to the same name in the house.
Any favorite famous Reggie/Reginald/Reg?
Not really, but I love when professional athletes named Reg or Jones (there are many) do well. I like to say that we are all related and it's a classic Reg/Jones thing.
Have you ever wished your parents named you something different?
No, never. I love my name. It’s fantastic. It’s kind of cool though, because every time my dad has something with the letters RLJ on it, if you don’t put, “III” next to it, you can pass it down. Things like that are kind of cool. I also have a pretty cool shirt from when my grandfather ran for state senator and his campaign slogan was "Give Reg the Edge".
Are you planning to name your son Reginald, if you have one?
Yes. 100 percent. And I will have a son, to answer your next question. My sister was the first Jones girl in over 100 years.