June 2017 | All in a Name | That’s My Name, Too

Many people share a first or last name. That would be expected considering that there are over 300 million people in the United States and a first name like Maria or last names like Garcia and Hernandez are relatively common. Popular sites like LinkedIn and Facebook show how popular the combination of names can be, but the likelihood of people sharing those names in the same order is still pretty rare. On Armijo’s campus, however, two students named Maria Garcia Hernandez have spent the year together and they have never met.

Maria the freshman, who goes by Mari, said that she’s met several girls with her first and last names, but Maria the senior has never had the opportunity. The two themselves had never met until they shared this information. Sharing the name has led to problems. “My classmates have sent projects and/or assignments to the other girl who I share my name with, thinking it was me and I had to correct them,” said Maria the senior. And one time, when she was supposed to go to another class, the office called for Mari the freshman instead.

Both girls were named after their grandmothers but Maria the senior wishes that she had a different first name, perhaps Isabel. Mari the freshman likes her name and said that she is related to a famous Hispanic producer / actor.

Maria the senior has an older sister, Yuselin Cruz Hernandez, who graduated in 2013 and her younger brother, Angel Garcia Hernandez, is a sophomore here. Mari the freshman, however, is an only child.

Both Maria’s plan to go to college. The older one wants to join the Marines right after graduation and then go to college while she is in the service. The younger one is thinking that she would like to go to Napa College.

“I think sometimes it’s weird that someone confuses me with someone else,” said Mari the freshman. It doesn’t look like she’ll have to worry about that for a while since her counterpart is graduating in June and it doesn’t look like there are any other Maria Garica Hernandez’s in the school district, at least for now.