name or surname?

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Englishsz

#338578 Tue, 13 Mar 07 03:25 AM

"Oh, sweetie," her friend said. "I think this is his plane." As the three young women peered through the tinted windows, Katherine squeezed a set of dog tags stamped with the same name as her unborn son:
James J. Cathey.
"He wasn't supposed to come home this way," she said, tightening her grip on the tags, which were linked by a necklace to her husband's wedding ring.

Question:

Does the 'name'(in red) means the surname, i.e., Cathey, in this context?

Englishsz

Joined on Thu, Dec 14 2006

Full Member (122)

Weddings

Grammar Geek

#338584 Tue, 13 Mar 07 03:32 AM

It's the full name. The husband is dead, but the wife is pregnant with their son. She is going to name her son after his father, James J. Cathey.

Grammar Geek

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006

Pennsylvania, USA

Veteran Member (15,300)

Barbara, who answers in American English.

Englishsz

#338655 Tue, 13 Mar 07 09:01 AM

Is it semilar to the case of George W. Bush vs George Bush?

Englishsz

nona the brit

#338657 Tue, 13 Mar 07 09:09 AM

Not really.

The father's name is James J. Cathey. The son's name will also be James J. Cathey. The J is the initial of the middle name, which we don't know, but it starts with J. J is not a name in itself.

George W Bush and George Bush - George W shows his middle initial so that he doesn't get confused with his father. (and they don't have the same middle initials). If someone were to write about a James J Cathey it wouldn't be clear which one they meant, the father or the son. For most people this doesn't matter - they are not likely to be written about. For presidents, it is important.