It can't be easy sharing a name with one of the world's biggest superstars -- simple things such as booking a table at a restaurant can become tricky, to say the least.
But for one Washington, D.C. man -- whose name is "Taylor J. Swift" -- a sense of humor has helped him turn his unusual situation into a positive.
Swift, speaking to Business Insider, said that he first heard about the singer when he was 15, but didn't put much importance on it at the time. "No big deal, she's a singer with a hit song or two, this won't impact me," he recalled thinking.
Of course, he was wrong, and the then-teenager soon began to find the situation "frustrating." Having recently switched schools at the time of the singer's rise to popularity, he related that sharing a name with a superstar was a burden in terms of trying to fit in with his new peers.
"A couple of high school bullies and a choir teacher who would make jokes about my name didn't help," he noted.
Seeing college as a chance to start anew, Swift then faced a choice. "I could change my name, or I could start fresh and embrace it."
After some soul-searching -- and considering going by his first and middle initials instead of "Taylor" -- Swift decided ultimately to keep his name as it was. "I remember thinking, I was given this name for a reason, and I'm going to grow, and become who I'm meant to become with it."
Now 30 years old and working in politics, Swift confessed that his name has actually helped his career. Since he meets a large number of people in his line of work, his name is something that causes him to stand out.
"As someone who works in the congressional advocacy space, where I help advocate for things like better wages, pay benefits, and technology, it helps to have a name like mine because people usually remember it," he explained. "When I introduce myself to new staffers, new constituents, new lawmakers, or interns, they'll remember me for weeks, and sometimes even months later. That's a good thing."
Keeping a lighthearted attitude about it has been key, Swift noted, saying that he likes to "have fun" with his name and encourages others to do the same.
"Please feel free to make jokes, I'll just shake it off, later," he tells colleagues, making a pun using one of Swift's biggest hits. "Political work can be stressful, so if making a joke about my name makes someone laugh, smile, or remember me, I do it."
Swift admitted that he does use his middle initial, J, formally as his business name to avoid any confusion. "This way, no one wonders why Taylor Swift (without the J) is speaking on congressional modernization and oversight."
Still, there's always those moments that pop up -- like making the aforementioned restaurant reservation.
"Just this past weekend, I booked a dinner reservation for two under the name Taylor Swift. I could tell the hostess seemed a bit disappointed when I showed up," Swift related.
"Like normal, they joked about how I wasn't the real Taylor Swift, so I just laughed and said, I hear it all the time."
