My name is spelt "Nicolas Hammond" with no "h" in Nicolas. Everyone else has the "h" in Nicholas.

I am not the historian Nicholas Geoffrey Lempriere Hammond who wrote about Alexander the Great, ancient Macedonia and Greece. Co-incidentally we were both educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. We named our first son Alexander, but not because of the book.

I am not the French thought and drama expert Dr. Nicholas Gascoigne Hammond who was, wow - another co-incidence, a fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Three of us all with connections to one small college in Cambridge. We are about the same age. He is a convicted sex offender which makes going back to reunions interesting.

I am not the Nicholas Hammond who was an actor on the Sound of Music and was the first Spiderman on TV. For those of you who think otherwise, he's a little older than I am! There are a few web sites that incorrectly spell his name as Nicolas Hammond and not Nicholas Hammond.

Q: Where can you find information about Spiderman?
A: On the web.

I am not the Nick Hammond who was the goalkeeper for Swindon Town.

I am not the Nicholas Hammond who was the editorial director for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and wrote the book, "Modern Wildlife Painting". My [first] book was on the Rubik's cube.

For another retelling of the same story, see my post on a Bridge site about my name.

To save you clicking on the link, here is what I wrote there:

I am from Nottingham, England.

When I was born, my mother had read a story about Brigitte Bardot who had named her son, "Nicolas" with the French spelling. My mother, who had more than a passing similarity to BB at the time (lucky Dad), insisted on the French spelling. She sent my Dad back to the baby-naming government office (whatever it was called back then), because he put the 'h' in originally.

Fortunately for my Dad, my mother aged much better than BB, and fortunately for me + siblings, she was a much more involved mother than BB was to her Nicolas.

There are two Nicholas Hammonds that went to the same small college as me. One is a convicted sex offender. He is "Nicholas", I am "Nicolas". We are around the same age. Given the similarity, you can see why I prefer the correct spelling.

My mother was very accomplished. She left school at 16, became one of the youngest ever magistrates in Nottingham, and was awarded an MBE for her various community activities. Sadly, she is no longer with us. She always insisted on the correct spelling of my name, and out of respect for her, I continue to do the same.

Last updated: January 20, 2021