Does Anybody Know A Carpenter?

[mariahandrews]

Has anyone ever come across someone with the name Carpenter? I have a couple of times. When I was homeless in the Las Vegas area a few years ago, I met an Alicia Carpenter, who was also a homeless person. We were both in line for assistance, and we both needed a fresh pair of panties and a shower.

Strangely enough, about 16 years ago, when my parents bought a home in Upland, California, the lender's name was Karen Carpenter, and I remember saying to my dad, "Wasn't that also the name of that chick who died from the Carpenters?" and he said, "Yes." Of course this Karen Carpenter looked nothing like the famous one we all love here. My dad didn't like this lender lady very much, he thought she was a real b****. (Sorry Richard, I'm not talking about your sister- I'm talking about this other Karen Carpenter who almost denied us a home loan.)

And yes, I knew an actual "carpenter" named George Spencer here in the Palm Springs area, one who built homes for a living up until the time he retired. He and his wife led P-FLAG, a group for gays and lesbians and their families.

[Rick Henry]

Back in the 80's I knew a girl (I will not mention her first name... but last name was Carpenter) who lived here in Orange County, California. She was an interesting sort who was a huge fan of Carpenters. She used to hang out with this one girl who looked very much like Karen... I became friends with both... and went to college with the Karen Carpenter look-a-like...

Here's a picture from 1978 of the girl who looked like Karen...

[Ming]

Hello Mariah and Rick,

Actually, is 'Carpenter' a common surname?

Ming

[beaner]

I worked with a Kathy Carpenter at one time and also a Mary Carpenter within the last 7 years.

[YesterdayOnceMore]

I have known several people named Carpenter, and just two weeks ago, met a young woman who told me her name was Karen Carpenter. I thought at first, she was joking - but she was not...the name on her drivers license (I just knew she was joking, and didn't quite believe her)said Karen Carpenter, and the picture was her.

I have had many applicants in all my years of taking employment apps from Carpenters.

My father was a general contractor by trade, and quite an outstanding carpenter, himself.

Yes, Ming - I would say Carpenter is a relatively common surname.

[Rick Henry]

As the others have stated Carpenter is a fairly common last name in the U.S., not as common though as Jones, Smith or Garcia... but common just the same.

On a poll of most common surnames in the U.S. Carpenter comes in at #189... it's in the top 200 of literally hundreds of thousands of last names.

Here is the link to the poll
names.mongabay.com/most_common_surnames.htm


I've known a few other Carpenters... I had a friend (again I will not mention his first name)... but he was a Carpenter... sadly he was terminally ill with cancer... he was a talented musician although he claimed he did not like the Carpenters one bit... said they annoyed him.

[smoothie2]

Many yrs. ago in high school I knew a family of Carpenters. The mom was an English teacher, one of my favorites, named Janelle. There were several of her kids....about 2 girls and 2boys...but I didn't know any of them very well.
None had the name of Karen though.
It's interesting though to note that in browsing through old year books from school back in the '70's how many of the girls had hair cuts very similar to Karen Carpenter....of course the one we love around here had different hair styles through the years. Many also imitated Farrah Fawcett
(actress from the tv show Charlie's Angels...her "feathered winged hair").

[GoodOldDreams]

I had a teacher in college with the "Carpenter" surname who taught U.S. Government. I was very intrigued by his last name when I signed up for his class.

When I met him on the first day of class, I was surprised to see a short, stout, grandfatherly figure whose general visage and hairline very much resembled those of Benjamin Franklin's. Dressed in casual T-shirt and jeans, he looked like a counterculture icon from the 1960's, and was very much into filmmaking and political activism.

[ps11932]

I've been thinking about it for a couple days and can't recall more than about 2 people named Carpenter whom I've known in life. Yet it is interesting that besides music there are numerous other fields (space, theater, athletics, to name a few) in which a Carpenter has made notable contributions.

[Rick Henry]

I remember looking in my local Orange County, California telephone book (sometime around 1978) and found a Karen Carpenter and two Richard Carpenters. I also found a truck load of Carpenters surnamed people... as I recall it was something like 20-30 listings.

[Rick Henry]

ps11932 said:

I've been thinking about it for a couple days and can't recall more than about 2 people named Carpenter whom I've known in life. Yet it is interesting that besides music there are numerous other fields (space, theater, athletics, to name a few) in which a Carpenter has made notable contributions.

Of course we all know of the other famous Carpenter in the music field... Mary Chapin Carpenter... she's been around for about 20 years now making country music hits. There's John Carpenter who has written, directed and produced many thriller films including all the "Halloween" movies and more.

[mariahandrews]

Yes, I like Mary Chapin Carpenter just as much too. Her music is good.

[Dave]

You'd be surprised at how common not only the name "Karen Carpenter" is, but "Richard" as well.
One of the things I do when I travel is to look in the local phone book for my own last name, because it's quite unique. In fact, when I Google myself, everything comes back to me. Part of the reason for this effect is that it appears that the few family who survived WWII and its aftermath wound up here. But I digress...
I've found many Karen and Richard Carpenters living in many cities around the U.S. Some of them are husband and wife, something I'm sure causes them lots of attention and comments.
A few years ago, one of the ad headers said "Looking for Karen Carpenter?" It was an ad for a website that specialized in locating people. One night I typed "Karen Carpenter" in, and with over 1000 responses, the site asked me for my ZIP code and to set a radius. I did, and there were five Karen Carpenters residing in the greater Pittsburgh area. Those are just the ones listed, I'm sure that there are more that have unlisted numbers.

[Dave]

admin said:

As the others have stated Carpenter is a fairly common last name in the U.S., not as common though as Jones, Smith or Garcia... but common just the same.

On a poll of most common surnames in the U.S. Carpenter comes in at #189... it's in the top 200 of literally hundreds of thousands of last names.

Here is the link to the poll
names.mongabay.com/most_common_surnames.htm


I've known a few other Carpenters... I had a friend (again I will not mention his first name)... but he was a Carpenter... sadly he was terminally ill with cancer... he was a talented musician although he claimed he did not like the Carpenters one bit... said they annoyed him.

You mean annoyed like the character "Michael Bolton" on "Office Space"?

[Dave]

admin said:

ps11932 said:

I've been thinking about it for a couple days and can't recall more than about 2 people named Carpenter whom I've known in life. Yet it is interesting that besides music there are numerous other fields (space, theater, athletics, to name a few) in which a Carpenter has made notable contributions.

Of course we all know of the other famous Carpenter in the music field... Mary Chapin Carpenter... she's been around for about 20 years now making country music hits. There's John Carpenter who has written, directed and produced many thriller films including all the "Halloween" movies and more.

There's Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals pitcher, and Scott Carpenter, the astronaut...I believe that there's an Indy car driver named Carpentier, but I can't think of anyone in the NFL or NASCAR with the name...

[Rick Henry]

I knew a carpenter with the last name of Carpenter... this must have been about 20 years ago... his business was called Carpenter's Carpentry...