I’m starting to think I should befriend everyone else with the name Kate Ferguson. Well maybe not all of them, but at least get started on the task. There are many Kate Fergusons. I know this for a few reasons.

For one thing, there was another Kate Ferguson who lived on my block growing up. Our fathers also happened to have the same name, so we would frequently get phone calls from teenage boys who were trying to reach her.*

**This was in the era of phone books and landlines. You could not text, or Google, or ask Siri anything. We had one corded landline which was located on the kitchen wall. If you make the effort to get up and answer that loudly ringing thing, you’re hoping it’s someone that you actually want to hear from.

This whole missed connection thing with the boys and Kate Fergusons of Somewhere, Northern CA could have been extremely confusing (even rom-com plot worthy…don’t steal my idea), except that I was only three years old at the time and getting very few date requests. As you can imagine, my dad just adored fielding these calls.

For another thing, there was a Katie Ferguson at my high school. Now, I stand by the fact that Kate and Katie are very different names. But they are more similar than different, and Katie and I were both sunny blondes who were decently well-liked by students and teachers alike.

Meaning, that some of our peers would feel the need to compare and contrast our hotness. They just couldn’t help themselves. On paper (computer screen) that sounds really annoying, but I wasn’t competitive at all so that never phased me. Plus I was a cheerleader, which is pretty hard to beat. I’m kidding. She was a volleyball player. Both of those sports include uniforms with very small, often visible briefs, which, if I had to guess, was a driving factor for some of those people who had the good idea to watch said athletes and discussing said hotnesses.

Also, don’t try to fight me on whether cheerleading is a sport or not. I have a broken nose and scholar-athlete awards to prove how athletic of an experience it was, and according to a chart I found on the internet, it has the same injury rate as snowboarding. Plus, I’m sure you’ve already watched Cheer on Netflix and have been intimately moved by the emotional and psychological committment required to be on a cheer team in addition to the absolutely bonkers physical prowess?

The only time the Kate and Katie high school life got confusing was when a guy from one of our neighboring high schools expressed interest in one of us, to someone else that was not one of us. I don’t know if you’ve ever played telephone or heard something on the grapevine, but neither of those is the most direct form of communication.

Although there was at least one guy in high school who expressed clear intentions about the Fergusons…Katie Ferguson’s brother, who wrote in my yearbook that he would marry me so that I could keep my last name. I guess this was before women would/could simply elect to keep their own names without stirring up the gossip train of the suburb tract homes happy hour crew.

Another reason that I know that there are a lot of other Kate Fergusons out there, is…the internet! I’m just thankful that I moved fast enough to get some matching social media handles. (I’m @kateferg on Instagram AND Twitter.) I could not secure the URL kateferguson.com from Kate Ferguson the artist, (although I tried) but I did get this website, thekateferg.com AND the Gmail address thekateferg@gmail, so we’re doing alright.*

**While writing this I discovered that the previously unavailable kateferg.com had become available, so now I am the proud owner of that too. Thank you to whatever Kate Ferguson gave that up (it matches my social media handles!) and thank you to the internet for informing me that “Ferg” is a high-value keyword.

Now. Let’s get to the reason why I think I should be befriending some of these other Kate Fergusons…it’s because they sound awesome, of course.

Let’s meet some Kate Fergusons

• There is a Kate Ferguson in New York who is a freelance journalist, video producer, and photographer. (Same-ish.) This Kate Ferguson calls her work “Fergography” which sounds like such a Kate Ferguson thing to do. I’m actually shocked that I didn’t think of that. Shocked.

  That also makes me ponder the inherent quirkiness of a name like Ferguson. Does one even have a chance to not be?

• There is another Kate Ferguson right here in Los Angeles who is a shoe designer. Kate Ferguson the shoe designer names her shoes after streets in Los Angeles, such as “Cienega” and “Abbot Kinney.” Incredible.

  Perhaps with such a clear reverence for names and identity…she might also provide product discounts to other Kate Fergusons?

• I am “Kate Ferguson IV” on IMDb. “Kate Ferguson I” starred in a 1982 adventure comedy musical called ‘The Pirate Movie,’ which is a parody/homage to Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’, plus includes references other popular films of the time, including ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’

  The screenwriter of ‘The Pirate Movie’ wrote that film in FOUR DAYS and one of the main plot keywords is “kneed in the groin.” I am intrigued, Kate Ferguson. Definitely need to check that out.

  I’d also be interested in hearing more about your 1975 film ‘Naughty Girls,’ which was reportedly shot in Malaysia without sound to save on budget and then had all voice over added in post.

• Let’s move on to IMDb’s “Kate Ferguson VI,” who has worked in many film art departments, including that of the film ‘The Flash.’ Get this, one year I was the girl version of The Flash for Halloween and I’ve never even seen that movie or read anything about The Flash at all! Incredible! It’s almost a talking point.

  “Kate Ferguson VI” is also professionally credited as “K8 Ferguson,” which is yet another great example of a very Kate Ferguson thing to do. You can bet that all my paper bag covered textbooks growing up as a studious Kate Ferguson were covered with “K8” doodles.

  (I also like to cover the “s” in “skate” and make it say “Kate” whenever the opportunity arises. We are hilarious, us Kate Fergusons. And perhaps a twinge narcissistic. But who isn’t!)

• Well, maybe Kate Ferguson the therapist isn’t. Kate Ferguson the therapist lives in Georgia and has an online review that reads: “Kate is one of the funniest people I know, and one of the deepest thinkers.” I’m pretty sure my mom would say the exact same about me. (Should I get my mom to start leaving me reviews on the internet? Just thinking out loud here.)

  Kate Ferguson the therapist in Georgia has also been quoted as saying:

  “I like to read, I like to listen to podcasts. Um, I like to go to bed at nine. That’s my jam.”

  Wow…have you met me? I think I appear to be much more active outside the house than I actually am. I once saved a meme of two children that said: “let’s read and go to bed at nine.” I probably laughed in delight as I saved it. That’s how much that’s also my jam.

  **Incredible sidebar added after writing this. My boyfriend called me into the room the other day and pointed out a Kate Ferguson online who was hiring someone to do some remote work for her therapy business. By pointed out I mean he more posed the situation a puzzled inquiry. I, of course, was like “OMG! I know Kate Ferguson the therapist! I mean I don’t know her, but I know of her, I’m writing this blog post about Kate Ferguson’s…” It of course could have been an entirely different Kate Ferguson therapist. In fact, in all likelihood it absolutely was. This is a really popular name and from what I’m gathering, if a Kate Ferguson is not a creative, she is a therapist.

How did we get so incredible, Kate Ferguson(s)!? Is it our likely Scottish roots? (Although according to my own DNA results via mail-in spit test, I am mostly English.) Are we distantly related via the same viking? Are some of you Kate Fergusons through marriage and I actually share a distant relative with your husbands?

I’m sure there are plenty of other wildly interesting Kate Fergusons out there, but those of us mentioned here rank the highest on Google, so that’s where my research stops for today. Feel free to send me any other fun Kate Ferguson info you may have. I love it.

Further Ferguson thoughts:

We do have an official Ferguson crest and coat of arms. If I can track down a fair-use image of it I will add it here later. Or maybe I’ll just put it onto the back of a crewneck sweatshirt and then take a picture of that.

I also just found that Fergie the singer owns a winery called Ferguson Wines. And while she is not a Kate, I just feel like this is a fun place to celebrate the fact that there is a common search term on Google of “Ferguson Fergalicious wine.”

To circle back on my pondering about whether Ferguson is inherently a quirky name, I think we can confirm that yes it is.

Now I just need to ponder how that’s undoubtedly affected my personality and possibly the trajectory of my entire life.

🙂