My full name is Jedediah Elysdir Hartman.  Partly named after
Jedediah Smith, and partly because, as my parents (not religious)
used to tell me, "Jedediah" was King Solomon's name before he changed
it to Solomon.  It took me a couple decades to get around to checking
on that;  you can look it up at this link.

 click here to read about what jedidiah means

The first time I met another Jed was in college; I've met a total
of only three Jeds face-to-face (though I've talked with others
online, including a co-worker I haven't met yet in person).  A friend
of mine named David once invited three of us over for dinner; we
enjoyed telling him what an unusual name he had, since obviously
three out of four people were named Jed.  Another friend of mine (not
named Jed) knows five Jeds...  I always find it a little
disconcerting to encounter contexts where Jeds have to be
disambiguated by last names.   I'm told that Jed is a pretty common
name in some African-American communities, but I haven't personally
encountered any African-American Jeds.

I went about ten years without a single person singing the
Beverly Hillbillies theme to me, but then the movie came
out and I got a smattering of new impromptu recitations.  Luckily,
those died down fairly quickly.  My usual response is to look at the
would-be comedian and say, "Y'know, nobody's mentioned that song to
me since seventh grade," in a tone that suggests that most people
have outgrown such behavior.

I rented a mailbox once; after I filled out the rental form and
handed it to the woman behind the counter, she told me, "Y'know, I
thought you might be named Jed.  You look like a Jed.  I have a
neighbor named Jed, and he looks like you."

Jed Hartman                            logos@kith.org