WILL THE REAL JOHN THOMPSON PLEASE STAND UP; IT CAN BE CONFUSING HWEN SOMEBODY ELSE IN TOWN SHARES YOUR NAME

John M. Thompson of Boatmen's Bank

John Thompson is a Jackson banker, a family man who is active in civic organizations. So is John Thompson.

That's right. Jackson is home to at least two John Thompsons. John Mason Thompson works at Boatmen's Bank and claims to be the older, better-looking John Thompson.

John Neal Thompson works at Capital Bank and says he's the younger, taller John Thompson.

Lots of folks share the same names. Often it leads to little mixups, but every once in a while the situation turns serious.

John M. Thompson said the shared name has brought with it lots of good-natured jokes and fun along with more than a little confusion.

"When he started his banking career we both vowed we would always use our middle initial," John M. Thompson said. "But, you know, M. and N. on the phone sounds just the same."

Professional confusion is nearly an every week occurrence. John N. Thompson said he routinely checks with the other John when he gets an unfamiliar phone call. Often the customer has the wrong John Thompson.

Their personal lives have been jumbled as well.

John M. Thompson said years ago he frequently received calls from women, thinking he was John N. Thompson. "I had to explain that she had the wrong John Thompson."

John N. Thompson was married in 1985, the same year that John M. Thompson and his wife had a baby. "We got a lot of congratulations, but I think some people were a little confused about what they were congratulating us about," John N. Thompson said.

John M. Thompson unknowingly paid John N. Thompson's bill at Sanders True Value hardware store. John N. Thompson called to say thanks.

Less than two weeks ago, John M. Thompson received a card in the mail from an insurance adjuster asking for information about an automobile accident. "My first thought was that my wife had been involved in an accident and forgot to tell me." he said. But a call to the insurance investigator revealed the company had the wrong John Thompson.

The two Thompsons make the best of the situation.

Once at a Young Bankers conference the two Johns followed each other around introducing themselves. Their fellow bankers were convinced it was a joke.

They initiated a friendly competition around the YELL (Youth, Education, Literacy and Learning) for Newspapers campaign the past two years to see who could raise more money. They called it a draw.

"John is such a fun-loving guy, and he has a good reputation here in town," John N. Thompson said. "It would be a little different if there was a problem with a John Thompson. There could be a good one and a bad one."

SUBHEAD: Serious business

He's right: Having the same name isn't always enjoyable. When police or credit bureaus get involved, same names can be serious business.

Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Carl Kinnison said officers never depend solely on a person's name for identification.

"There is too much that can go wrong when you rely just on someone's name," he said. "There are just too many people with the same name."

When police check on a person they routinely use the individual's date of birth. If two individuals would happen to have the same birthday or close birthdays, police then turn to Social Security numbers and other distinguishing features like height, weight, eye color, scars and tattoos.

"It's a very common thing for us to run into people with the same names, especially fathers and sons," he said.

Like police, credit bureaus don't depend on names alone.

Bill Berry, president of Credit Bureau Services in Cape Girardeau, said each person's file includes demographics like street address, date of birth, spouse's name and Social Security number.

The nationwide data base Berry's company uses includes 175 million records. New information is added monthly by the millions. "We won't file anything into the data base on name alone," Berry said. "I don't have a very common name, but there are probably 50 Bill Berrys in there. I would hate to guess how many John Smiths are in the nation, probably thousands."

Cape Girardeau's telephone directory lists seven John Smiths.

SUBHEAD: Mr. and Mrs. King

Husband and wife, Mr. Gail and Mrs. Gale King of Jackson say the confusion for them occurs when someone calls asking for one or the other by their first name. "Then we ask which one, and that really confuses them," Mr. Gail King said.

He said the different spellings add to the uniqueness of their situation. His name is spelled as a women's is often spelled and his wife's as a man's name is often spelled.

"People have thought it was unusual all our married life," he said. "But it's never been a problem. Once people know us, it's never really confusing."

It is at times confusing for A.M. Spradling Jr. He is one of four A.M. Spradlings. His late father was the first. His son and Cape Girardeau's mayor is A.M. Spradling III and his grandson is A.M. Spradling IV. The first three are called Al. The grandson is called Bert. "He doesn't cause us any trouble," said Spradling Jr.

The older two Spradlings share a law practice in Cape Girardeau and have been active in politics.

"It's confusing," said Spradling Jr. "As old as I am, people think I should be senior. So they ask for Jr. when they really want the third. I bet I get one call a day. We sure get people confused."

He tells people who call to ask for the old one.

Spradling Jr. said he didn't have the same trouble with his father because everyone called him Jr. back then. When Spradling Jr. returned to Cape Girardeau after the war, and his father had died, Spradling Jr.'s wife insisted friends begin calling him Al.

SUBHEAD: Known by initials

Thomas M. Meyer says the confusion over three Thomas Meyers in the family has been enjoyable. His father is Thomas L. Meyer, and his son is Thomas N. Meyer.

Even a different initial is not always enough to identify Thomas L. and Thomas M., Cape Girardeau realtors who work from the same office. Often callers ask for young Tom or old Tom, or big Tom or little Tom.

"We always thought we'd confuse the community," Thomas M. Meyer said. "People never knew which Tom Meyer it was, and we could cover a lot of ground that way. It kind of livens up things around town."

Around the state as well. Thomas L. Meyer was president of the Missouri Association of Realtors in 1968. Thomas M. Meyer is president-elect for 1995. "We're getting some good mileage out of it," he said.

Thomas M. Meyer was so pleased with the arrangement, he decided to name his son Tom also.

"I still wanted to keep some identity with the middle initial. I know I kind of appreciated that," he said.

"I believe my father took calls from my girlfriends when I was young," Thomas M. Meyer said. "That's what I have to look forward to."