'We have the same name as Taylor Swift - people never believe us that it's real'
Sharing your name with a global superstar can cause a surprising number of issues...as these three Taylor Swift's know firsthand.
Excitement has reached fever pitch at Taylor Swift's return to Wembley Stadium this weekend as part of her world-beating Eras Tour.
But what does it actually feel like to be Taylor Swift?
We spoke to three ordinary people who share a name - but very little else with the 34-year-old US star - to find out.
Like her famous namesake, she has blonde hair, blue eyes and loves horses, but that’s where the similarities between the world’s most famous popstar and 20-year-old Taylor Swift from Reading end.
Born in 1989, the Fearless singer was still unknown when the Berkshire Taylor was named.
She says: “I’m not called after the singer. My dad’s last name is Swift and my mum had a doll when she was younger called Taylor. She always said if she ever had a little girl she’d give it the same name.
“Taylor Swift wasn’t famous when I was born. I was probably about 11 when she became famous. I first heard about her when my aunt, who lives in America, sent me some CDs of a country singer and over the years she became this huge pop star.”
But being called Taylor Swift can be a talking point - particularly if anyone overhears her full name.
She says: “Me and my mum were out for dinner a while ago and were sitting next to a lady with her little girl who was going to see Taylor Swift for her birthday.
“My mum said ‘Well guess what Taylor’s last name is?’ and the little girl couldn’t quite believe it until I called my mum, so her phone lit up with the name Taylor Swift.
“We’ve kept in touch with her mum and apparently the little girl went into school the next day and said ‘I had the best day ever - I had lunch with Taylor Swift!’ That was super cute.”
But sharing a name with a global icon can draw unwelcome attention. When her name is read out at showjumping events, she says crowds gather to see if it’s THE Taylor Swift taking part. When people realise it isn’t, they then want to know if the horse is owned by the popstar.
Taylor has even been in hospital and realised the nurses have seen her name and expected to treat the Wildest Dreams star.
“I’ve had lung problems since I was born,” she says. “I remember once I had to go and have a camera put in while my lungs were washed out and there was a nurse waiting outside the hospital for me.
“Another time, I was in A&E on New Year’s Day because I had pneumonia and when the nurse called out my name in the waiting room a man said ‘have a word, that’s not her real name!’ That was really embarrassing.”
So far, she has not been to a Taylor Swift concert, but she quite likes her music and hopes to strike it off her bucket list one day.
“I’m not a diehard fan, but I did like her music growing up and I remember listening to the radio and hearing them say my name which was weird,” she laughs. “When I was younger and I had really blonde curly hair I used to think I looked like her. But, sadly, I can’t sing like her, I sound like a screeching cat!”
When the attention that comes with sharing a name with possibly the most famous woman on the planet gets too much, 24-year-old Taylor Swift from Swindon wishes she could Shake It Off .
But she’s grown used to having a famous namesake and says liking Taylor’s music is her “guilty secret”.
“Looks-wise we’re opposites,” she says. “She’s tall, I’m short. She’s got blonde hair, I've got dark brown hair and she’s got blue eyes and I’ve got green eyes.
“Everywhere you go, people know Taylor Swift. I’m on the other side of the world and people find it hilarious when they hear my name. When I was passing through customs in the Philippines, officers stopped me and got their friends over and they were pointing at my passport and saying ‘Look Taylor Swift!’”
Taylor’s mum had no idea who THE Taylor Swift was when she named her. She thought she had given her daughter a name that people wouldn’t think twice about.
“My mum Googled the name to check it didn’t also belong to a serial killer!” she recalls.
Taylor was about 10 years old when she realised she shared a name with a famous person and, while she wouldn’t call herself a superfan, she has been to one of her concerts.
“I like her recent songs - a lot of her songs are my guilty pleasure that I sing in the shower,” she says. “I must have been young when we realised the coincidence, as I just remember having a famous person’s name my whole life.”
Although she can’t go anywhere without being mistaken for the famous Taylor Swift, she has learnt to use this to her advantage.
Currently working on a ranch on the Caribbean island of St Martin’s, which is popular with American tourists, she says: “I say to people ‘you won’t forget my name’ and use it to my advantage as an ice breaker.
“Sometimes I even tell people I’ll sing them a song if they leave a tip - Americans are generous tippers anyway! If they do want me to sing a tune, I will sing Love Story as that’s really famous right now on TikTok and everyone knows it.
“I’ve also been known to get up and sing Taylor Swift’s Romeo and Juliet at karaoke with my friends Ellie and Emily on a night out. It’s just a bit of fun.”
For 22-year-old Taylor Swift, of Barnsley, sharing a name with the Blank Space singer has been no Love Story.
The Yorkshireman says: “I was six years old when she became famous here and ever since that day, I got bullied just because of my name. It went on all the way through secondary school. My parents call me Taylor and most people in my village still call me that.
“But on social media I go under Reece (his middle name) 'cause people were saying things like I should have been born a woman'.”
He still clearly remembers the first time he realised a famous female singer shared his name.
“I was on the way to my grandma’s and a Taylor Swift song came on the radio - I can’t remember which song now, it was a long time ago,” he says.
“My mum looked at me in shock and said ‘Oh my god they just said Taylor Swift’. We couldn’t believe it. I don’t mind her music. There are two songs - Trouble and 22 - that I quite like.”
Taylor, an unemployed construction worker, says his name can be a pain when he applies for jobs and he’s even had the phone slammed down on him a few times.
“Sometimes I’ve said my name on the phone and they don’t believe me until they see my CV!” he says. “Other times they’ve just put the phone down because they think it’s a prank call. That's happened to me a handful of times.
“It’s not all bad though. My girlfriend has a bit of a joke about it and tells everyone her boyfriend is called Taylor Swift. Some people think it’s really cool.
“Speaking to the Daily Mirror is probably the best thing to come out of sharing a name with Taylor Swift, though. When my mam realised the Daily Mirror were trying to get hold of me she said, ‘Taylor it looks like your name is finally starting to pay off!’
“Now I’ve got a funny story to tell!”
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