So Very Dallas

“Dallas” means different things to different people. Maybe you grew up with the soap of the same name, and you immediately think of Larry Hagman. Perhaps the word for you triggers fantasies about Tony Romo or, more commonly, the Cowboys Cheerleaders. There’s a good chance that hearing “Dallas” reminds you to make that appointment with the plastic surgeon. The point is, your mind probably doesn’t immediately go to a sweet, precious, innocent, blameless baby. But, despite the high crime rate, the reputation for superficiality and materialism, and Mark Cuban, people do name their children after our fair city. And it’s a big name—our city is called “Big D” for goodness’ sake—so it’s a lot to live up to.

These fine folks wear it well.

Dallas Addison
Age: 36
Occupation: real estate developer and attorney
Home: Park Cities
In His Own Words: “I can’t cash a check without getting a comment on my name. You know, everyone is a semi-professional comedian. It’s a family name, and my granddad is Carl Irving Addison, so I could’ve been Dallas Irving Addison.”

Dallas Marshall
Age: 24
Occupation: account sales rep for American Airlines
Home: Dallas
In Her Own Words: “I’m originally from LA, and my family moved here when I was 9. It was a complete coincidence that they named me Dallas and that we ended up living here. In LA, when my dad was working for the Rams as a marketing executive, his coworkers thought it was so funny that he named me Dallas because the Rams and the Cowboys were huge rivals. My birth got announced in the LA Times because of that.”

Dallas and Austin Dodson
Ages: 31, 1
Occupation: computer programmer for Citigroup
Home: Denton
In His Own Words: “My dad was a huge sports nut, so he probably named me after the Dallas Cowboys. I”m just like him, and I”m a sports nut, too. We gave Austin his name mostly because we thought it would be cute. People always ask us if we are going to name our next kid Waxahachie, Houston, or Nacogdoches. Yeah, we wouldn”t take it that far, but we are considering Tyler.”

Dallas Bush
Age: 18
Occupation: student, senior quarterback for Plano East Senior High School
Home: Plano
In His Own Words: “I was born in Cincinnati, but my dad’s from Dallas. Born and raised. So I think he wanted to name me after the place he’s from. I moved to Plano when I was 6 months old. I loved seeing my name everywhere when I was a kid. I was mesmerized by it. I’d always say, ’Mom, look! There’s my name!’ I had a lot of nicknames, like ’City Lights’ and ’Big D,’ and I thought it was fun.”

The Dallas Neeleys
Ages: 65, 42, 9
Occupations: Grandfather: retired, former VP of sales management in the women’s shoe industry and former owner of two Kwik Kar Lube & Tune locations. Father: VP of operations at Teters Faucet Parts. Son: third-grader at St. Thomas Aquinas.
Home: Grandfather: North Dallas. Father and Son: Lakewood
In Their Own Words: Grandfather: “My father was the original Dallas Neeley. His father and mother had a second honeymoon in Dallas. He was conceived here and named after the city. We always know which Dallas is being called for. Of course, I know when my wife is calling for me. I can tell by her tone.” Father: “People always remember my name, and sometimes I have a tough time remembering theirs. That might be the only downside.” Son: “I think Dallas is the best city in the world!”