A Very Revealing Name

(My first name is a bit unusual and more commonly a last name. While we are talking to the agent it comes out that the other passenger’s last name is the same as my first name. We comment on the coincidence and then had no further interaction. I am male, in my 30s at the time, and dressed very casually. She is at least 20 years older, dressed extremely elegantly and is sitting several seats away. We are also different races. In short, there is nothing to indicate we are connected in any way. When the shuttle driver shows up he has a paper with our names on it. He announces himself and leads us out to the van. From the time he appears he acts distant and cold, almost hostile. It doesn’t make sense until we are seated and he gets on the radio to request our luggage.)

Driver: “I need the luggage for [My First Name].”

(I waited a moment.)

Me: “You need to get my luggage on, too.”

Driver: “Wait, you aren’t together?”

Me: “If you look, you’ll see that’s her last name and my first.”

(He was embarrassed, but made the additional request. Although he said nothing after that I believe his attitude was based on a bigoted reaction to thinking we were a mixed race couple after being too lazy to read his information properly.)