Will the real Dave Moulton please stand up

Have you ever done a Google search for Dave Moulton and noticed how many different people with that name come up?

There is a Dave Moulton, Sound Engineer who is a Grammy-nominated recording engineer, educator, musician and acoustician.

And Dave Moulton, Wine Maker who runs a winery out of an old schoolhouse south of San Francisco; between San Jose/Los Gatos and Santa Cruz.

Yet another Dave Moulton who is a radio sportscaster in Florida, and can be found lurking on this website. (Click on the “Line-up” tab.)

Dave Moulton is the name of a Jeep enthusiast who is responsible for innovative off-road modifications.

I’m not quite sure what this Dave Moulton does, but he is pictured here with Bill Clinton.

And this Dave Moulton it appears does nothing but has a webpage just in case he may do something in the future.

It is not surprising there are so many Dave Moultons; it is a pretty common English name. English names date way back in history and often describe what a person did for a living; Smith, Baker, and Miller are fairly obvious. Names like Fletcher, (He was the guy who stuck feathers on arrows.) and Cooper. (A person who makes wooden barrels.) are less obvious.

Other English names derive from the place where a person came from. There are at least five towns and villages in England named Moulton so it is no wonder the name is so common. Translated from the old English language it means simply: “A place where mules are kept.”

There are also towns in the US named Moulton, in Alabama, Iowa, and Texas.

In addition to Moultons with the first name Dave, there are many other variations. One that immediately springs to my mind, as he and I are always being confused with each other. He is Sir Alex Moulton, inventor of the small wheel bicycle. Some people do not know that he also invented the rubber suspension system for the original Mini Cooper cars. The suspension on the bicycle was a spin off from this. His contribution to British industry won him a Knighthood from the Queen.

There is Sarah Moulton, celebrity chef.

American Record Producer, Tom Moulton.

And a knife maker named Dusty Moulton.

I’m sure there are many more I have failed to list, but just one more I should mention: Dave Moulton, ex-bicycle framebuilder. If you are searching for this particular Dave Moulton, add the word "bicycle" to the name and you will weed me out from all the others.