Man Named Taylor Swift Opens Up About Sharing a Name with the Pop Star: 'I Just Shake It Off'

"I now think, that if my name is the biggest struggle I have in life, I'm doing okay," Taylor J. Swift said

Taylor J. Swift has successfully learned how to embrace his pop star-esque name.

In a conversation with Business Insider, Swift, who serves as a Director of Government Capacity at POPVOX Foundation, opened up about how sharing a name with the music superstar, 34, was at first tough to handle but has since become something easier to handle.

"As someone who works in the congressional advocacy space, where I help advocate for things like better wages, pay benefits and technology, it helps to have a name like mine because people usually remember it," he told the outlet.

"When people remember my name, they also remember the ball I'm trying to push forward, and that's what's important," Swift continued.

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According to Swift, he first learned of the singer he shares a name with when he was 15 years old.

"At first, I thought, no big deal, she's a singer with a hit song or two, this won't impact me — but I was wrong. As time continued, I started to find it frustrating," he told Business Insider.

"I was just a kid trying to live my life, and I was now sharing a name with a big singer. Additionally, I had just moved back to Ohio to live with my dad, so I was the new kid at school, with the name Taylor Swift," Swift added. "To top it off, I had a Justin Bieber haircut, I had glasses, and I was on the debate team, it wasn't a fun time."

After contemplating whether he should continue to go by Taylor or TJ — an abbreviation of his first and middle name — Swift said he eventually realized, "I was given this name for a reason, and I'm going to grow, and become who I'm meant to become with it."

Swift said he now takes extra steps to make sure that he is not misidentified as the "Blank Space" singer in life.

"When I do interviews with the press, I ask them to please quote me as Taylor J. Swift, so no one confuses me as the pop singer. This way, no one wonders why Taylor Swift (without the J) is speaking on congressional modernization and oversight," he said. "I also include the 'J' on my business cards or when applying to jobs, to avoid confusion."

But, Swift said he has still caused a stir before when others thought that he was the music superstar.

"For example, just this past weekend, I booked a dinner reservation for two under the name Taylor Swift. I could tell the hostess seemed a bit disappointed when I showed up," he said. "Like normal, they joked about how I wasn't the real Taylor Swift, so I just laughed and said, 'I hear it all the time but I just shake it off.' "

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"In the past, I think my name has thrown people off a bit. But, then as I engage in conversation with them, or if I'm briefing a member of Congress, or holding some sort of meeting, they see I'm serious about the work we're doing," Swift told Business Insider.

"I very much take pride in the work that we do, and after a minute or two, people see how dedicated I am to the cause we're working on and my name doesn't take away from that," he continued.

Overall, Swift noted that there are bigger problems in the world, and having the same name as one of the biggest stars in the world isn't the worst thing possible.

"I now think, that if my name is the biggest struggle I have in life, I'm doing okay. It feels trivial to believe otherwise," he explained.

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