The Associated Press

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Not many people are named Santa Claus or Kris Kringle, but at least 80 Indiana residents share the last name of Christmas.

Perhaps the most teased is an Evansville woman named Mary Christmas.

"It's fun," she said. "People ask about it all the time. You just have to roll with the punches."

Barbara Christmas of Newburgh made sure she didn't name her girls in a way that would attract too much attention. But once she named two pet dogs Christmas Eve and Christmas Night.

"That was OK," she said. "They didn't know the difference."

Bonnie Christmas said she gets asked about her name frequently. She likes to tell people, "I have Christmas in my home all the time, but I don't get presents."

Aside from good-natured ribbing and looks of surprise during introductions, having Christmas for a last name can also lead to confusion.

Once Alice Christmas of Evansville went out to dinner for a New Year's Eve celebration with her husband, Don.

Don Christmas walked up to the greeter and told him he had reservations for Christmas.

"You're about a week late, aren't you?" the greeter said.