I’ve never resented the name Trevor, but I have thought about it a lot. It’s not a weird name, it’s just not that common. I was named after the ambulance driver who took my mother to the hospital as I was about to be born. I’ve only ever met one other Trevor in person in my life. Growing up in the 1970s, it seemed that if there was a TV character who was a bit of a geek, he would be called Trevor. We’re not seen as heroic or glamorous. It was hurtful enough to make me wish I had a different name. After 35 years as an engineer, I retired in 2020 to Monton, a village near Manchester, and was volunteering at an Age UK charity shop two days a week. I’d done it for three years and enjoyed it, but decided I wanted to do something more fulfilling, something altruistic that would also keep my brain on the boil. There’s not a lot of money around these days, but there is a huge amount of skill, wisdom and experience, which costs nothing to share. I thought it would be cool if I could gather together a group of clever Trevors, from all over, who could help each other out by sharing their skills. If one Trevor writes in requesting advice, I just give them the email address of the person best placed and willing to help out. I wanted to recruit an army of Trevors (I also include people with the surname “Trevor”). I knew they were out there – the challenge was to find them. I started emailing professionals whose skills I thought would be useful to others on a day‑to‑day basis. My system is very basic. I Google “Trevor professional” and then find Trevors who are photographers, mechanics and so on. I wanted to discover ordinary people who really know their stuff. The other day I wrote to an audiologist, a public‑speaking expert named Trevor the Toastmaster, a botanist, a photographer and a golf pro. Maybe one in 30 will write back. Trevor the full-stack website developer replied, saying: “This is a bit weird, but I’ll help if I can.” I know it’s a unusual, but it’s a project with a good heart. For instance, someone wrote in wanting more information about antidepressants, and I connected him with the Trevor who’s a clinical practitioner. He’s not going to tell people which drug to take, but he could put them on the right path. I’ve now got 11 or 12 Trevors signed up. I think maybe if we have about 25 or 30, that would cover a lot for the time being. And I’m open to people who are a little bit out there. One person is a poet, counsellor and funeral celebrant who lives in Bristol. He’s offered to speak at the funeral of anyone in Bristol who’s called Trevor or is the loved one of a Trevor. I started work on the website in August last year. I saw that Trevor.com was taken, and thought Trevors United seemed too football-y. I went for Trevors Together, which has a nice alliteration. The data analytics and management company Trevor.io offered to help me out with data management for free. To spread the word, I started advertising in Private Eye in October, when the website went live. With the advertising and the website, I’ve spent less than £200 in total. This isn’t something I want to throw lots of money at; it’s more about the fun and creativity. It’s really important to me that everything is kept free – there absolutely must not be any exchange of money among people using the site. I’m basically creating a way for people to meet. Ultimately, the aim is for TrevorsTogether.com to help anyone, regardless of their name. But for now, to keep it manageable, it’s all about Trevors. It’s become my 9 to 5. The benefits for me are obvious. It pleases me that I’m trying to do a good thing, and it’s really got my tail wagging. I’ve realised that, like me, others get a buzz from helping people. Working on Trevors Together has changed my relationship with my name. Trevors are fighting back in the best possible way against the nerd stigma that has tainted us for as long as I can remember. Now I really like my name. I’m glad that not a lot of people are called Trevor. And I want the name Trevor to be synonymous with empathy, kindness and generosity. As told to Christine Ro