Meet the identical triplets named A, B and C

By Emily Phillips

Meet the identical male triplets with the middle names A, B and C.

Quentin B Meloff and brothers Andrew A Meloff and Joel C Meloff, all 31, were all born within 45 seconds of each other.

Their parents, Suzanne Lyons and Rick Meloff, gave the boys the initials – in their birth order - after nurses suggested the funny idea.

They painted the triplets' toenails to tell them apart and Quentin recalls not being able to recognise himself in a photo of the three brothers until he was 12.

The brothers have always found that their names have been “met with a little bit of shock” and Quentin believes it has “always been the best first date question”.

But Quentin decided to remove his middle name B from his passport after being accused of "lying" when trying to get through border control, although he maintains his middle name legally.

Quentin, a restaurant worker from Toronto, Canada, said: “The nurses at the hospital suggested it.

“Our parents just kind of rolled with it.

“During the pregnancy process, they started using the term ABC when they were looking at the ultrasound.

“For her [Suzanne] she said she always knew us as ABC and when the nurses suggested it, she went for it.

“At the time they had much larger fish to fry, they had three kids in one shot and it was a stressful experience for them.

“If they were going to outsource anything it was a fair thing to outsource.

“The first time I went to New York as an adult it happened [getting stopped at passport control for his middle name].

“It continued to happen and people would look at me funny.

“It sounds like I’m lying; it’s not the most convincing story.

“Five or six years later, I was renewing my passport and they asked if I wanted to make any changes.

“I thought, ‘What if I can remove my middle name?’.

“They did it for me and it’s been plain sailing ever since”.

The triplets, born on July 21 1994, were difficult to tell apart as children.

Quentin said: “Back them they [Quentin’s parents] would paint our toenails as a way to tell who was who.

“I could not begin to tell you who was who in photos at that time.

“After grade four or five at the age of 11 or 12 it became a bit more clear”.

When the trio were nine months old, they appeared alongside Mark Ruffalo in a TV programme called Due South.

He said, “My mum and dad loved working with him.

“It was one of those things in TV shows, especially when they are looking for child actors and to replace babies as fast as possible.

“We were in a lot of commercials too.

“We were pitched to do roles in movies like the horror movie Chucky.

“Our parents turned it down, because they thought once they put us into makeup and costume we couldn’t play the role anymore.

“We’d be too scared”.

The brothers’ middle names have always been met with “a little bit of shock”.

Quentin said: “I'll be honest, it’s always the best first date question.

“It's a unique fact about me.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told somebody and they’ve just nodded on.

“They’re like, ‘wait, what?’”

The brothers have a much higher chance of having triplets of their own, but it is still a slim one.

Quentin said: “The probability increases from one in 500,000 to one in 300,000 so it’s very unlikely.

“My dad used to joke if all three of us had triplets he’d find a way to run away.

“If the opportunity arises it would be quite cool but the likelihood is quite rare”.

Sharing his name story online, Quentin has been exposed to a “community” of other triplets in similar situations.

He said: “People have commented saying, ‘No way my middle name is the letter C’.

“It’s been really cool to see”.

Quentin shares a group chat with his brothers and finds it “quirky” how similar his brothers’ memories are to his own.

He said: “We’ll be watching a sporting event or whatever.

“Before I think of sending a text about a weird thing that happens in a play, they have already messaged about that one weird thing.

“It’s a unique experience and one I’m happy I get to have”.