This made me chuckle. My mom was raised in England and her mother was born and raised there. They came to the states for good when my mom was in high school. First names are common around here and both my mom and grandmother loved it because they adamantly rejected the British properness.
I am glad that I am from a first names area. I despise being called by my last name. My parents are the same way. Even their parents’ generation was a first-names kind of thing. I really can’t remember anyone that preferred Mr/Ms/Mrs last name.