# Best famous-people names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2000, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774 "2000-06-18T12:03:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/1 "2000-06-18T12:03:15Z")
OK, what I want here is the coolest-sounding names of famous people. Don’t care if they’re naughty or nice - just their names. Vigdis Finnboggadottir (ex-President of Iceland) Tansu Çiller (ex?-prime minister of Turkey) Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) Azeb Wolde-Ghiorghis (CBC journalist) Me’Shell Ndege’Ocello (musician) Hm - I just noticed that these are all women. Anybody think of any men with cool-sounding names? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/2 "2000-06-18T14:54:51Z")
Two well known current cricketers: Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman (India) ---
**Author:** ![Zion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b5e925/32.png) [@Zion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zion)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/3 "2000-06-18T16:41:57Z")
Isabela Rosalini - (actress) Zinedine Zidane - (French soccer player) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/4 "2000-06-18T18:28:57Z")
I always liked the name Martina Navratolova (or however you spell it). And Mary Elizabeth Mastriano (again, spelling). For men’s names: Antonio Banderas. Joaquin Phoenix. Forest Whitaker. Giovanni Corelli (except that he’s a fictional character and not all that famous, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/5 "2000-06-19T00:21:08Z")
Dov Tiefenbach and Dominick Podbielski–two kinda obscure actors ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/6 "2000-06-19T01:32:05Z")
With a name like “Magnus Ver Magnusson”, how could you be anything BUT the World’s Strongest Man? ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/7 "2000-06-19T02:21:12Z")
I’ve always liked President Vigdis, too. There’s a sex-therapist/advocate named Candida Royale that I just wonder about. I mean, if you’re gonna choose a more UNappealing name for your line of work… And, well, Lightnin’ Hopkins is just about the most perfect Blues name. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/8 "2000-06-19T04:11:42Z")
I was just watching a show about Sam Phillips and they mentioned a pro-wrestler named Sputnik Monroe. And he looked just like a Sputnik Monroe. (Beats the hell out of “Hulk Hogan.”) ---
**Author:** ![HomeSlice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9d8465/32.png) [@HomeSlice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomeSlice)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/9 "2000-06-19T04:21:57Z")
I’ve always wanted to be known by one name and one name only. Like Brazilian soccer stars…Pele, Ronaldo, Romario, ect… ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/10 "2000-06-19T07:45:24Z")
Antonio Banderas is the coolest name ever. ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/11 "2000-06-19T15:23:38Z")
The Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League had a quarterback try out for the team whose name was Prince McJunkins III. The runnerup in the blues category would be Blind Lemon Jefferson. Keith ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/12 "2000-06-19T15:28:35Z")
Isabella Aurora Lloyd Webber (infant daughter of Andrew) is really nice. And Madonna is the coolest one-name person. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/13 "2000-06-19T15:32:55Z")
Mara Lyacin, the NPR reporter. Always sounded like an antibiotic to me. And I was always amused by the name of the astronomer, Harlow Shapley. Bet HE got a lot of jokes in the 1930s! ---
**Author:** ![andyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@andyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/14 "2000-06-19T15:44:44Z")
How about Dick Trickle? (NASCAR driver) I’ve been thinking lately that he should drive the Viagra car. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HomeSlice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9d8465/32.png) [@HomeSlice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomeSlice)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/15 "2000-06-19T15:46:00Z")
Wait, we forgot porno stars!!! Ah, to be known as Johnny Cockanballs. :D:D:D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/16 "2000-06-19T16:02:47Z")
keeping with the OP’s theme of neat sounding, yet innocuous names on famous people, my favorite name of all time is the King of Bhutan, whose name is Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It’s quite a fun name to say. Has an almost poetic quality to it. The Japanese baseball great Saduhara Oh also has a cool name. And Me’Shell Ngege’Ocello wasn’t nearly as much fun as Michelle Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Next\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@Girl\_Next\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Next_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/17 "2000-06-19T16:17:23Z")
Boutros Boutros Ghali Read a story where some kids learned that “Boutros” was Egyptian for “Peter”. To which one of the kids surmised that Ghali must mean “Pumpkin Eater.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mojopitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@mojopitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojopitch)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/18 "2000-06-19T17:01:00Z")
Miroslav Satan- Hockey Player ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/19 "2000-06-19T17:06:59Z")
Vin Diesel. He’s not too famous, but you’d know him if you saw him. He was Caparzo in _Saving Private Ryan_. He played Riddick, the escape convict in _Pitch Black_. He was Chris in _Boiler Room_. I think he was the voice of the Iron Giant in _Iron Giant_. Anyway, he has a cool sounding name. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2000, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774/20 "2000-06-19T17:29:44Z")
How the hell did we get **Mercury astronauts** with names like “Wally Schirra” and “Gus Grissom” ? Sounds like the guys in the jump suits who pumped your gas, wiped your windshield, and gave you Green Stamps (and a free set of dishes to boot) back in 1962. Shouldn’t they all have had names like “Buzz Lightyear” ? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-famous-people-names/22774.md?page=2)