Rula Lenska
Sports nominee: Rollie Fingers
Grace Slick
favorite all-time actor name:
yaphet kotto
Dammit, you stole mine. But if you mention The Edge, then you must do the same for Bono. Bono Vox is his full nickname though, and it suits him cause it’s Latin for “good voice.”
Other names:
Morleigh Steinberg (not exactly a celebrity, but she’s married to the aforementioned guitarist)
Mercedes Ruehl
And why has no one mentioned Viggo Mortensen?! Come on!
I’ll see that, and raise you YoYo Ma
Gina Lollibigida
Dick Butkus
Roman Dirge
Ooo, Grace Slick - nice one Orange Skinner.
How about
Axl Rose (anagram for “oral sex”)
Slash (in same vein as The Edge)
Butch Vig.
Has to be the coolest name in rock.
Hambone Willie Newbern
The best blues name ever.
BTW - generate your own blues name: first a physical affliction, second a fruit, last a Nineteenth Century American President
Yrs.
Eggbound Kiwi Fillmore.
Yo Yo Ma always sounded like it would be a good name for a rapper. I guess because it makes me think of “yo’ mama.”
Another one from the sports world: Anne Thorius (she is Danish, so it is pronouced “Ah-nuh Tore-ee-us”). She played for my favorite basketball team, the University of Michigan Wolverines. She was drafted by Orlando of the WNBA (but was cut in training camp), and as far as I know is currently playing in Poland. The Michigan coaches liked Anne so much that they went and recruited another player from Denmark, Mie Burlin (first name pronouced Mee-uh, last name like the German city).
The “generate your own blues name” is apparently how Jefferson Airplane got their name. It started out as “Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane,” then the “Blind Thomas” part was deleted.
Walleyed Watermelon Washington.
Hey, this is fun!
For me any Russian names, so you can take your pick, and also (spelling) Auldous Huxley
Not that there’s anything unmanly about John Charles Carter. It’s at least more butch than, say, Marion Morrison. But I see your point.
There’s a jazz pianist named Dick Hymen
Not if you consider Mutt Lange.
Although I’m also partial to Gibby Haynes.
Tallulah Bankhead, natch.
Orson Welles.
Algis Budrys.
Oh, one contemporary one:
Reese Witherspoon. It makes me think of Uri Geller covered in chocolate and peanut-butter.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Peter Gabriel - I loved the name so much, especially since I had named my son Adrian Gabriel (was going to be Gabriel Adrian, but my dad started calling him “Gabe” before he was born, uh huh, no thanks, rather, thanks dad!) after I’d heard and fell in love with the band’s music, but before I found out the name of the lead singer. This was in 1973. I’d seen the band on the TV show Midnight Special a couple weeks before my son was born. I loved them, but didn’t find and buy an album, complete with liner notes and band member’s names, until a few months later.
Happy Rhodes - the female singer from New York, not the male singer from Canada. Her real name is cool too, Kimberly Tyler Rhodes, but she’s been called Happy ever since she was a baby.
Mary Margaret O’Hara - brilliant singer-songwriter from Canada.
Other favorite singer names:
Wendy MaHarry
Kirsty MacColl
Sinead O’Connor
Trio Bulgarka
Mary Coughlan (pronouced Cog-lan)
Vienna Teng
Jane Siberry (pronounced like Fib-ur-ree)
Maria Excommunicata
Nico
I agree with Parker Posey I love Mena Suvari and Fiona Apple
Jim