# Famous people with names that sound like pseudonyms but aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190 "2011-08-26T16:07:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/181 "2013-07-20T03:34:30Z")
Maybe already mentioned in the pre-resurrected part of this thread, but… Tommy Tune. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/182 "2013-07-20T07:45:55Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > His name is Robert De Niro? Do his good friends call him Bobby Money? .. that would have been Di Nero… (which does look like it could be an actual Italian lastname meaning “Black’s”) There’s a Mexican-Spanish singer / actress / presenter / you name it who usually goes by the pseudonym Alaska. While that is a pretty-evident pseudonym, I understand she used to have serious trouble getting people to believe that her real name really, really, really is Olvido (forgetfulness). People thought it was a pseudonym. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/183 "2013-07-20T08:34:47Z")
One of my favorites: Blossom Dearie. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/184 "2013-07-20T08:58:29Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Maybe already mentioned in the pre-resurrected part of this thread, but… Tommy Tune. Ironically, the family name was originally Tunesmith, which would have been even more unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/185 "2013-07-20T11:58:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > .. that would have been Di Nero… (which does look like it could be an actual Italian lastname meaning “Black’s”) Ah, but as per the title of the thread, all that matters is how it _sounds_. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/186 "2013-07-20T14:03:54Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > One of my favorites: Blossom Dearie. Mine, too, but it’s actually in the OP. I almost posted it, too, until I went back to check if anyone had brought it up. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/187 "2013-07-20T17:45:32Z")
Contrary to popular belief, [Thomas Crapper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper) did not invent the flush toilet. He did, however invent some toilet related items, including the ballcock. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/188 "2013-07-20T21:19:49Z")
Dick Hyman. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/189 "2013-07-20T21:46:11Z")
Can’t find him on the google, but back in the 70’s (I think) there was a college football player named Comodore Spears. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/190 "2013-07-20T21:58:29Z")
American idol winner Phillip Phillips ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/191 "2013-07-21T00:52:01Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A few names that come to mind: > > 1. If a Hollywood studio were making up a corny, inspirational story for a movie about a heroic athlete overcoming cancer, isn’t “Lance Armstrong” the kind of hokey name they’d have given the protagonist? Are we REALLY supposed to believe that’s the REAL name of a real-life heroic athlete? 1. Lance Armstrong is not a heroic athlete, he’s a fraud and a bully. 2. Lance Armstrong was born [Lance Gunderson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong). Much less glamorous, you’ll agree. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/192 "2013-07-21T04:30:06Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Lance Armstrong was born [Lance Gunderson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong). Much less glamorous, you’ll agree. Well his mother married Terry Armstrong when Lance was three years old and his stepfather adopted him at that point. Lance considers Terry Armstrong to be his real father. So I’d have to say that Armstrong isn’t a pseudonym. On the other hand, no argument about him being a fraud and a bully. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/193 "2013-07-21T16:24:39Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > I suppose there’s no room for Cinnamons at CNN . . . But there’s room for Stroumboulopoulos? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/194 "2013-07-21T16:58:16Z")
**Elvis Presley** , of course. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/195 "2013-07-21T17:55:36Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > 1. Lance Armstrong is not a heroic athlete, he’s a fraud and a bully. > 2. Lance Armstrong was born [Lance Gunderson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong). Much less glamorous, you’ll agree. True enough, Lance has been exposed as a fraud and a bully- but that doesn’t change the facts that: 1. “Lance Armstrong” was a not a pseudonym. His parents named him “Lance” when he was a baby, and"Armstrong" has been his last name since he was a toddler. 2. This is a very old thread- at the time I posted that name, he WAS widely perceived as a hero. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/196 "2013-07-21T19:11:37Z")
In guitar circles, there’s a well-respected, excellent slide player named **Roy Rogers**. > **[Roy Rogers (guitarist)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers_(guitarist))** > > Roy Rogers (born July 28, 1950, Redding, California, United States) is an American blues rock slide guitarist and record producer. He was named after the singing cowboy. Rogers plays a variety of guitar styles related to the Delta blues, but is most often recognized for his virtuoso slide work. > In the 1980s, Rogers was a member of John Lee Hooker's Coast to Coast Band. Rogers produced four John Lee Hooker albums - The Healer, a Grammy Award winner, Mr. Lucky, Boom Boom and Chill Out. He also... He was sued at one point by the Singing Cowboy’s estate, but the case was thrown out because it is the guitarist’s given name from birth. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/197 "2013-07-22T01:42:05Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > In guitar circles, there’s a well-respected, excellent slide player named **Roy Rogers**. > > [Roy Rogers (guitarist) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers_(guitarist)) > > He was sued at one point by the Singing Cowboy’s estate, but the case was thrown out because it is the guitarist’s given name from birth. A lot of porn stars use a celebrity name as their pseudonym: James Deen, Dru Barrymore, Darryl Hanah, Nicole Sheridan, etc. But you’ll notice they all change the name slightly from the celebrity’s name. One exception is porn actress Cindy Crawford. She was sued by the model but she won because her legal name really is Cindy Crawford. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/198 "2013-07-22T04:51:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > He was sued at one point by the Singing Cowboy’s estate, but the case was thrown out because it is the guitarist’s given name from birth. That didn’t stop Donald Trump from successfully suing a family who had called their grocery store “Trump’s,” even though it was their name. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/199 "2013-07-22T10:37:40Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > That didn’t stop Donald Trump from successfully suing a family who had called their grocery store “Trump’s,” even though it was their name. There’s a difference between calling yourself by your birth name and calling your business by your name. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/200 "2013-07-22T11:45:43Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There’s a difference between calling yourself by your birth name and calling your business by your name. Can I author a book and put JOHN GRISHAM on the cover in big bold letters? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=11)