# 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:** 11
**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, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/201 "2013-07-22T12:18:42Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Can I author a book and put JOHN GRISHAM on the cover in big bold letters? If your genuine birth name is John Grisham, then, yes you can put it on the cover of a book to indicate you are the author. That is not a trademark use. Now there might be an argument that the style of type or the cover design might indicate a bad faith intent to pass off, but the name by itself no. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/202 "2013-07-22T13:24:29Z")
Remember, there was an author named **Winston Churchill** before there was the now-far-more-famous Winston Churchill. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/203 "2013-07-23T14:23:04Z")
(reasonably) viable pro football play: Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada fakes it to Obafemi Ayenbadejo, then pitches to Chris Fumatu-Ma’afala, who will then run behind the block of Corey Lekkerkerker. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/204 "2013-07-23T15:49:55Z")
Just watched a movie with this actress and thought, “what a fun name to say.” and then thought of this thread. Rachel Ticotin. Pronounced TeecoTeen. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/205 "2013-07-23T17:58:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Dick Hyman. I remember telling this name to some of my classmates, and they found it hilarious. Yes, he’s a real person and it’s his real name. I’ve even seen him live. He’s very good. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/206 "2013-07-23T18:03:02Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > British politician [Jack Straw](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Straw). An over-the-top Olde English name even without the revolutionary allusion. Too bad I already posted this, I had a GREAT idea for a contribution to this thread :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/207 "2013-07-23T18:14:49Z")
My favorite political name is Canadian Conservative politician [John Tory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tory). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/208 "2013-07-24T01:34:33Z")
Julianna Margulies and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio sound all the world to me like snooty stage names. They aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/209 "2013-07-24T02:01:33Z")
Well, in that vein, hows about Robin Wright Penn? (Though I suppose it sounds more like an implausible pseudonym for an author rather than an actress.) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/210 "2013-07-24T05:13:14Z")
> [@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. Even better: Katy Perry (born Kathryn Hudson) issuing a cease and desist to the owner of fashion label “Katie Perry”, Katie Perry (born Katie Perry). ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/211 "2013-07-24T13:35:50Z")
The "No thanks, I’ll just stab myself in the eyes"ingly bad Love Guru had a too long scene where the joke was the Love Guru going around wishing people “mariska hargitay”. After sharing this greeting with a couple of people, guess who he comes across… g’on, guess… Mariska Hargitay! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/212 "2013-07-24T17:29:26Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > The "No thanks, I’ll just stab myself in the eyes"ingly bad Love Guru had a too long scene where the joke was the Love Guru going around wishing people “mariska hargitay”. After sharing this greeting with a couple of people, guess who he comes across… g’on, guess… > > Mariska Hargitay! I wouldn’t mind coming across her. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/213 "2013-08-11T00:05:57Z")
[Timothy S. Leatherman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_S._Leatherman), inventor of the Leatherman multi-tool. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/214 "2013-08-11T00:35:01Z")
[Manu Chao](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manu_Chao) sounds way too cool not to be a stage name, but it’s actually his real name (OK, his full name is José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao). ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/215 "2013-08-12T15:07:38Z")
Pat Benatar, had she not married and quickly divorced a man named Dennis Benatar, I wonder if Patrica Mae Andrejewski would have become one of the greatest female ROCKERS of all time??? AND Country superstar, Martina McBride…actually her full name is Martina Mariea McBride, but it’s for real. Her maiden name was Martina Mariea Schiff, but she married her hubby John McBride before she scored a recording contract with RCA and went on to sell over 15-million albums in the U.S. and win numerous awards! ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/216 "2013-08-12T15:09:25Z")
And HOTTIE actor Max Martini (Maximilian Carlo Martina, full name) best known as Mack Gerhardt on ‘The Unit’. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/217 "2013-08-12T15:17:01Z")
On the TV show Touched by an Angel, Andrew the “Angel of Death” was played by actor John Dye, which was his real name. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/218 "2013-08-13T11:12:23Z")
When I saw the posters for the new _Lone Ranger_ movie, I thought the name **Armie Hammer** was hilarious. I figured it had to be a pseudonym because it sounded like: (1) a porn name (2) a brand of toothpaste. But nope, apparently he really is called Armand Hammer. And according to Wikipedia, he had an ancestor by the same name, who ran the toothpaste company – but it wasn’t named after him, it was just pure coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/219 "2013-08-13T11:34:56Z")
There’s a British actress called Honeysuckle Weeks, and it’s her real name. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/220 "2013-08-13T12:13:29Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > When I saw the posters for the new _Lone Ranger_ movie, I thought the name **Armie Hammer** was hilarious. I figured it had to be a pseudonym because it sounded like: (1) a porn name (2) a brand of toothpaste. > > But nope, apparently he really is called Armand Hammer. And according to Wikipedia, he had an ancestor by the same name, who ran the toothpaste company – but it wasn’t named after him, it was just pure coincidence. Armie Hammer is a cutie, too! He actualy played the role of a young Billy Graham in “Billy: The Early Years” which was a biographyical movie of the evangelist…and I was just drooling over him the whole time… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=12)