# 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:** 7
**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 31, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/121 "2011-08-31T18:33:48Z")
If you wrote a book about a politician who has to resign beause of sexting, would you give him a name like Anthony Weiner? ---
**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:** [August 31, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/122 "2011-08-31T18:42:14Z")
Physicist [Jessica Sunshine](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.astro.umd.edu%2Fpeople%2Fjess.html&ei=cIBeTpSLE-eNsQKx18D6Dw&usg=AFQjCNHbPj_RTeeI3CI2Y2IKyhImXmD_4g&sig2=vs8nTIzNTxEHyt7c2j-1Kg). ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/123 "2011-08-31T21:18:12Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Not coincidentally, they named a [street](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Picabo+Street,+Park+City,+UT&hl=en&sll=45.422555,-122.63939&sspn=0.014051,0.016243&vpsrc=0&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A) in a ski town after her. Too bad she’s not allowed to answer the phone in the Intensive Care Unit she’s a nurse in. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/124 "2011-08-31T21:59:45Z")
> [@Shin\_Ji](#): > > My mom got her divorce done at the law firm of Semen & Frost. That should be a fertility clinic. If we’re doing corporate names, my favorite was the accountancy firm formerly called **Nigro, Nigro, and White**. Unfortunately, they are now simply [Nigro & Nigro](http://www.nncpas.com/). I blame white flight. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/125 "2011-09-01T03:02:35Z")
I’m not going to search through the whole thread, but another name occurred to me. **Hermes Pan** was a choreographer and dancer whose name showed up in movies of the 1920s to the 1980s. He worked with Fred Astaire, and his name is on My Fair Lady and Finian’s Rainbow, but that’s at the _end_ of his career. Having a name made up of two Greek Gods sounds like a put-on, but his name was originally **Hermes Panagiotopoulos** , and his simply abbreviated that polysyllabic last name, so I think I can call his name legit. > **[Hermes Pan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_Pan_(choreographer))** > > Hermes Pan (born Hermes Joseph Panagiotopoulos, December 10, 1909 – September 19, 1990) was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He worked on nearly two dozen films and TV shows with Astaire. He won both an Oscar and an Emmy for his dance direction. > Born in Memphis, Tennessee, as the son of a Greek immigrant and an American woman from the South, Pan moved to... > **[Hermes Pan | Additional Crew, Actor, Music Department](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659009/)** > > Known for: Top Hat, Swing Time, A Damsel in Distress ---
**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:** [September 2, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/126 "2011-09-02T13:20:46Z")
Nobody’s mentioned Steve Jobs? And Michelle Bachman sounds too much like a combination of Michelle and Barack to be for real. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/127 "2011-09-08T17:13:16Z")
Like someone could really be named Yo-Yo Ma. Sounds like an insult: Hey, Yo! Yo! Yo Ma. ---
**Author:** ![Melysnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@Melysnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melysnl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/128 "2011-09-10T05:06:18Z")
I’m sure some of you have heard of that wealthy pastor in Atlanta, Creflo Dollar. That’s his real name and he’s certainly made millions of dollars over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/129 "2011-09-10T10:52:51Z")
The rather well-off drummer from 70s UK prog rock band Curved Air is called [Florian Pilkington-Miksa](http://www.curvedair.com/Directions.htm)! (Slightly out of date page, as the band is touring again… ) ---
**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:** [September 11, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/130 "2011-09-11T17:14:43Z")
Dr. Mehmet Oz is his real name. Frank Oz, no. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/131 "2011-09-11T18:31:52Z")
John Cage: action hero, porn star, or WWE villain? ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/132 "2011-09-12T16:47:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > John Cage: action hero, porn star, or WWE villain? None of the above. Mortal Kombat fighter. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/133 "2011-09-12T18:01:58Z")
In college, I took a class from a professor whose first name was Dana. He was a guy. I was a bit confused about that, but may have figured it was an ethnic name that just sounded like a girl’s name in the US. But, he was white and had an Anglo last name, so maybe he had some ancestry on his mother’s side from some obscure European town where boys are named “Dana”. No, he wasn’t transgender to my knowledge - his body was clearly masculine and he never pretended to be a girl. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/134 "2011-09-12T18:17:31Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In college, I took a class from a professor whose first name was Dana. He was a guy. I was a bit confused about that, but may have figured it was an ethnic name that just sounded like a girl’s name in the US. But, he was white and had an Anglo last name, so maybe he had some ancestry on his mother’s side from some obscure European town where boys are named “Dana”. > > No, he wasn’t transgender to my knowledge - his body was clearly masculine and he never pretended to be a girl. [Wikipedia for Dana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_(given_name)) Dana Carvey Dana Andrews Dana Elcar Dana Milbank ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/135 "2011-09-12T18:22:47Z")
Race driver Lake Speed Democratic pundit Krystal Ball ---
**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:** [September 12, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/136 "2011-09-12T18:24:41Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In college, I took a class from a professor whose first name was Dana. He was a guy. I was a bit confused about that, but may have figured it was an ethnic name that just sounded like a girl’s name in the US. But, he was white and had an Anglo last name, so maybe he had some ancestry on his mother’s side from some obscure European town where boys are named “Dana”. > > No, he wasn’t transgender to my knowledge - his body was clearly masculine and he never pretended to be a girl. Why is this strange? There are a lot of white, Anglo American men named “Dana.” ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/137 "2011-09-12T18:24:49Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > In college, I took a class from a professor whose first name was Dana. He was a guy. I was a bit confused about that, but may have figured it was an ethnic name that just sounded like a girl’s name in the US. But, he was white and had an Anglo last name, so maybe he had some ancestry on his mother’s side from some obscure European town where boys are named “Dana”. > > No, he wasn’t transgender to my knowledge - his body was clearly masculine and he never pretended to be a girl. Dana Carvey. And others. > **[Dana (given name)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_(given_name))** > > Dana is a unisex given name. It was among the 100 most popular names given to girls born in the United States between 1960 and 1990. It has since fallen in popularity and was ranked the 446th most popular name given to girls born in the United States in 2007. As a male forename it is well known in the United States, being in the 314th rank out of 1,219 in the 1990 U.S. Census. > The name has multiple derivations. Dana or Danah, in Arabic, means 'the most perfectly sized, valuable and beautiful p... ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/138 "2011-09-12T18:49:04Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > John Cage: action hero, porn star, or WWE villain? While we’re on the subject, Ric Flair’s name isn’t a pseudonym (although he was born Richard Fliehr). ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/139 "2011-09-12T18:51:54Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Chip Z’Nuff from the shitty hair metal band Enuff Z’Nuff, although the apostrophe was added just for effect; he’s not a dark elf. It’s a pseudonym. His real name is Gregory Rybarski. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190/140 "2011-09-12T18:51:55Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > While we’re on the subject, Ric Flair’s name isn’t a pseudonym (although he was born Richard Fliehr). According to Wikipedia, his name is still Richard Fliehr. So that would mean that “Ric Flair” is a pseudonym. In any case, if changing your name legally makes it a non-pseudonym, then that really defeats the purpose of the discussion, doesn’t it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-names-that-sound-like-pseudonyms-but-arent/594190.md?page=8)