# Fictional character names you stumble across in real life **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125 "2004-08-03T12:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/1 "2004-08-03T12:51:29Z")
Miles O’Brien works for CNN. He’s the [space travel](http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/07/21/apollo.crew/index.html) reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/2 "2004-08-03T13:19:00Z")
The Chicago Tribune profiled Cabrini Green residents recently and they had a guy who got out of jail and got a job at a church working for Rev. Robin Hood. I also recall coming across a James Bond recently, though to be sure I couldn’t tell you where. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/3 "2004-08-03T13:21:23Z")
About 30 years ago, I met a lawyer named Donald E. Duck. He was an elderly gentleman, he was a teenager when Walt Disney made his name into a massive joke (can you imagine being in your teens and suddenly your name is affixed to a nationally known cartoon character?) He bravely stuck with his name, although he did tend to use his middle initial a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/4 "2004-08-03T13:21:32Z")
The former Deputy Director for the agency I work for is named Lisa Simpson (She used to tell people – and still does, for all I know – that she does have a sister named Maggie, but no brother named Bart.) I have also worked with a Dr. Bashir (alas, his first name was not Julian). ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/5 "2004-08-03T13:27:42Z")
I knew a Bart Simpson before the _Simpsons_ became big. Haven’t talked to him since. There’s a Canadian politician named Pierre Pettigrew (“Pierre” being the French form of “Peter”). I’ve started refering to him as “Wormtail.” ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/6 "2004-08-03T13:56:31Z")
Jim Bond played bass in the Righteous Brothers’ back up band during the '60s. I went to high school with Jimmy Stewart. that’s all I can think of at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/7 "2004-08-03T14:28:22Z")
We once had a client come into work whose name was Harry Potter. He was an older gentleman and we didn’t see a scar on his forehead. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/8 "2004-08-03T15:05:30Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > I also recall coming across a James Bond recently, though to be sure I couldn’t tell you where. When I was in college, I spent my summers earning money by doing temp work for an agency that had contracts with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and I distinctly recall reading a World Bank employee magazine that contained a profile of a staff economist named James Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/9 "2004-08-03T15:12:49Z")
Alright, I’ve got a laundry list of them! My mentor and cubicle-mate at my last job was **Miss Elizabeth Bennett** but we called her “Betsy.” My current job features the almost-cast-and-crew of a really bizarre movie: **Tom Wolfe** (writer) **John Wu** (director) **Dan DeVito Kerry Grant** …and also some fictional characters: **Joe Friday Dr. Frink** And of course, the famous athlete, **Steve Young**. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/10 "2004-08-03T15:24:13Z")
A guy who works for my company is named **Jonathan Bravo**. I wonder how many people can’t resist calling him Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/11 "2004-08-03T15:30:42Z")
I used to work with a gentleman named Rhett Butler. That man just didn’t give a damn. 🙂 Actually he was a great guy. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/12 "2004-08-03T15:30:53Z")
Went to school with a **David Duke**. :eek: Also have a friend who named his daughter **Scout**. Not a nickname, her actual name. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/13 "2004-08-03T15:47:48Z")
In college I took physics from Doctor Hu. I run across a John Clark occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/14 "2004-08-03T16:23:42Z")
I recall hearing, many years ago, about a radio host who would look through phone books for interesting names and then call them for a chat. He found several people named **Norman Bates**. The one he put on the show ran a motel … ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/15 "2004-08-03T16:31:04Z")
Weirdest one ever. I LOVE the extremely obscure Mexican artist named Astrid Hadad. (Picture a Mexican cross between k.d. lang and Lene Lovich.) I also met Mary McGarry Morris when she signed her first book at store where I was working. So when her second novel came–_Songs in Ordinary Time_–I naturally bought it and read it. In it a character named Astrid marries a man who’s last name is Hadad. I don’t think she’s ever referred to as Astrid Hadad, but it still strikes me as a bizarre coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/16 "2004-08-03T16:40:36Z")
A friend of mine mentioned being on a flight piloted by “captain John Sheridan”… out of gate B5. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/17 "2004-08-03T17:17:26Z")
I used to have a landlord named Peter Parker. And sticking to comic books, I know if I had [this guy’s](http://www.wright.edu/~tdoom/) name I’d have to try to get a doctorate too… ---
**Author:** ![Padmaraga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Padmaraga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padmaraga)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/18 "2004-08-03T17:32:48Z")
My husband has a friend and colleague named **Bill Paxton** , though his friends all call him “Packy”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/19 "2004-08-03T17:38:05Z")
When I was at University, one of the senior Student Union officers was a **Richard Grayson.** He didn’t like people calling him Dick. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125/20 "2004-08-03T17:43:51Z")
Went to college with **Richie Cunningham.** He insisted on going by “Richie,” yet got really mad whenever anyone asked him “Where’s Potsie?” and the like. Don’tcha think he was asking for it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-character-names-you-stumble-across-in-real-life/258125.md?page=2)