# How Many People Do You Know Who Were Named For TV Characters/Actors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246 "2006-06-10T23:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/1 "2006-06-10T23:25:28Z")
I’ve met both a Heath and a Jarrod, named for two of the characters on **The Big Valley**. A fellow Marine was named Cameron Mitchell Smith, named for character actor Cameron Mitchell ( **The High Chaparral** , and every low-budget movie ever made). Do you know any? Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/2 "2006-06-10T23:45:02Z")
My daughter’s name is Michaela, a name that **kaylasmom** and I had supposed we were inventing in 1996, but it seems a lot of people think we were naming her after Michaela Quinn of _Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman_ fame. Truth to tell, the only thing I knew about that show was the title (and in 1998, the name of Jane Seymour’s character). ---
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/3 "2006-06-10T23:53:34Z")
I came across a guy named “Curtis Mathes Ford” once. He was named for a TV **set**. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/4 "2006-06-11T00:12:56Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My daughter’s name is Michaela, a name that **kaylasmom** and I had supposed we were inventing in 1996, but it seems a lot of people think we were naming her after Michaela Quinn of _Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman_ fame. My brother and I are similar. My given name is Tamara and, within my family, I have always been called Tammy. Since I was born in 1960, people assume that I was named (like a million other girls of the era) for the movie character played by Debbie Reynolds and, later, Sandra Dee. But my mother insists that she picked the name out when she was 13 or 14 ( before the movie was released) and always meant to give her first daughter that name. My brother is the same – his name is Troy and, being that he was born in 1961, people generally assume he is named for Troy Donahue. But Mom insists not – she says she read the name in a book years before Troy Donahue became famous. For people who _actually_ were named for movie or TV characters, I submit my niece, who was named Kiri for the character in _Beastmaster_. She wasn’t named to _honor_ the movie or character, BTW – my sister and brother in law aren’t _Beastmaster_ freaks or anything. They just happened to rent the movie while she was pregnant and like the name. Also my husband’s nephew, Gage, who was named for the kid in the movie (and book) _Pet Semetary_. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/5 "2006-06-11T01:01:09Z")
A friend of mine had a child not that long ago. Ostensibly his name is Alexander. Shortened to… Xander. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/6 "2006-06-11T01:05:28Z")
I know a young woman named Farrah who is never going to be able to lie significantly about her age. Twenty years ago or so, I met an elderly lady named Theda who no doubt had the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/7 "2006-06-11T01:31:52Z")
My daughter’s middle name is Gillian. My husband’s favorite show is X-Files. Her nickname is Piper and even sometimes Piper Maru, because when she was born her eyes were so black we said she looked like on of the black oil alien people (that’s the name of the ship where they were found, also GA’s real life daughter). My husband also occassionally calls her Starbuck, also from X-Files. I guess we are pretty geeky! It’s a beautiful name though. A friend of mine named her daughter Ashton after someone, although I think whoever it was was a bad character, and she just liked the name. North and South maybe? I can’t think of anyone else right now. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/8 "2006-06-11T01:53:54Z")
I was named after one, or at least the baby name I was given was after her. (The name I got before my naming ceremony). Only she was a minor starlet, in India, so I doubt you’ve ever heard of her. Other people…I know at least two, but again they’re named after Indian stars. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/9 "2006-06-11T02:51:48Z")
> [@Jess](#): > > Also my husband’s nephew, Gage, who was named for the kid in the movie (and book) _Pet Semetary_. That’s a terrible character to name a kid after! (I mean, sure the kid was cute before he got run over, but after he got buried in the Pet Semetary he was a little devil.) That’s like naming your kid Damien. But it’s not quite as bad as a guy I recently met: his first name was Rommel. “You mean like the Desert Fox?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s who I was named after,” he tells me bitterly. “You can be sure as hell when I have a kid I’m not naming him after any Nazis!” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/10 "2006-06-11T03:59:39Z")
I used to date a Lindsay who was named after Lindsay Wagner of _Bionic Woman_ fame. A girl I know (aged around 20) is named Leia – obviously after the Star Wars Princess. Not a TV show, I know, but it seemed worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/11 "2006-06-11T04:27:31Z")
I shouldn’t have been so restrictive in my OP. So feel free to mention anyone you know named after any “celebrity,” be they TV, film or stage actors, musicians, writers, sports figures, talk show hosts or… Nazis. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/12 "2006-06-11T04:34:59Z")
My little sister was named after a quite not well known TV actress. I don’t know of anyone else. That is: No one seems to admit such an embarassing basis for a name. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/13 "2006-06-11T04:37:57Z")
^^^Could you give her first name, or the actresses name? Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/14 "2006-06-11T04:51:40Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > or… Nazis. And the strangest thing is that the guy, Rommel, is a really relaxed, Hispanic stoner/surfer dude. Not the kind of guy you’d expect would be from a family that names their kids after Nazis. Anyways, back to the OP: I’ve known at least two people who were named after the Laura in Dr. Zhivago (or maybe just her theme music in the movie), and one girl named after Anna Karenina. I don’t know him, but of course there’s also John Wayne Bobbit – he was a celebrity porn star for a while (Bobbit I mean, not the Duke). ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/15 "2006-06-11T05:12:30Z")
I was named after the guy who gave out the million dollar checks in the old TV series [The Millionaire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047758/) (the one that ran in the late 1950’s). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/16 "2006-06-11T05:18:24Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > A girl I know (aged around 20) is named Leia – obviously after the Star Wars Princess. I knew a girl born in 1979 who had a 5 year old older brother. Her parents had decided that they would allow her brother to name her. Being a 5 year old boy in 1979, he instantly and with great enthusiasm named her Leia- of course in honor of the princess from Alderan. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/17 "2006-06-11T07:50:34Z")
My kid brother Ori (18 years old last month) was named partially after Orry Maine, the Patrick Swayze character in _North and South_. It ran here just before he was born and was hugely popular. In my parents’ defense, “Ori” is a very common Israeli name. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/18 "2006-06-11T08:55:47Z")
I have a cousin named Regan. Yep, you guessed it: from **The Exorcist**. :eek: My aunt saw the movie and thought it was such a pretty name. Yikes. Thankfully, she’s not much of a terror, and has a little hellio…er… toddler of her own, now. Also, contrary to popular belief, I am _not_ named after a certain missing member of the Romanov family. Nor any movies about her. Toon or otherwise. My father, these days, proud papa that he is, likes to tell people I’m named after her, but that was not the case when I was named. My mom just thought it was pretty. I also narrowly avoided being named “Crystal”. After Crystal Gayle. _Shite_. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/19 "2006-06-11T10:09:52Z")
I think I can beat all of these. There’s a New Zealander who plays professional rugby league in Australia named **Hutch Maiava.** He has a brother named **Starsky.** Seriously. [Here’s](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/09/1078594368501.html?from=storyrhs) a Sydney Morning Herald article that mentions them. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246/20 "2006-06-11T10:34:32Z")
My wife was named after the film **Laura**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-do-you-know-who-were-named-for-tv-characters-actors/360246.md?page=2)