# Identical names of famous people **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717 "2009-07-21T04:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/1 "2009-07-21T04:02:02Z")
Lots of people share their name with someone famous. But how many names belong to two famous people? For example, there have been two famous Richard Burtons and two famous Engelbert Humperdincks and two famous Muhammed Alis. If you want to include fictional characters, there have been two famous Matt Dillons. How many others are there? (I’m not counting Paris and Perez Hilton, or names followed by “Jr.” or “Sr.” or a numeral.) ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/2 "2009-07-21T04:36:40Z")
[Paul Simon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Simon_(disambiguation)) was the first that came to mind for me. I don’t know if any of the thirty-odd [Michael Jacksons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson_(disambiguation)) are famous enough for ya. ---
**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, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/3 "2009-07-21T05:02:36Z")
[Edward Wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._L._Wood,_1st_Earl_of_Halifax), British statesman, and [Edward Wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Wood), American filmmaker. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/4 "2009-07-21T05:23:22Z")
(Robert) Marion Berry, current Arkansas Representative, Marion Berry, former DC Mayor/crackhead. Also marionberry, a berry. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/5 "2009-07-21T05:25:11Z")
I have a four person match. [Adam “Pacman” Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Jones_(American_football)) [Adam Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Jones_(baseball)) outfielder for the Baltimore ballclub. [Adam Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Jones_(racing_driver))English race car driver. [Adam Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Jones_(musician)) guitarist for Tool. And [Dave Clark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Clark_(musician)) of the Dave Clark 5 [Dave Clark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Clark_(baseball)) the baseball player. SSG Schwartz (The one and only.) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/6 "2009-07-21T05:44:41Z")
Engelbert Humperdinck the singer simply stole the name from the composer Engelbert Humperdinck, in order to make himself stand out a bit a bit from the crowd of other crooners. His real name was Jerry Dorsey, IIRC. I do not think that ought to count. I rather like the pair of the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (although I very much doubt that this was a mere coincidence either). At one time, when it was free, the online _Britannica_ had them mixed up, so if you searched for the poet you got an article about the composer. (I sent them an email about it, but they did not seem to understand what I was talking about.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/7 "2009-07-21T05:49:19Z")
Does Muhammed Ali count? The other one was called Muhammed Ali Jinnah. Not really the same name at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/8 "2009-07-21T05:49:22Z")
Mick Jones from Foreigner and Mick Jones from The Clash. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/9 "2009-07-21T06:01:09Z")
Randy Jackson from the Jackson 5 and Randy Jackson on American Idol. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/10 "2009-07-21T06:04:06Z")
Cassius Marcellus Clay and Cassius (Marcellus) Clay. James Jones and the Rev. Jim Jones. Francis Bacon and Francis Bacon. James Brown and Jim Brown. Then there are the cases of James Stewart and Stewart Granger, Michael Douglas and Michael Keaton, Davy Jones and David Bowie, wherein the latter changed their names to avoid confusion (not the case with Clay/Ali, presumably). ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/11 "2009-07-21T06:06:31Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Does Muhammed Ali count? The other one was called Muhammed Ali Jinnah. Not really the same name at all. I assume he means [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_of_Egypt). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cat\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Little\_Cat\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cat_Z)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/12 "2009-07-21T06:15:08Z")
Winston Churchill, 1871-1947, American novelist. Winston Churchill, 1874-1965, British prime minister. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/13 "2009-07-21T06:29:30Z")
Roger Taylor, drummer, Duran Duran Roger Taylor, drummer, Queen ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/14 "2009-07-21T06:34:53Z")
Thomas Wolfe, American author of _Look Homeward, Angel_ Thomas (Tom) Wolfe, American author of _The Bonfire of the Vanities_ ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/15 "2009-07-21T07:01:09Z")
It’s interesting that every pair in the OP includes someone who wasn’t born with that name. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/16 "2009-07-21T07:53:14Z")
I’ve always wanted to see an album by Dave Stewart. Featuring [Dave Stewart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Stewart) on Guitar, [Dave Stewart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Stewart_(musician)) on Keyboards, and [Dave Stewart](http://www.rajaz.co.uk/Main_html_pages/Heroes/Dave_Stewart.htm) on drums. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/17 "2009-07-21T10:58:22Z")
There’s [David Mitchell the comedian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mitchell_(actor)) and [David Mitchell the novelist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mitchell_(author)). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/18 "2009-07-21T12:27:51Z")
Richard Burton, actor Richard Burton, explorer and adventurer. Jack Johnson, boxer Jack Johnson, auto racer. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/19 "2009-07-21T12:47:59Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > (Robert) Marion Berry, current Arkansas Representative, **Marion Berry, former DC Mayor/crackhead**. Also marionberry, a berry. He’s Marion _Barry_. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717/20 "2009-07-21T13:24:18Z")
Thomas Harris, author of the Hannibal Lechter books. Thomas A. Harris, author of “I’m Okay, You’re Okay.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identical-names-of-famous-people/503717.md?page=2)