# Know anybody named after famous people? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522 "2016-03-10T03:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/21 "2016-03-10T06:31:52Z")
My great-great grandfather was David Crockett (Lastname). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/22 "2016-03-10T13:35:49Z")
In my first engineering job, one of the guys in the welding shop (or the machine shop?) was named General Lee. Yep, his first name was General. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/23 "2016-03-10T13:41:40Z")
Anybody called Jiménez should automatically be banned from calling his son Juan Ramón. There aren’t as many now, [the poet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ram%C3%B3n_Jim%C3%A9nez) having lost popularity, but I’ve met enough of them to not bother counting. Michelangelo’s name is spelled Miguel Ángel in Spanish. It’s a very popular name, and often after the artist. I know a woman who was considering naming her twins Miguel Ángel and Rafael but didn’t want to have to explain that no, it wasn’t after the turtles! She ended up going for Pelayo (first king of Asturias) and Ramiro (first king of Aragon). I’m not counting all those Borjas and Javieres 🙂 Or well, anybody else named after a halfway-popular saint! ---
**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:** [March 10, 2016, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/24 "2016-03-10T13:44:01Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Jon Stewart Leibowitz was named after John Stuart Mill. Not a friend or family member but do I get bonus points for naming a celebrity named after a celebrity? If so, Mickey Mantle was named for Mickey Cochrane. So you have one Baseball Hall of Famer named for another Baseball Hall of Famer. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/25 "2016-03-10T13:48:13Z")
A coworker was named Sandra Olimpia. Her brother, Alejandro Felipe. I asked “fan of Alexander the Great in the family, uh?” “😕 Our godfather is an Ancient History professor, why?” “Alexander’s parents were Filipo and Olimpia” “OH!” ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/26 "2016-03-10T14:25:20Z")
I’ve been friends with a Madeleine Carroll (surname) and a Virna Lisi (surname), both named after actresses. I know a woman who named her daughter Jo Beth (surname) after the actress Jo Beth Williams. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/27 "2016-03-10T14:46:14Z")
A sibling has a first/middle name that is the first/last name of a then mildly popular actor who soon faded into obscurity. Basically no one would get the connection today. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/28 "2016-03-10T15:45:16Z")
My son’s name is Enzo. For: Enzo Ferrari, who founded Ferrari and started a race team call Scuderia Ferrari, tracing back to Alfa Romeo. Scuderia Ferrari continues on in Formula 1 racing… and Ferrari is sometimes ranked the number one brand in the world. But yeah… Enzo. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/29 "2016-03-10T15:47:53Z")
My sister is, in a roundabout way, named after Carly Simon. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/30 "2016-03-10T16:07:17Z")
My brother was named after [Robert Owen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen). It was fashionable in my parents’ circle at the time to name children after famous socialists but Mikhail Bakunin 74westy just didn’t do it for them. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/31 "2016-03-10T16:09:50Z")
Pretty sure I’ve got all of you beat - I have a friend whose full name is _ **Caius Julius Caesar Alexander The Great \** _. Yes, the whole thing. Yes, one of his middle names is “The.” Yes, his dad was very into military history. On a lesser note, I used to do business with someone named Elton John \. I know lots of folks in my generation who have named their kids after fictional or mythological characters - there are small children of my acquaintance named Ozma, Odin, Raistlin (called Ray), Corwin, Fenris, Gryphon (daughter of the above Caius), and several others that I can’t recall at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/32 "2016-03-10T16:13:10Z")
I have a grandson whose first and middle names are Nolan Ryan. Yes, it was deliberate. I knew a guy in the Navy whose name was Harley Fork. His parents were diehard bikers. I went to high school with a brother and sister named, respectively, Zachary and Elizabeth Taylor. One would perhaps be a coincidence, but not both. I have an ancestor named George Washington Fanning. One of his siblings was Andrew Jackson Fanning. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/33 "2016-03-10T16:13:12Z")
My baby name was taken from a then-famous actress in Bollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/34 "2016-03-10T16:35:28Z")
Some one on my ex’s side of the family named their daughter Savannah after the porn star. She liked her work. Granted she was a very talented actress. She was also drugged up and shot herself with a shotgun. Strange choice. I wish I was joking. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/35 "2016-03-10T16:38:34Z")
Uh, yep, \*\*Maggie the Ocelot \*\*definitely won the thread! > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I knew a Stephen King, but since he’s about the same age as the author, it’s certain that it’s pure coincidence. I wanted to name my daughter Misery, but was dissuaded. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/36 "2016-03-10T16:38:56Z")
A friend of mine has twin sons named Miles and Parker. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/37 "2016-03-10T16:57:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My younger brother is named Jerry Brown. My younger sister (before she married) was named Kathleen Brown. My older brother is named Pat Brown. Cool family, Charlie! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/38 "2016-03-10T17:27:44Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > A sibling has a first/middle name that is the first/last name of a then mildly popular actor who soon faded into obscurity. Basically no one would get the connection today. Just curious: who is it? You can PM me if you don’t want to post it here. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/39 "2016-03-10T17:28:58Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > My younger brother is named Jerry Brown. My younger sister (before she married) was named Kathleen Brown. My older brother is named Pat Brown. Is anyone named Edmund? That’s Jerry Brown’s legal name. Has anyone encountered a Barack? I understand there are surprisingly few of those. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522/40 "2016-03-10T17:37:40Z")
My wife has a friend (here in the US) who is from Colombia (born and raised) named Indira, after Indira Gandhi the former prime minister of India. Apparently this lady’s mom was a big feminist and a fan of the prime minister. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anybody-named-after-famous-people/748522.md?page=3)