# Most Famous Person With Your Family Name **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604 "2010-11-23T01:14:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/1 "2010-11-23T01:14:28Z")
Who’s the most famous person who shares your family (or in the West last) name? In the United States Seung-Hui Cho, Virginia Tech shooter ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/2 "2010-11-23T01:22:28Z")
My last name is not common - I rarely see it anywhere, but there is a car dealer in a major American city whose billboards litter the city. I get distracted seeing my name everywhere when driving there. Since it is uncommon, I am not going to name it. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/3 "2010-11-23T01:50:02Z")
A Nobel Prize winner no one’s heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/4 "2010-11-23T01:55:29Z")
My original last name is Felton. Tom Felton is pretty famous for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/5 "2010-11-23T02:04:13Z")
Langston Hughes and/or John Hughes. I have neither the literary talent of the first or the wealth of the 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/6 "2010-11-23T02:13:25Z")
Probably the actor Stephen Rea. Historically there are several that are famous in certain parts of the world, but not as well known now. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/7 "2010-11-23T02:14:05Z")
There are only 1600 people in the world with my surname - one of those lovely Ellis Island creations - and the most famous are the manager of a baseball team, and a sports writer for a paper in Massachusetts. After that, me maybe: you can get lots of google hits for my Bulwer-Lytton win in 2008 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/8 "2010-11-23T02:20:26Z")
My name is probably most widely known here in Missouri. Four different major league baseball players (one close to Hall of Fame quality), all of whom played (at some point in their career) in Missouri. “Are you related to . . .?” I get that a lot. No national or international fame or notoriety. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/9 "2010-11-23T02:23:33Z")
Pretty certainly me. My last name is very rare; as far as I can tell, there are about 30 people in the world who share it. And I’ve published much more than any one else with my name. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/10 "2010-11-23T02:23:54Z")
An assassinated U.S. President. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/11 "2010-11-23T02:24:22Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Who’s the most famous person who shares your family (or in the West last) name? > > In the United States Seung-Hui Cho, Virginia Tech shooter I’m pretty sure John Cho is more famous than that guy. While I knew the shooter was Korean, I would have no idea what the same was. Forced to guess, I would have guessed Kim just to play the percentages. Mine is Time’s Man of the Year. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/12 "2010-11-23T02:25:49Z")
A Hungarian pilot (no relation) with 11 confirmed kills in World War 2. Unfortunately, Hungary was on the side of the Axis in World War 2. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/13 "2010-11-23T02:41:14Z")
A Prime Minister of the UK. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/14 "2010-11-23T02:42:51Z")
> [@MareIt](#): > > Langston Hughes and/or John Hughes. I’d suspect that Howard surpasses them both (though, perhaps not as much anymore, since he’s been dead for 35 years). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/15 "2010-11-23T02:46:43Z")
I have a pretty uncommon surname, and, AFAIK, no one really famous has it. The most “famous” would be a guy who used to be fairly senior at Microsoft, and founded the company which provides real-time traffic data using the GPS systems in smartphones. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/16 "2010-11-23T02:57:50Z")
A poet/translator. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/17 "2010-11-23T02:59:25Z")
Either [this guy](http://www.kozakthemagician.com/) or [this chick](http://www.harleyjanekozak.com/about.php). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/18 "2010-11-23T03:05:06Z")
An overweight TV actor. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/19 "2010-11-23T03:08:01Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > My name is probably most widely known here in Missouri. > > Four different major league baseball players (one close to Hall of Fame quality), all of whom played (at some point in their career) in Missouri. For me, it’s a recent highly-touted Major-League baseball draftee. As far as I know he is the _only_ person with my surname that I’ve seen in the news and/or from historical records (tho I’ve seen it in fiction). He even has the same middle name that I do… Dang, I hate tip-toeing around the issue just to protect my online anonymity. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604/20 "2010-11-23T03:09:53Z")
I share my surname with a peanut farmer from Georgia. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-person-with-your-family-name/561604.md?page=2)