Probably either:
Richard, fitness guru
Gene, heavy-metal rock star
Man, I really hope that one of my kids gets incredibly famous for something or other. This is not looking good …
Historically? Clara Barton. Famous as a nurse, abolitionist, suffragette and as the founder of the American Red Cross.
Currently? Joe Barton, politician. Or Mischa Barton, actress. Or maybe Joey Barton, English footballer and violent thug.
Another rare name. Googling around, I’ve found a long-dead priest/author/editor who shares the name, and a living cardiologist who has published a lot of research papers.
Well there is that tart from the emerald isle, a bunch of Texans for no good reason and a college prof or two…
I think the tart is the most famous.
Just thought of one more. I don’t know if you could call him “famous,” but there is a judge in Texas, possibly retured now, with not only my family’s last name, but also the first name of my uncle in California. This judge seems to be rather high profile, making it in the news frequently. That could come from trying criminal cases in a major metropolitan area. He is no relation to us, however.
There’s a now deceased actor with my last name. His most famous character is now being played by someone else who is making a lot more money.
OK… there’s the one with the last name who signed the Declaration of Independence, the one who was in FDR’s cabinet, the one who played a Musketeer, the one who played Hannibal Lechter… none of whom are even remotely related ( although I Really like the phrase “Inter Primus”; that and its Heraldry came very close to appearing on my shoulder blade)
Gee, they range from NFL football players to actors to lawyers to multimedia artists to scientists to makers of specialized emergency vehicles.
Any guesses?
A director of action films.
The 35th President of the United States, and his family.
My last name is Jones. I wouldn’t even know where to start. We could have an entire thread on who the most famous Jones is.
A former US Congressman from Philadelphia.
The Attorney General of the United States during the Taft Administration.
Also Dr. Seuss wrote about us.
There’s the Sutter family, one of the big NHL dynasties. And of course, there’s John Sutter of Sutter’s Mill, and the 1849 Gold Rush.
And no, as far as I know, there’s no relation.
I have the 3rd most common last name in the english speaking world. The wiki disambiguation page containing my first and last name contains 11 different people of varying degrees of fame, including 2 NFL players, and the drummer for a moderately well known band. The page for just the last name contains over a hundred names. Whom to choose, whom to choose…
Apparently my surname is the 10th most common in the US, but the only celebrities who come to mind are Arsenio Hall, or Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates (not my generation, but I come from a family of musicians).
Cool. I’m from the same Howard family as Taft and his decendants. My mother and one of my brothers had the middle name Howard.
Sergio Leone
A blonde bombshell from the 50s and 60s.
Sadly, I guess it’s Ted.
My maiden name was much cooler - a famous aviatrix.