# "Office Space Michael Bolton" Syndrome: Feel free to share stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989 "2004-08-09T05:02:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/1 "2004-08-09T05:02:16Z")
I was thumbing through my high school yearbook the other day, just looking at some of the people and names. (BTW, “Sam and Max” was right: Swap yearbooks with someone you know that’s around the same age sometime. The same people go to every high school, they just have different names. 🙂 ) Anywho. I run across a fellow a couple years younger than I. Ricky Martin. No, not the Latino singer. Just a regular guy that happened to get screwed by pop culture a couple years ago. I wonder to this day if he changed his name to Rick, or Richard, or if he just weathered the storm and put up with all the giggling jackanapes. Anybody else know someone whose name got screwed by the fame of another? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/2 "2004-08-09T13:35:46Z")
In college in the late '80s/early '90s, I knew a guy whose name was Don Johnson. He got a lot of “no, really, what’s your name” remarks. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/3 "2004-08-09T23:24:39Z")
It’s only noticed in the geekier circles, but my husband has the same name as one of the supporting actors in the original \*Star Wars \* trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/4 "2004-08-09T23:32:32Z")
My daughter went to elementary school with a Courtney Cox. She’s only 16, and I think the famous one’s been famous for at least 16 years. This year, I’ll have a Rachel Green in my class (Jennifer Aniston’s character on _Friends_). I teach four-year-olds. I had a Michael Fox in my class a few years ago (middle inital wasn’t an ‘J’, though). I guess he’d be eight now. I can’t imagine saddling my kid with something like that, even if the person is likeable or if it’s a family name. Just too troublesome. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/5 "2004-08-10T00:10:19Z")
I went to school with a Richard Gear. Close enough. We were in California, too. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/6 "2004-08-10T00:17:20Z")
> [@cbawlmer](#): > > It’s only noticed in the geekier circles, but my husband has the same name as one of the supporting actors in the original \*Star Wars \* trilogy. You mean there’s more than one Wicket the Ewok? :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/7 "2004-08-10T02:53:14Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > This year, I’ll have a Rachel Green in my class (Jennifer Aniston’s character on _Friends_). When I was in school, I had a friend named Ernie Green, whose mother and sister were both named Rachel. Since I was born in 1959, it’s pretty obvious that neither Rachel was named after Aniston’s character. I went to college with a John Lennon (not named after the Beatle) and a Debbie Reynolds (whose name was inspired by the actress). My brother knew a Cindy Crawford who was older (and less attractive) than that model with the mole. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/8 "2004-08-10T02:55:53Z")
I have the same name (with a slight variation) as a fairly well-known criminal. I’ve had this urge to change my name for quite some time now. ---
**Author:** ![EnginNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ea924/32.png) [@EnginNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnginNerd)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/9 "2004-08-10T03:10:29Z")
There was someone a few years younger than me in my school district named Michael Jackson… He would have been born in the early eighties. Why would your parents do that to you? (even if MJ was a bit more normal back then) ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/10 "2004-08-10T03:50:12Z")
Back in the mid-80’s, I worked with a guy named Eddie Murphy, who was half Irish and half something else but definitely not African-American. He usually introduced himself as Ed, but since nearly every guy at work ended up with -ie tacked onto their name (Frankie, Jimmy, Paulie, etc.), he inevitably ended up being called Eddie. In my retail grunt days, I once processed a return for a high school-age kid named James Bond. The 007 franchise would have been about 10 years old when the poor guy was born; you’d think his parents would have been more sensitive to the fallout from a name like that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/11 "2004-08-10T04:26:10Z")
**sunfish** that reminds me. One former friend of mine, his roommate was Roger Moore. Not the actor of course (the guy is only in his twenties) but my friend used to joke his roommate was James Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/12 "2004-08-10T04:54:41Z")
I shared a dorm house with Kathleen Turner my freshman year. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/13 "2004-08-10T05:57:12Z")
I shared many of my undergraduate classes with a Jennifer Lopez – when the singer/actress was an elementary school student – and a Linda Lovelace, who tried (mainly in vain) to keep her first name a secret in favor of her middle name, Blanche. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/14 "2004-08-10T11:36:53Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > I went to school with a Richard Gear. Close enough. Did they let him near the class’ pet gerbil? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/15 "2004-08-10T11:58:50Z")
Alright, this one’s a stretch, but it’s the only one I can think of for now: there’s an episode of _Family Guy_ where Peter fears he has breast cancer. Trying to be reassuring, Meg says “Mom, Debbie Miller’s dad had a lump on his breast and he turned out okay.” “Really?” says Lois. “Who’s Debbie Miller?” “A girl I just made up.” The next day, just like I did every day, I sat down in drama class. Across the room from one Debbie Miller. I’m not sure if any of my friends were watching _Family Guy_, and I’m pretty sure Debbie didn’t know why I was laughing… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/16 "2004-08-10T12:48:51Z")
I am good friend with a white, non-tennis playing friend named Arthur Ash - no “e” like the tennis star. He goes, unsurprisingly, by “Art.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/17 "2004-08-10T12:50:37Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I am good friend with a white, non-tennis playing friend named Arthur Ash - no “e” like the tennis star. He goes, unsurprisingly, by “Art.” er… that’s “good friends with…” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/18 "2004-08-10T13:21:47Z")
I have a friend by the name of Michael Smith. He gets very tired of people asking if his middle initial is W. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/19 "2004-08-10T15:25:32Z")
I’ve got a good friend named Dave Thomas. It is easy to differentiate between him, the actor, and the fast food magnate who share his name because he is (1) several decades younger; (2) significantly thinner; and (3) black. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989/20 "2004-08-10T15:32:01Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s only noticed in the geekier circles, but my husband has the same name as one of the supporting actors in the original Star Wars trilogy. Hi, I’m Chewbacca Johnson, nice to meet you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/office-space-michael-bolton-syndrome-feel-free-to-share-stories/258989.md?page=2)