# When name and talent align **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436 "2017-10-10T04:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/21 "2017-10-11T14:59:23Z")
There is a Calvary Baptist church two blocks from my office headed by Pastor Looney. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/22 "2017-10-11T15:55:21Z")
Alexander Graham Bell: I mean really? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/23 "2017-10-11T16:05:37Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > And so is Trump (Drumpf) No. There’s a difference between a stage name and a birth name, and Trump’s birth name is Trump. His father’s birth name was Trump. His grandfather’s birth name was Trump. > **[Frederick Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Trump#Surname)** > > Frederick Trump (born Friedrich Trump, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}German pronunciation: \[fʁi:dʁÉȘç tʁʊmp\]; March 14, 1869 – May 30, 1918) was a German-American barber and businessman. He was the patriarch of the Trump family and the paternal grandfather of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. > Born and raised... ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/24 "2017-10-11T16:35:07Z")
[Grant Balfour](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/balfogr01.shtml) was a major-league relief pitcher. He did, indeed, issue 252 walks in 539 2/3 career innings. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/25 "2017-10-11T16:37:29Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > He played for the Browns under coach Paul Brown. The Browns (the team) were, in fact, named for Paul Brown. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/26 "2017-10-11T16:38:57Z")
There was (maybe still is?) a gynaecologist in Omaha called Dr. Beaver. There is an orthopaedic surgeon at my local hospital called Mr. Chisel. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/27 "2017-10-11T16:40:29Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Ringo Starr is a rock star > [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Yeah, but that’s fake. 🙂 But he wasn’t a star when he first picked his name. He was just a drummer for a local band. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/28 "2017-10-11T16:41:28Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > On this side of the water, it is also one of many slang words for a fart. Is this really true ? if so, you just made my day
month
year !!! Thanks ! ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/29 "2017-10-11T16:41:30Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > There is a Calvary Baptist church two blocks from my office headed by Pastor Looney. 😃 In the 1960s, there was a running back in the NFL named [Joe Don Looney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Don_Looney), whose talent was overshadowed by his strange behavior. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/30 "2017-10-11T16:44:45Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > There is an orthopaedic surgeon at my local hospital called Mr. Chisel. When I was in college in Madison, WI in the 1980s, there was an orthopedic surgeon at a local hospital (who was regularly featured in TV ads for the hospital) named Dr. Bonebreak. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/31 "2017-10-11T16:53:22Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > When I was in college in Madison, WI in the 1980s, there was an orthopedic surgeon at a local hospital (who was regularly featured in TV ads for the hospital) named Dr. Bonebreak. He was the official orthopedic surgeon for the UW football team at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/32 "2017-10-11T16:53:25Z")
My dentists name is Dr. Payne. My son had a sergeant in the corps whose last name was Major
 So Sergeant Major. But, Ringo Starr was a small town star before he was asked to join the Beatles, His last name was Starkey, so I think it qualifies. I wonder if he legally changed it to Starr? ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/33 "2017-10-11T17:21:54Z")
My daughter has an orthodontist named Payne. We had a Dr. Slaughter here. I used to go to Dr. Hitchcock. There’s a well- known studio sax player named Jim Horn. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/34 "2017-10-11T20:19:37Z")
Perhaps one only for the computer scientists amongst us
 I once met a German CS professor Doctor Hash. He said he got tired every year explaining to the freshman data structures class that no, he didn’t invent the hash table and no, it wasn’t named after him. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/35 "2017-10-11T21:11:28Z")
And as an example of the exact opposite, the new Chief of the Police Bureau in Portland is an [Outlaw](http://www.kgw.com/news/local/outlaw-sworn-in-as-portland-police-chief/480280314). ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/36 "2017-10-11T21:35:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I wonder if he legally changed it to Starr? From what I can tell, his legal name is still Richard Starkey. And apparently his family and friends normally call him Richard. Only one source says he ever legally changed his name and that’s his bio at IMDB. But nothing else corroborates this and several sources dispute it. So I’m going to assume the IMDB bio is mistaken. Here’s an image of his [1965 marriage certificate](http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/590bdab4d0de4d2ea615921e9794be96/feb-02-1965-ringo-of-the-beatles-get-married-early-morning-wedding-e0x3wy.jpg) and a[bank document he signed in 1974](http://www.iconicauctions.com/ItemImages/000051/51210b_lg.jpeg). As a side note, his full name is Richard Starkey. He has no middle name. There are sources which claim that his middle initial is D. but apparently this was based on a misunderstood joke. Starr used to say Drumming was his middle name and on a few occasions referred to himself as Richard D. Starkey or Ringo D. Starr. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/37 "2017-10-11T22:03:33Z")
Interesting! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/38 "2017-10-12T00:22:56Z")
Magnus ver Magnusson is an awfully good name for the world’s strongest man. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/39 "2017-10-12T00:34:18Z")
I know you Americans don’t pronounce French names like we do in Canada, but the name Jeter, as in Derek Jeter is the French verb for “throw” and pronounce something like zsaytay. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436/40 "2017-10-12T00:43:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Reminds me of the old joke. > > [Carmen Electra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Electra) is an actress. Her real name is Tara Patrick. She changed it because she wanted something more glamorous for her career. > > [Tera Patrick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tera_Patrick) is a porn actress. Her real name is Linda Hopkins. She also changed her name because she wanted something more glamorous for her career. > > And the joke is that somewhere out there is a woman named Carmen Electra. She’s going to law school. And she plans on changing her name to Linda Hopkins before she graduates so people will take her seriously as a lawyer. You owe me a laptop. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Alexander Graham Bell: I mean really? Except he stole that patent. My father had a childhood dentist named Dr. Toothaker. And I new a guy named Winzer who ran a liquor store (I had to think about it too). There is a little kid whose parents hyphenated their names when they married: one was Cohen, and one was Gadol, so she is “Cohen-Gadol.” That translates to “High Priest” in Hebrew. She is so NOT a Cohen-Gadol type. I know two other people who were Brun and Goldman, and decided to be “Sienna,” you know, brown and gold mixed. I joked that it was good they weren’t Erdman and Wasserman-- they’d be “Mud.” It did not go over well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-name-and-talent-align/798436.md?page=3)