# Who is the most famous person whose name is routinely misspelled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710 "2023-11-26T10:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/1 "2023-11-26T10:50:27Z")
In this thread [Is Courtney Cox more famous than Bruce Springsteen? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-courtney-cox-more-famous-than-bruce-springsteen/993586/101) the OP is asking if Courteny Cox is more famous than Bruce Springsteen but s/he (the OP) spells it Courtney. It isn’t for several posts that this is picked up, and is used as evidence of her status as otherwise people would know how to spell her name. For the record until that post I also thought it was “Courtney”. What other celebrities consistently get their name misspelled, and any nmore famous than Cox? For this purpose I would exclude anybody whose Latin alphabet name is actually a transcription of a name in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/2 "2023-11-26T11:15:12Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Courteny Cox The really amusing irony here is that it’s actually “Courteney.” ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/3 "2023-11-26T12:42:09Z")
J.R.R Tolkien is regularly named Tolkein, even in discussions on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/4 "2023-11-26T12:51:48Z")
Dan ~~Ackroyd~~ Aykroyd. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/5 "2023-11-26T12:56:25Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > The really amusing irony here is that it’s actually “Courteney.” smackheadsmiley OK, surnames can be difficult, I was more thinking given names only. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/6 "2023-11-26T12:58:04Z")
Gordon Ramsay is somewhere in the running - there are numerous magazine and news articles misspelling his surname as ‘Ramsey’ - even people claiming that it’s a Mandela effect thing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/7 "2023-11-26T12:59:12Z")
Gandhi? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/8 "2023-11-26T12:59:42Z")
Also (not sure if he counts as ‘celebrity’) Gandhi. Really really common for people to write ‘Ghandi’ Edit: dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/9 "2023-11-26T13:16:03Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > > [@Cervaise](#): > > > > The really amusing irony here is that it’s actually “Courteney.” > > smackheadsmiley > > OK, surnames can be difficult, I was more thinking given names only. Either I am being whooshed big time or this is getting better and [better](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surname): > A **surname** , **family name** , or **last name** is the mostly hereditary portion of one’s [personal name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name) that indicates one’s family. Cox is actually quite easy, even for me. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/10 "2023-11-26T13:16:53Z")
I was referring to the 2 preceding posts, with th esurname bit ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/11 "2023-11-26T13:20:44Z")
Ah, now I get it. But I think this is an unnecessary limitation. As a matter of fact, all suggestions so far are surnames, only your example was a given name. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/12 "2023-11-26T13:41:28Z")
I have trouble remembering that Hillary Rodham Clinton has two ls in her first name. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/13 "2023-11-26T14:06:15Z")
Arnold Shwartzenegger is pretty famous, and I’m sure his name is routinely misspelled. I didn’t look it up and I have no idea if I spelled it correctly or not. ETA:I at first missed the addendum that the OP was looking more for given names. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/14 "2023-11-26T14:13:32Z")
Isiah Thomas (the OG one, not the newer player with almost the same name, save for the spelling.) That one always gives me pause. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/15 "2023-11-26T14:16:16Z")
Katharine Hepburn may be in the running. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/16 "2023-11-26T14:19:37Z")
Saoirse Ronan. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/17 "2023-11-26T14:21:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Isiah Thomas (the OG one, not the newer player with almost the same name, save for the spelling.) Likewise [Jhonny Peralta](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhonny_Peralta). ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/18 "2023-11-26T14:40:24Z")
I feel like this is a good place to link to one of Cecil Adams’ classic Straight Dope columns: “How are you supposed to spell Muammar Gaddafi/Khadafy/Qadhafi?” [https://www.straightdope.com/21341687/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi](https://www.straightdope.com/21341687/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi) ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/19 "2023-11-26T14:57:44Z")
“Freddy” Mercury. No. It’s Freddie. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/20 "2023-11-26T15:21:02Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Arnold Shwartzenegger Schwartzenegger (Gaudere strikes again!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710.md?page=2)