# 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:** 3
**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, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/41 "2023-11-26T21:34:22Z")
Oh, well, then: Jesus? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/42 "2023-11-26T21:48:53Z")
I don’t think it makes sense to talk of the correct spelling of Jesus’s name. The name he used existed a long time before him, and there are many people today who use a version of that name. The most common version in the U.S. is Joshua. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/43 "2023-11-26T21:53:08Z")
Willem Dafoe. mmm ---
**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, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/44 "2023-11-26T21:58:24Z")
Andruw Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/45 "2023-11-26T22:22:15Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Willem Dafoe. Note that he changed his name (informally) from William to Willem. ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/46 "2023-11-26T23:00:03Z")
The Berenstain Bears are fictional, but sort of counts since they are named after their writer/illustrators Stan and Jan Berenstain. I had never heard about them until the Mandela effect went viral on the internet, so I’m not sure they are that famous. But apparently a lot of people who cared a lot about the books when they were kids thought they were the Berenst_ **e** _in Bears. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/47 "2023-11-26T23:04:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > For that matter, I’ve seen Isaac Asimov’s name spelled Azimov about a zillion times. I got Asimov to autograph the Galaxy (November 1952) with _The Martian Way_ on the cover. His name was spelled Issaac Asimov. He was still pissed at Gold for this. (This was at the 1972 Worldcon, IIRC.) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/48 "2023-11-27T00:30:57Z")
Too many people named Steven and Stephen to count… Not mention the confusion between Sean, Shawn, and Shaun… ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/49 "2023-11-27T00:37:34Z")
Yeah. I’m going with **Ceasar** or is it **Caesar** or **Cesar** or **Cesare**? I just don’t know. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/50 "2023-11-27T00:50:01Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Willem Dafoe. > > Note that he changed his name (informally) from William to Willem. And he pronounced his name Day-foe until he started getting acting credits. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/51 "2023-11-27T00:53:35Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Barbra Streisand? > > since so many names with Barbara - Even _she_ “misspells” her own name - she was named “Barbara” but decided she wanted to stand out. (Although of course whatever spelling she decided on _is_ the correct spelling) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/52 "2023-11-27T00:56:34Z")
Hari Seldon was spelled Hari Sheldon on the flaps of the first volume of the first printing of the Foundation Trilogy. Then it was spelled Hari Sheldon again on the second volume. There are no words, although I’m sure Asimov thought of some. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/53 "2023-11-27T01:00:17Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > For this purpose I would exclude anybody whose Latin alphabet name is actually a transcription of a name in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic etc. I guess this excludes Jesus 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/54 "2023-11-27T01:01:19Z")
Wasn’t the bible written in American? ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/55 "2023-11-27T01:12:20Z")
"It’s **HEDLEY!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Cwturner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Cwturner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cwturner)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/56 "2023-11-27T01:22:57Z")
Jesus H Christ? ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/57 "2023-11-27T01:25:13Z")
Edgar Allan Poe. His middle name is Allan not Allen. It’s not a first name. He took the name to honor John and Frances Allan, who raised him after his mother died. ---
**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 27, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/58 "2023-11-27T01:39:36Z")
Also Philip/Phillip. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/59 "2023-11-27T03:15:11Z")
1. **Montezuma:** (spaketh somebody online) “He held the title of Huetlatoani, which in the Nahuatl language means “Great Ruler.” The name Montezuma II is commonly used by English sources and literature. However, the most correct approximation from Spanish to Nahuatl is **Moctezuma II**.” I’ve read many times that his name was never pronounced “Monte Zuma” 1. **Sacajawea** is properly pronounced with a hard “g”. There is no “j” sound in her name. ---
**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 27, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710/60 "2023-11-27T03:50:57Z")
There’s the three members of The Who: Roger Daltry, John Entwhistle ant Pete Townsend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-person-whose-name-is-routinely-misspelled/993710.md?page=4)