I was named after Astronaut Scott Carpenter, who flew about a month before I was born.
This dude
My mother is a big Elvis fan–within the bounds of reason, but definitely a big fan. Only ten years or so ago, I realized that my name (Jessica) bears a striking resemblanceto the name of Elvis’ stillborn twin brother (Jesse). I asked Mom about it, and while she insists that’s not where she got the name, she claims she should have thought of it, and it’s okay if I tell people it was on purpose. 
Both me and my brother’–His middle name is “Howard,” same as my mother’s. We’re from the same Howard family as President William Howard Taft and his descendants, and my middle name “Anne” is from my grandmother’s grandmother Anne Lucy Howard.
One of my roommates in college was named Alvin, after the chipmunk. His brother and sister were about 10 when he was born, and suggested the name to his parents, who didn’t know anything about the cartoon.
At least, that’s what his siblings told him about how he got his name.
And though he wasn’t named after anyone, my son, born Friday, shares a first name with a balding starship captain.
I was sorta-indirectly named after Carly Simon. My parents met a couple who had named their daughter after Carly Simon, and so my parents technically named me after a baby who was named after Carly Simon.
Me! I was named after a famous Indian actress.
:face falls: Oh. You’ve never heard of her.
I had a highschool friend named Rhiannon. I always loved her name.
Later, I found out her mom named her after the Fleetwood Mac song.
Yep, we were born in the 70’s.
Though not named after her, my mom liked the way Shari Lewis spelled her name and copied her. It was pretty unique when I was younger; now not so much.
Lilly or Marlene?
Myself- named after my father, who was named after Movie Art Director Cedric Gibbons.
Btw, I finally got your User Name! :smack: 
My father was in the military in the fifties, so I was named after President Eisenhower. Go me!
St. Gwendolen, who is rather less-known than Paul.
That’s excellent, I love Elizabeth Ogilvie’s books!
My guess is “Roxanne”.
I was named after this person. My mom already liked the name but after reading Katherine Marshall’s book, it was solidified.
My younger son is named after Benjamin Franklin. We did not name the older one after Aaron Burr, but sometimes we pretend we did, just to get the Revolutionary War package.
I don’t know if biblical people count for this thread (they are famous, after all), but I’ll participate anyway. My sister’s Sunday school lesson the preceding Sunday before I was born was about Daniel in the lion’s den, so she suggested that my name be Daniel (Dan for short).
My first name is Robert, officially in honor of an uncle who died before I was born, but the decision was cemented by the fact that my dad’s favorite baseball pitcher was the Cleveland Indians’ Bob Feller.
My sister is named Kathryn – that particular spelling was chosen because of my parents’ admiration for the actress Kathryn Grayson.
One of my dad’s cousins named a son Ronald after the actor Ronald Colman.
Not me, but my godchildren-
Jean-Luc, after the starship captain
Chani, after the character in Frank Herbert’s Dune series