Name's the Same/Real vs. Fictional: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

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* There's an evil organization in the [[Marvel Universe]] called '''AIM''', no relation to the Internet service. This can lead to very funny reactions when your friends who don't read comics find sentences in your fan-fics like "We suspect AIM of involvement in the deaths of the astronauts."

** Then there's the conservative media watchdog group AIM (Accuracy In Media).

** Or AiM, a stage name of seiyuu/singer [[Digimon Adventure|Ai Maeda]].

* '''Steve Austin''': A [[The Six Million Dollar Man|bionic superman]], or a [[Stone Cold Steve Austin|beer-swillin', finger-gesturin' toughest SOB on the planet]]?

* '''Barbie''': A [[Barbie|famous doll]], or a [[wikipedia:Klaus Barbie|Nazi war criminal known as "The Butcher"]]?

* '''Sam(uel) Beckett''': Hero of ''[[Quantum Leap]]'' or famous playwright?

** In addition, one of the shows that ran opposite ''Quantum Leap'' during its run was ''[[China Beach]]'', which ALSO had a regular character named Sam Beckett.

* '''Mary Bell''': when you hear this name what little girl do you think of? Is she an insane British [[Enfant Terrible]] [[Serial Killer]] that liked to torture and murder toddlers in the 60's or a sweet Italian [[Magical Girl]] cartoon character from the early 90's that likes [[Green Thumb|using flowers to fight evil]].

** Or maybe one of [[Zack Ryder]]'s [[Z True Long Island Story|Broskis]]?

* '''Ryan Bingham''': The award-winning singer/songwriter, or [[George Clooney]]'s character in ''[[Up in the Air]]''? Coincidentally, non-fictional Ryan Bingham won an [[Academy Award]] for songwriting the same year George Clooney was nominated for playing fictional Ryan Bingham in ''Up in the Air''.

* A minor character in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Richard III]]'' is referred to as '''Sir James Blunt'''. The real person the character is based on was actually named James Bl'''o'''unt.

** '''James Blunt''' the musician/soldier was also born James Bl'''o'''unt.

* '''Michael Bolton''': A disgruntled [[Office Space|software engineer]] shared his name with a [[Michael Bolton|no-talent ass-clown]] (those are the engineer's words, of course).

* A '''[[High School Musical|Troy Bolton]]''' was beaten to death by ex-fugitive Raymond Ross, as told on the Discovery Channel's ''I Almost Got Away with It''.

* Baseball player '''Milton Bradley''' is not to be confused with the board game company Milton-Bradley.

** Not to mention Paul O'Neil, the baseball player, or maybe the former Treasury Secretary.

* Although the comic character never got to kick the football, there have been a Chicago Bears defensive back, a New Orleans Saints running back, a Washington Redskins wide receiver, and a USC offensive lineman named '''[[Peanuts|Charlie Brown]]'''.

** Charlie Brown is also the civilian identity of [[DC Comics]] supervillain Kite Man, which raises some questions about that round-headed kid who struggles with the Kite-Eating Tree.

** There's also an Australian technology journalist working for the [[Nine Network]] named Charlie Brown, and there was yet another who worked on the development of ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''.

** Then there's ''Charles'' Brown, a blues musician best known for penning the holiday classic "Merry Christmas, Baby".

* In [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s ''Vile Bodies'', the fictitious Prime Minister of the UK is named Sir '''James Brown'''. One can assume that his political platform was one of getting down.

** Even funnier when the real Prime Minister of Great Britain between 2007-2010 ''was'' James Brown, but he went by his middle name, [[Gordon Brown|Gordon]]. Presumably to avoid the obvious jokes...

** There's also a psychobilly musician named Joe Buck.

* '''Kate Bush''': [[Kate Bush|a beautiful and amazingly talented but notoriously reclusive British singer with her own unique style of music]] [http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Kate_Bush or a character who met a nasty end on Gundam].

* '''John Cage''': Employer of [[Ally McBeal]], avant-garde composer, or ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' fighter "Johnny"?

* Is '''James Carter''' [[Jimmy Carter|the 39th President of the United States]] or a loud-mouthed LA cop from ''[[Rush Hour]]''?

** Or is he an old-time blues singer who contributed the song "Po' Lazarus" to the soundtrack of ''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]''?

* '''Michael Collins''' is the name of an astronaut, one of [[Marvel Comics|Deathlok]]'s alter egos, and General Michael Collins of the Irish Republican Army.

* '''Sarah Connor''': Mother of the [[Terminator|future human resistance leader]], or [[wikipedia:Sarah Connor (singer)|German pop singer]]?

** A common [[Sitcom]] gag involves characters going to see a Copperfield performance, and getting the one other than they were expecting.

* '''Alice Cullen''', [[Twilight (novel)|quirky vampire]] or [[Law and Order UK|murdered nurse]].

* '''Edward Cullen''' is a [[Twilight (novel)|sparkly vampire]]. [[wikipedia:Edward Peter Cullen|Edward (Peter) Cullen]] is a Roman Catholic Bishop. And [[Peter Cullen]] is [[Transformers|Optimus Prime]].

** A National Guardsman firefighter changed his legal name to Optimus Prime.

* Is '''Frank Drake''' a reluctant vampire hunter from a 1970s [[Marvel Comics]] series or an astronomer famous for his ideas about extraterrestrial life? Even their Wikipedia pages have redirects!

* '''Michael Emerson''' (a.k.a. [[Lost|Benjamin Linus]]) is also the name of the head physician in ''Whose Life Is It Anyway?''

* '''Mike Evans''' was a co-creator of the TV series ''[[Good Times]]''. '''Michael Evans''' was the name of the younger son on that series. However, the real-life Evans was not the basis for the fictional Evans. According to [[The Other Wiki]], the series was actually based on the childhood of the series' other co-creator, Eric Monte.

* '''Jorge Garcia''': actor from ''[[Lost]]'' or [[Backyard Sports|geeky 9-year-old]]?

* '''Kurt Godel''': Logician who showed the limits of proof, or [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] villain?

* When you say '''Archie Goodwin''', do you mean the assistant of [[Nero Wolfe]], or the [[wikipedia:Archie Goodwin (comics)|comic book writer and editor]]?

* '''James Gordon''': [[Batman|Gotham City police commissioner]] or Canadian folk singer?

* There is a real disc jockey named '''[[wikipedia:Meg Griffin (radio personality)|Meg Griffin]]'''. One has to wonder how she feels about having to share the name with possibly [[Family Guy|possibly the biggest]] [[Butt Monkey]] in the history of cartoons.

* '''Sergei G''u''rlukovich''', the former GRU colonel from ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'', is one letter off from '''Sergei G''o''rlukovich''', the Russian soccer player. In the Japanese version of ''MGS'', his name was actually pronounced ''Gorlukovich'', so it's possible they changed his spelling on purpose.

* '''Scott Hall''': [[Professional Wrestling|Pro wrestler]] once known as [[Scott Hall|Razor Ramon]], or [[The Venture Brothers|Monarch Henchman #1]]?

* '''Roy Harper''': <s> Speedy. Arsenal.</s> [[Green Arrow|Red Arrow]] or English folk singer?

* '''Kouta Hirano''': Author of [[Hellsing]] or a [[Highschool of the Dead|Gun Otaku that can mow down hordes of zombies]]?

* People searching for information on the '''[[wikipedia:Croton capitatus|hogwort]]''', no matter how carefully they specify their search parameters, will get mostly [[Harry Potter]] sites.

* '''Anthony Hope''': author of ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' or optimistic, lovesick sailor from ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (theatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]''?

* '''Ryan Howard''': a first baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies, and a character on ''[[The Office]]''.

* Is '''Victor Hugo''' [[Victor Hugo|an author]] or [[Cars|a mean, beaten-up car]]?

* '''General Ike''', leading allied multinational forces against a destructive madman. Is this ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Path of Radiance'' or [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]?

** Ike's crowd cheer in the English version of ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Brawl'' plays with this a bit. "We like Ike" indeed.

** Also, Ike was the name of a powerful hurricane, which resulted in many jokes in the Smash Bros. community during September 2008.

* '''Kanae Ito''' is a minor character in ''[[Amagami]]''. [[Kanae Ito]] is a prominent anime voice actress. The fictional one, though, is voiced by [[Yuki Matsuoka]].

* A minor character in [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[Bleak House]]'' is named '''Michael Jackson'''.

** As is the real [[Brits With Battleships|General Sir Mike Jackson]].

* '''Hugh Jass''' the one-off [[Simpsons]] character, and '''Hugh Jarse''' the programmer for 1980s British software house Bug-Byte.<ref>"Ass" in American English is "arse" in British English, so these are effectively the same name.</ref>

* '''Arthur Jensen''' is a UC-Berkeley sociology professor (in)famous for his arguments in favor of a genetic and racial basis for human intelligence. He's also [[Network|the guy who told Howard Beale about Corporate Cosmology]].

* '''Avery Johnson''': Former NBA player and current coach of the New Jersey Nets or a [[Halo|Marine Sergeant Major for the UNSC?]]

* '''Kevin Johnson''': Former NBA player and Mayor of Sacramento, or Michael's alias on ''[[Lost]]''? (The show has a large number of characters and aliases named intentionally after real people or fictional characters. This one seems to be unintentional.)

* Helen Fielding's fictional character '''[[Bridget Jones]]''' should not be confused with the Bridget Jones who was a writer and occasional actress on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' (and eventual wife of fellow ''MST''er Michael J. Nelson.)

** The undead pirate was inspired by the folklore character, and Bowie changed his name because of the Monkees singer.

** There's also a recurring character with the name in the ''[[Bloody Jack]]'' novels.

* '''Tom Jones''' is the stage name of a Welsh pop singer as well as the eponymous protagonist of [[Tom Jones|Henry Fielding's novel]]. This wouldn't be an example, as the singer took his name from the book, except that a third Tom Jones wrote ''[[The Fantasticks]]'' and other musicals with composer Harvey Schmidt.

* '''Aleksandr Kerensky''': Prime minister of the Russian Provisional Government, or [[BattleTech|General of the Star League]]?

* '''Yu-Na Kim''': Olympic figure skater, or [[DJMAX|a baseball-playing]] [[Joshikousei|schoolgirl]]?

* '''Kimba''': [[Kimba the White Lion|A white lion cub who's the king of a jungle]], or [[wikipedia:Kimba, South Australia|a rural town in Southern Australia]]?

* '''Jason King''': NHL player, or [[Jason King|flamboyant novelist/detective]]?

* '''LBX''': Little Battler eXperience, the toys featured in ''[[Danball Senki]]'' or Little Blue boX, a Japanese band. Interestingly, the latter sang openings for ''Danball Senki'' PSP game and anime.

* The concept was given a humorous [[Lampshade Hanging]] by voice actor [[Troy Baker]], when he described his try-outs for ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'' - specifically, [[The Hero]] '''Yuri Lowell''': "Yeah, how bad a sign is it when they start [[Yuri Lowenthal|naming characters after actors]]? 'Hey, I wanna read for this guy. What's his name?' 'Um...[[Vic Mignogna|Vic Migna]].'"

* '''Alex Mack''': [[Tomboyish Name|girl]] [[The Secret World of Alex Mack|with weird powers caused by exposure to GC-161]], or the Cleveland Browns' first pick in the 2009 NFL draft?

* '''[[Modern Warfare|Vladimir Makarov]]''' was apparently also the name of a deceased Soviet-era soccer player.

* '''Hiroya Matsumoto''' is the name of [[Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman]]'s lead character, as well as the name of MagiYellow's actor in [[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]. Doubles as [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] when you notice both shows are [[Sentai]]: the former an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the genre, the latter a proper [[Super Sentai]].

* '''Scott McCloud''' is the ''Space Angel'', protagonist of the scifi cartoon of the same name that ran from 1962 to 1964. Except when he is the comic book writer and theorist, the creator of ''Zot!''

* '''Ronald McDonald''' was also the name of a [[Mall Santa]] at the Lake Forest Park Town Center in Washington State, and was charged with and plead guilty to child rape.

* '''Ichiro Mihara''' is either the president of the [[Angelic Layer|Piffle Company]], or the vice president of [[wikipedia:Arika|Arika]]. At least [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDJQP1xg5EY two] [http://bsixcentdouze.free.fr/tc/tgm-en/tgm.html fans] of Arika have made note of this.

* The classic Western film ''[[High Noon]]'' has a villain named '''Frank Miller'''. It's just a coincidence, since the film was made while [[Frank Miller]] the comics author wasn't even born, but the film's theme song about "shooting Frank Miller dead" is [[Hilarious in Hindsight|quite entertaining regardless]].

* '''Haruka Minami''', who is either [[Minami-ke]]'s [[Ms. Fanservice|hot]], [[Promotion to Parent|motherly]] [[Cool Big Sis|onee]]-[[Onee-Sama|sama]] or a [[Yaoi]] [[Shotacon]] [http://www.mangaupdates.com/authors.html?id=1813 author.]

** A different Mike Myers was a Major League reliever from 1995 to 2007, winning one World Series as a member of the 2004 Red Sox.

* Before '''Jack (okay, John) Napier''' wanted to know if [[Batman (film)|you'd ever danced with the Devil by the pale moonlight]], he invented algorithms.

* There's '''Willie Nelson''' the country singer and Willie Nelson the onion-spider monster from ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]''. The latter introduces himself to the Aqua Teens saying that he's not ''the'' Willie Nelson, but that his name is Willie Nelson.

* '''[[Alfred Newman]]''' was a legendary Hollywood composer who created the 20th Century-Fox [[Fanfare]] and scored countless films from the 1930s to the '60s. '''Alfred E. Neuman''', on the other hand, was a legendary "What, Me Worry?" mascot for ''[[Mad]]''.

* '''Ed Norton''' is the name of [[Edward Norton|an actor]] from such films as ''[[Fight Club]]'' and ''[[The Incredible Hulk (film)|The Incredible Hulk]]'', as well as Art Carney's character from ''[[The Honeymooners]]''. Carney says he got "To the moon, Alice!" jokes all the time, especially before he became famous (though it was Ralph's catchphrase in ''The Honeymooners'', Norton never said it).

** There's also an "Ed Norton Music" that turns up in the credits of such programs as ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' and ''[[Taxi]]''. Not sure whether it's named for a real person or just an homage to the Carney character.

* '''Pandora''' is either [[Avatar (film)|a dangerous jungle moon of planet Polyphemus]] or a small, potato-shaped moon of Saturn.

** And ''I'' thought Pandora was that cool online music site that introduces you to new music based on your existing favorites?

** And Adrian Mole's paramour.

* '''Linda Park''': [[The Flash|Wally West's reporter wife]] or the actress who portrayed [[Star Trek: Enterprise|Hoshi Sato]]? Her name plays a big role in why some people want her to play the comic book Linda if they make a Flash movie.

* '''Charles Parker''': [[Charlie Parker|jazz legend]] or character in the [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] mysteries?

* '''Mike Peters''' is [[Swingers|money and he doesn't even know it]]. He's also the cartoonist of ''[[Mother Goose and Grimm]]'' and lead singer of The Alarm.

* There's '''Jonathan Pryce''', the actor, and then there's [[Modern Warfare|John Price]], the SAS operator.

* '''Eric Raymond''': open-source software advocate or ''[[Jem|Jem and the Holograms]]'' villain?

* '''Richard Rider''': [[Nova|A space-faring superhero]], or the author of the ''Stockholm Syndrome'' trilogy?

* '''Robbie Robertson''' is a guitarist and songwriter formerly with [[The Band]], as well as [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|editor at the ''Daily Bugle'']].

* '''Chris Sanders''', one of the creators of ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]'', shares a name with a certain teen girl [[Gamer Chick]] played by [[Jennette McCurdy]] in the movie ''[[Best Player]]''.

* '''Sebastian Shaw''': [[X-Men|Mutant]] or [[Star Wars|Anakin Skywalker]]?

** Same could be applied to '''[[Dragon Age II|Hawke]]'''.

* Oh, it's '''[[Kei Shindou]]'''! Are you a [[Seiyuu]] who used to be a [[Cosplay Otaku Girl]], or that girl from the [[Ef]] series?

** Or possibly [[Xena: Warrior Princess|the god of war]]?

** Nah, he's the Detroit Lions' only good player.

* Try to talk about '''Dr Spock''' the pediatrician without people making ''[[Star Trek]]'' jokes.

* The [[Sega]] [[Homestar Runner|Homestar]] '''Star Projector'''.

* '''[[Lucky Starr]]''': Hero of a series of [[Isaac Asimov]] novels, or '60s Australian singer who recorded the original version of "[[wikipedia:I've Been Everywhere|I've Been Everywhere]]"?

* '''[[April Stewart]]''': Character on ''[[The Funky Phantom]]'', or voice actress on ''[[South Park]]''?

** Green Lantern is good for this, actually. There's also an astronaut named '''Guy Gardner'''. And, had an editor at National not thought it was a bit too on-the-nose, Alan Scott would have been named '''Alan Ladd''' (in reference to Aladdin, not to the actor who would debut a few years later. It's a good thing they decided against this, because at the end of the decade the real Alan Ladd got [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Alan Ladd|his own comic]].).

*** Bill Finger, the in-house co-creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern, used to tell the story that way. But after he died, Martin Nodell, who came up with the idea freelance and pitched it to DC, said he just flipped through the New York phone book with a pin that landed on "Alan" and "Scott". It's possible Finger tried to talk him into changing it (and was talked out of the change by the editor). All the same, Alan Scott ended up with ''two'' middle names: "Wellington", from a Golden Age story in which he thwarts a latter-day Napoleon, and "Ladd", because Roy Thomas forgot the first story and remembered the Finger anecdote.

* '''Walter Sullivan''', the name of the Antichrist-like [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Silent Hill 4]]: The Room'', is ironically also the name of a Roman Catholic bishop.

* '''Michael Symon''' is a chef featured on [[Iron Chef|the American version of a Japanese TV show]]. Mikey Simon is [[Kappa Mikey|an American actor on a Japanese TV show]].

* '''Chiaki Takahashi''' is the captain of the softball club in ''[[Sket Dance]]''. [[Chiaki Takahashi]] is a voice actress who is not in ''SKET Dance''.

* The hero of ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'' rails against the evils of villainous political boss... '''James Taylor'''.

** Also, there is a member of the Canadian legislature named Kevin Flynn.

** There's also a French politician named Georges Tron.

* '''Wang Yao''': [[Axis Powers Hetalia|personification of China]] or [http://www.physics.hku.hk/~wangyao/ Hong Kong-based quantum physicist?]

* '''Elizabeth Warren''' is the Assistant to President Obama. Another Elizabeth Warren is a [[Funny Foreigner]] in ''[[Softenni]]''.

** By a funny coincidence, there's also a character whose nickname happens to be Mac.

* '''Shelley Winters''' is both a mid-20th-century blonde actress (the mother in ''[[The Night of the Hunter]]'') and a [[Scary Go Round|red-haired webcomic protagonist]].

* '''Adam Young''' refers to both [[Owl City|a singer]] and [[Good Omens|the Antichrist]].

* '''Steve Zizzou''': New York lawyer or [[The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou|documentary filmmaker]]? (As mentioned in the film's credits)

* Is it any coincidence that '''Bill''' Henry and '''Lance''' Jagger, [[Those Two Guys]] responsible for [[Moral Event Horizon|Aaron Bacon's death]] while running North Star Expeditions, have the same first names as '''Bill''' Rizer and '''Lance''' Bean, the core protagonists of the [[Contra]] series? Add to the fact that they were even in the military earlier in life.

* [[Bones]] does not [[Studio BONES|create anime.]]

* '''Nietzsche''': [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nihilist philosopher]] or [[Yggdra Union|a cute mermaid]]?