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Name's the Same/Real vs. Fictional: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Before adding to this list, ask yourself whether it would make more sense to [[All The Tropes:Creating Disambiguation Pages|create a disambiguation page]] for same-named works instead. If you're adding same-named characters, please continue!
<!-- %% This page is sorted by name -- kindly respect this. -->▼
▲<!-- %% This page is sorted by name -- kindly respect this. -->
== A ==
* 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."
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** 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]].
* '''Big O''': A [[The Big O|mecha series]]? A character in a [[Shel Silverstein]] book? A stadium in Montreal? An Ohio orange juice reference? A tire store? Or [[The Immodest Orgasm|something else entirely]]?
** 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''.
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* 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.
* '''[[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]''': A punk rock band known for their song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SObti-rcOWY Heart of Glass], [[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]] the mother of a certain Baby Dumpling, [[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly|a mysterious gunslinger with a poncho]], and [[Adolf Hitler|a certain dictator's]] dog.
* '''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.
** Or with Go player [https://web.archive.org/web/20130707160401/http://users.eniinternet.com/bradleym/ Milton Bradley].
** Not to mention Paul O'Neil, the baseball player, or maybe the former Treasury Secretary.
* '''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130925220743/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0140233/ Adam Brody]''' of ''[[Stargate Universe]]'' is not [[wikipedia:Adam Brody|Adam Brody]] the actor.
* 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.
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** 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".
** If he's in professional wrestling, [[Charlie Brown From Outta Town|he's from out of town.]]
* 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...
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* '''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]]?
* '''David Copperfield''': [[David Copperfield (novel)
** 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]].
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* '''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.
* In a particularly meta case, '''[[Chieko Honda]]''' was a voice actress, and
* '''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]]''.
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* '''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?]]
* '''Boris Johnson''' is
* '''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.)
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** 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.
* '''Mike Jones''' once said on a Missy Elliott song that he "can't be cloned". He probably never met the pro wrestler known as [[
* '''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.
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* '''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!''
* '''John McIntyre''' is a [http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8449439 retired NHL player], a [http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/ political blogger], and a fictional surgeon on [[
* '''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.
* '''George Michael''': [[Arrested Development (TV series)|a young man who has a crush on his cousin]] or a [[George Michael|British singer]]?
** Or a [[wikipedia:George Michael (sportscaster)|sports broadcaster]].
* '''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]].
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== O ==
* '''Miles O'Brien''': [[Ascended Extra|Starfleet engineer]] on ''[[
** Fittingly enough, the news anchor hosted a web series about space travel.
== P ==
* '''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.
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* '''Jerry Robinson''': [[The Bob Newhart Show|Chicago orthodontist]], comics artist and creator of [[Batman|The Joker]], or '80s NFL linebacker?
* '''Steve Rogers''': [[Captain America (comics)|Superhero]] in a red, white, and blue uniform; or [https://web.archive.org/web/20110205212318/http://www.itemsofpotentialinterest.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/steve-rogers-1981-fleer-1.jpg baseball pitcher] in a red, white, and blue uniform?
* '''Marco Rossi''' is not only the name of two fictional characters (one of them being a playable character in the ''[[Metal Slug]]'' video games, the other the protagonist of the anime series ''[[3000 Leagues in Search of Mother]]''), it is also named of several Italian people (including two football players and sexologist), since "Marco" and "Rossi" are both common Italian names.▼
* '''Ruby Rose''': actress/VJ who's been tapped to play Batwoman, or [[RWBY|cartoon protagonist character]]? (Either way, in October 2018 McAfee said "No other celebrity was more likely to land users on websites that carry viruses or malware", so don't Google her.)
▲* '''Marco Rossi''' is not only the name of two fictional characters (one of them being a playable character in the ''[[Metal Slug]]'' video games, the other the protagonist of the anime series ''[[3000 Leagues in Search of Mother]]''), it is also named of several Italian people (including two football players and sexologist), since "Marco" and "Rossi" are both common Italian names.
* '''Andrew Ryan''': Objectivist [[Big Bad]] of ''[[BioShock (series)]]'', or [https://web.archive.org/web/20120531055202/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/andrew-ryan/ a television critic for The Globe and Mail]?
== S ==
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* '''Sebastian Shaw''': [[X-Men|Mutant]] or [[Star Wars|Anakin Skywalker]]?
** Same could be applied to '''[[Dragon Age II|Hawke]]'''.
* '''Brooke Shields''' could be [[Brooke Shields|the actress, socialite and one-time supermodel]] or an unseen character who is being saved from drowning by [[Fast Times at Ridgemont High|Jeff Spicoli]].
** The Brooke Shields from ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' was actually named after one of [[Cameron Crowe]]'s classmates.
* Oh, it's '''[[Kei Shindou]]'''! Are you a [[Seiyuu]] who used to be a [[Cosplay Otaku Girl]], or that girl from the [[Ef]] series?
* '''[[The Simpsons (animation)|Mona Simpson]]''', mother of Homer, shares her name with the biological sister of [[Apple Macintosh|Steve Jobs]].
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* Try to talk about '''Dr Spock''' the pediatrician without people making ''[[Star Trek]]'' jokes.
* The [[Sega]] [[Homestar Runner|Homestar]] '''Star Projector'''.
* '''Tony Stark''' is ''[[Iron Man]]''. Another Tony Stark played Chris in ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140312134540/http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Night_of_Horror_1981.aspx Night of Horror]'', a movie that was so ineptly produced you'd seriously think it was made [[Memetic Mutation|in a cave! With a box of scraps!]]
* '''[[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]]''?
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* '''Nietzsche''': [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nihilist philosopher]] or [[Yggdra Union|a cute mermaid]]?
{{tropesubpagefooter}}
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