I share a name with a very famous professional athlete. I don’t even think about it usually but as soon as I have to give my name to someone I can pretty much count on some remark about the athlete by the same name.
I’ve dealt with this in many ways over the years but my most recent method is to pretend to have never heard of that famous person by the same name. That makes the conversation awkward and they usually move on.
Also, if you meet someone who shares a name with a celebrity, keep these things in mind:
- There is nothing you can say about it that is funny or clever. We have heard it all before. Just don’t.
- If you do have something to say about it that is truly original and absolutely hilarious, see the previous rule.
I have the same surname as one of the most important composers in music history from the 1500-1600. It wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t a musician, and a composer specifically, myself.
Every people I’ve interacted with in my trade has made some remarks on it, and if someone searches “[name] composer” they obviously won’t get to my music!
Have you heard of nominative determinism? I know that it applies for me personally