First Name / Last Name Repeats

English surnames are full of patronymics. Now, that’s just a fancy way of saying that you’re basically named after your father. You know, Johnson meaning “son of John” and Richards meaning “Richard’s son.”

Well, probably the last thing you want to do is combine your patronymic surname with the given name that spawned it. Not sure what I’m talking about? Well, here, let’s take a vide …


John Johnson – athlete
Safety for the Cleveland Browns, played college football at Boston College

John Johns – religious 
The fourth Episcopal bishop of Virginia, previously president of William & Mary

James Jamison – actor 
A Fiance for Christmas; Not Cinderella’s Type; Switched for Christmas; Love, Inheritance and Lunch …

Jack Jackson – musician
British trumpeter and band leader, BBC disc jockey 

William Williams – founding father
Signer of the Declaration (from Connecticut), patriot, merchant

Robert Robertson – actor 
Doctor Who, Taggart, Breaking the Waves, and other British TV shows you’ve never heard of

Robert Roberts – religious
Scottish leader of the Christadelphian movement, a “restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical Unitarianism”

Robin Robinson – journalist
TV news anchor, primarily in Chicago, once got into trouble for saying “There is no Santa” on air

Robin Robbins – marketing consultant
“Robin Robins is the IT industry’s most in-demand marketing consultant, sales trainer, and direct response marketing consultant who specializes in developing strategic marketing, sales and lead generation systems for MSPs, VARs and IT services companies.” (www.robinrobbins.com)

Edward Edwards – criminal / serial killer
On the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, reformed and became a motivational speaker … before heading back to prison again

Richard Richardson – military officer
Brigadier general from SC during the American Revolution, body was dug up & plantation burned down by Banastre “The Butcher” Tarleton 

Richard Richards – astronaut 
Flew on 4 Space Shuttle missions, commanding 3 of them; Capt., US Navy (ret)

David Davidson – musician
Lead singer & guitarist for Revocation, Berklee grad (cum laude), “firmly established himself as one of the leading artists at the forefront of extreme music” (www.davedavidsonsongguitar.com)

Thomas Thompson – author 
Mostly of true crime, won an Edgar award, former editor at Life magazine

Phillip Phillips – musician 
American Idol winner for season 12 (2012), song “Home” was best-selling single in Idol history

Andrew Andrews – basketball center
Former Washington Huskies guard who later played in Israel, Greece, Turkey & Latvia; teams include Panathinaikos, Büyükçekmece & Frutti Extra Bursaspor

Daniel Daniels – dancer
Broadway hoofer & Tony-Award-winning choreographer, had 74-year career

Daniel Danielson – screenwriter
American actor/writer/director/producer/voice talent; Banker Madness, Bulan Terbelah di Langit Amerika, Sam Gun: Dangerous Murderer …

Stephen Stephens – murderer 
“The Facebook Murderer,” filmed the killing of a 70-year-old collecting tin cans because he was “mad with his girlfriend,” then uploaded it to FB; shot himself when cornered by police; worked at a mental health facility (!?!?)

Steven Stevenson – academic 
Associate professor of chemistry at Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (IPFW); “Investigations of Newly Discovered OxoMetallic Clusters Inside Fullerene Cages,” “Novel Water-Soluble TNT Metallofullerene Derivatives for Imaging Applications,” “Nanocaged Metal Tags Massively Multiplexed Leukemia Bioassays and Beyond” …

Joseph Josephs – artist 
“Commercial and sign painter, folk artist and political figure in Buffalo”; known as “Buffalo Joe”; described as “a man of no small ego,” he painted numerous self-portraits

Joseph Josephson – politician
Alaskan lawyer; assistant to US Senator; Anchorage city councilman; State Co-Chairman, Joint State-Federal Land Use Planning Commission

Peter Peters – athlete
Australian rugby player, color commentator, born as Panoutas Peterides, nicknamed “Zorba”

Peter Peterson – investment banker
US Secretary of Commerce, Chairman of the Council of Foreign Relations, born Peter Petropoulos, married to Kris Krengel 

Paul Paulson – politician
Lawyer, candidate for mayor of Orlando & Florida Commissioner of Agriculture; involved in scam charity scandal

Nicholas Nicholson – art historian
Specialist in Russian decorative arts, especially relating to the Romanovs; formerly at Christie’s

Nicholas Nichols – knifemaker
Earned the 2020 Made in NC Award for the Home and Garden Category, former chef

Adam Adams – podcaster
Created podcasts on real estate, now owns a business supporting other podcasters

Adam Adamson – politician
Mayor of Invercargill (NZ), businessman, OBE, centenarian, born without a right hand

Alice Allison – TikTok celebrity
1.5 million views

So, overall not too bad. Nobody we could really call famous, but at the same time just a handful or murderers and criminals.