If you have the same surname as a famous person

I have a common surname that a mass killer also had, we vetoed his name straight away as I couldn't do that to my child.

I knew someone called Ben Affleck but he was named this before the actor was famous.

DD has same name as someone who is a huge celebrity in a country we aren't likely to live in, but who could suddenly become world famous. I did nearly veto it, glad I didn't as DD is proud of her awesome namesake. Occasionally I get asked hey, you named her for ... ? And much laughter.
Tbh, names are rarely unique and if your child has name of good famous person, then if someone with same name does something terrible, it's less awkward.

I have a surname of a radio DJ. I wouldn't use his name and my surname for a baby.

If I had taken the name of my ex, I would have ended up with the name of a very famous actress.

if my surname was Tribbiani I absolutely would've named my poor child Joseph Frances🤣

otherwise no.
we have a very famous person adjacent surname by one letter, so instead of spelling it out I often use their name and say "that name plus S for Sierra".
none of us have their first name

No

We have a very famous soap opera charactors surname ( a wee bit old now so i might get away with it now…but not 20 plus years ago) and i really liked the first name but just couldn’t do it to the child 😀

Mine is very similar to a Scottish singers from the 80’s. My surname is my married name, so irrelevant really.

We considered naming our daughter the same as a famous poet. (Though poet is male- first name can be unisex). We didn't in the end.

DH has the same name as a 90s boyband star. Barely anybody makes the connection though the star wasn't a star when DH was born!

Damn pressed soon too early. Neither one can book a restaurant without being asked if they’re THE alpenguin’s sibling.

I have three brothers two of whom had to change their name for professional reasons as there were already famous people with the same name/of the same age. The third brother has no desire for fame but his name is the same as a very famous person too. It’s so unfortunate for them.

I had an ex with last name Davidson and I would have really considered using Harley for a girl's name if we had children.

My husband has Pitt but no, won't use Brad for our son's name. Don't know why, just not keen bit I guess if I liked the name Brad maybe I would!

My children’s surname ruled out a first name I liked. I’m bored enough (as is my husband) of saying “yes, like x” and “no, no relation”.

It’s not unique, but unusual enough to have that. As in you wouldn’t call your child Jason if your surname was Donovan, or Enid if your surname was Blyton. I’m quite glad husband talked me out of giving preferred first name as a middle name too.

I went to Uni with someone called Walter Disney

How could his parents do that to him??

Oh! how funny
What a x-post.

I wonder if it is the same chap?

I agree with most - it depends how iconic / famous they are.

It can always happen that something terrible happens long after you get your name. One of the best examples of that was the brother of a friend whose name was Adrian Mole. He would have been about 13 or 14 when 'The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and 3/4' came out.

Poor, poor lad

OTOH, current 'celebs' won't be known as they grow up, and common names (like Will Smith in your example) wouldn't have the association in the same way as far less common names.

Through work I met an Adrian Mole, he would have been a teen when the books came out.
One thoughtless colleague mentioned it to him and got her head snapped off.
The poor man must have suffered!

I have the same full name as someone famous. At least people remember who you are.

@BikeRunSki Hello Alice :)

We have an uncommon name which we share with a very famous actress. I wouldn't use the same first name even though its a nice one. Wouldn't bother me with a more common name though

I know a Barry Potter who gets a lot of smart-arse comments about Quidditch, in spite of the fact that it's not even the same name!

I also know a Jennifer Lopez (married name) but nobody ever comments on it to her because she's a very staid, self-contained woman who frankly doesn't invite frivolous chat. Although whenever I see her, I instantly get Jenny From the Block stuck in my head, but I keep it to myself!

If I shared a surname with someone very famous, I would probably try to avoid naming a child after that person, but it would only apply to people with Elvis Presley/Marilyn Monroe levels of fame, or people where there's a negative association, like Ian Brady or Peter Sutcliffe. I wouldn't be concerned about having a little George Clarke or Amanda Owen because there's little chance anyone will know who the famous person is in ten years.

I work with a Janet Jackson.

She's is very seriously fed up with the comments, which are legion.

It doesn't take much for people to make these connections. My married surname is slightly uncommon but not rare, however there's only been one famous person with the name, a footballer of yesteryear. Like @Bluey18, I was invariably asked "any relation to XXX?" whenever I gave my name (always by men), and now my DC get asked all the time too. They've only heard of the person through being asked if they're related to him. So I'd say that if the surname is distinctive, your child might get comments regardless of the forename.

Over the years I have taught a Philip Schofield , Ricky Martin and a John West . ( Yes I know John West isn’t a person) but his parents must have made the tuna connection . Once I know the child I only think about it as their name until a thread like this comes along . I suppose it makes it harder for random people to google you .

I agree with @RavenclawsRoar

Names like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson , Marilyn Monroe are iconic and will be around forever. But names of towie stars, Kate L@wler ... those kind of people, as successful as they are, they're unlikely to be household names in 15 years so I wouldn't let the surname /first name combo put me off too much

I was at school with a David Livingstone. He constantly had people, including teachers, saying "David Livingstone, I presume"

I'd avoid famous names. We ruled out two girls' names for that reason.