O, To Be Some Other Name! Trivia Quiz

Answer: William

William Bruce Rose, Jr. was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1962, and had quite a troubled childhood. His parents separated when he was two years old, and he was brought up by an abusive stepfather. Going to church and participating in the choir, as well as singing in the Bailey Trio with his step siblings, offered a needed release from home life.

He was seventeen when he learned about his real father; the discovery led him to become a bit of a juvenile delinquent. After being arrested more than twenty times, he left Indiana to go to California when the police threatened to begin charging him as an habitual offender.

While in California he formed a band called AXL, and legally had his named changed to W. Axl Rose after friends suggested that he change his name, which he did before signing his first record deal. Guns and Roses was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Answer: Wulf

Nicknamed Wolfgang as a child, Wulf Wolodia Grajonca was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1931. He was sent to the United States in the midst of the rise of Nazism during WWII as part of a program called One Thousand Children, and grew up in New York, earning a business degree and serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

He suffered much bullying because of his German accent and name. He choose the last name Graham out of a phone book and used the first name Bill in order to sound more "American". In the early 1960s he moved to San Francisco and became a concert promoter, making the Fillmore and Winterland Ballroom important to young stars, such as the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, who were trying to break into the music scene.

After his death he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a category for non-performers.

Answer: Anna Mae

Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939. While growing up she lived with different family members in towns and cities in Tennessee, singing in the church choir, and participating in school activities, such as cheerleading and basketball. When her grandmother passed away, she moved to St. Louis to live with her mother.

She was sixteen when she met Ike Turner in a club in East St. Louis. At first he was not interested in letting her sing in his band, but changed his mind after hearing her voice. Her first recording, "Boxtop" (1958), was made under the name Little Ann. A mistake by another artist in 1960 meant that she became the lead singer on Ike's song, "A Fool in Love", which led to a recording contract and put Tina in the front of Ike's band. Ike, influenced by "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" (1952), choose the name Tina for her (because it rhymed with Sheena) and added his last name. He trademarked the name so that the singer of his band could always be called Tina Turner. When "A Fool in Love" was released, Anna Mae officially became Tina.

Answer: Joanne

The very famous "Harry Potter" author, Joanne Rowling, was born in 1965. She originally had no middle name. When she began writing she was asked to use initials; the publishing company was afraid that young boys wouldn't readily read books by a female author. She choose "K" because Kathleen was one of her grandmothers' names and it alphabetically flowed after "J".

Rowling's "Harry Potter" book series became a huge success, selling an estimated 600 million copies, and spawning movies, as well as video games. She also writes a crime series using the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Answer: Eldrick

Tiger Woods is well known for his impressive golfing success, winning eighteen World Golf Championships and numerous other tournaments during his long career. But his birth name is Eldrick Tont Woods. His mother choose Eldrick between "E" was the first letter of his father Earl's name, and "K" was the first letter of her name, Kultida.

The nickname came from a friend of his father's, Vuong Dang Phong, who was a colonel in the South Vietnamese Army. Earl had served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, and gave Vuong Dang Phong the nickname "Tiger" because of his courage and bravery. Earl decided to pass that same nickname along to his son.

Answer: Caryn

Caryn Elaine Johnson, born in 1955, has had a long career as an actress, writer, and television personality. She has said that her stage name derived from the fact that people used to tell her she was like a whoopee cushion. "When you're performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom....So you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go".

Whoopie claimed in 2011 that she choose the last name Goldberg because she believed that she had a Jewish heritage. Her further comments leads one to think that she or her mother thought a Jewish-sounding last name would help move her career along faster. A DNA test that was featured on "African American Lives" (2006) showed that her ancestors came from West Africa. It also mentioned that her great-great grandparents owned land in Florida after the Civil War.

Answer: Shelton

Shelton Jackson Lee was born March 20, 1957. The fact that his nickname, Spike, was given to him by his mother when he was an infant is well documented. She thought he was tough!

Lee grew up to become a well known film director and producer. His company, 40 Acres and a Mile Fireworks, founded in 1979, has produced more than fifty films. Known for his ability to present relevant issues dealing with race, politics, and modern social problems, he has won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for "BlacKkKlansman" (2018) for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Answer: Wardell

Stephen Curry's was born on March 14, 1988, and named Wardell Stephen Curry II; he was named after his father, who goes by Dell. Dell had his own stand-out career as a basketball player. By the time he retired from the Charlotte Hornets in 2002, he was the team's all time leader in points, three-point field goals, and games played. From an early age, Stephen aspired to become a player in the NBA as well, and used a his middle name to differentiate himself from his dad. Stephen became Steph in college, a name that was used by his coach.

Curry has said that it isn't unusual for him to be called all three names in the same day - and that whatever name is used typically indicates how long the person using it has known him. Needless to say, though, he has gone on and made a career on his own in the NBA. In 2022 he was voted the NBA Finals MVP after his team, the Golden State Warriors, won the championship.

Answer: Robert

The great stuntman and performer, Evel Knievel, was born Robert Craig Knievel in 1938. He left high school to work in the copper mines in Montana, but was way more interested in becoming a motorcycle daredevil. He wrote that he was inspired to change his first name in 1956, after he spent a night in jail with William Knofel, who was nicknamed Awful Knofel! Come on! Who wouldn't be tempted with a last name like Knievel?!

Knievel went on to become a pop culture icon. From 1972-1977 the Ideal Toy Company sold $125 million in Evel Knievel related toys.

Answer: James

James Paul McCartney was born on June 28, 1942, and was named after his father, who was known as Jim. Paul has said that he went by his middle name to avoid confusion with he and his dad having the same name, and because he is Irish. Irish people have a tradition of using a person's middle name, as they believe that fairies look for human children using their first name, and steal them to replace with fairy changelings. In other words, calling their son Paul would confuse the fairy who might be looking for James instead.

Sir Paul McCartney, known for his work with the Beatles, Wings, and as a solo musician, once stated that no one ever called him James; he did, however, name his son James Louis McCartney, and he he does use the name James!