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Katy Perry last week lost a trademark dispute againse Katie Perry Alamy Stock Photo
Quiz

Quiz: How much do you know about these famous people who share the same name?

Last week, Australian designer Katie Perry won the right to sell clothes under her name, claiming victory in a trademark spat with pop star Katy Perry.
10.01pm, 16 Mar 2026
20.9k
11

SAME NAME, DIFFERENT fame.

Last week, Australian designer Katie Perry won the right to sell clothes under her name, claiming victory in a years-long trademark spat with US pop star Katy Perry.

The court found that the singer’s reputation was so well-established in Australia that anyone seeing the Katie Perry clothing brand would not confuse the two names.

The legal battle got us thinking about celebrities and famous people who share the same, or similar, names.

So in today’s quiz, we want to test your knowledge on famous namesakes:

This isn’t the first time Katy Perry has run into issues with people who share the same name. She changed her stage name to Katy Perry to avoid confusion with who?
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Kate Bush
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Kate Hudson

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Kate Moss
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Kate Winslet
An up-and-coming singer called David Jones also had to change his stage name to David Bowie to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. How did he come up with the surname “Bowie”?
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He liked bowties
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After jazz musician Lester Bowie

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In admiration of the Bowie knife
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After ice hockey player Russell Bowie
Michael Keaton, born Michael Douglas, also had to change his name. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) made him change it to avoid confusion with Michael Douglas of Wall Street fame. What reason has he given for choosing the surname Keaton?
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He was attracted to Diane Keaton
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In homage to Buster Keaton

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After actress Camille Keaton
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He looked up a phone book and it’s the first surname he saw
True or false: The late George Foreman had five sons, all of whom are also named George Foreman.
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True
False
Most of us know Michael Collins as the ‘Big Fella’, but what is his US namesake best known for?
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American Football player
US Senator

Pilot of Apollo 11 on first Moon-landing mission
Baseball player
Anne Hathaway shares a name with the wife of which famous playwright?
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Alamy
Henrik Ibsen
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William Shakespeare

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Arthur Miller
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Anton Chekhov
Actor and comedian Albert Brooks changed his name to avoid confusion with which famous face?
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Albert Einstein
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Albert Camus

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Albert "Al" Gore
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Albert Finney
True or false: Actor Michael B Jordan was named after basketball star Michael Jordan.
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True
False
Actress Jane Seymour shares a name with one of Henry VII’s wives. Henry VIII had six wives, what number was Jane?
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2
3

4
5
One Mick Jones is famous as being the original lead guitarist for The Clash. What band did another famous Mick Jones found?
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Foreigner
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Metallica

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Kiss
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Rolling Stones
Answer all the questions to see your result!
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You scored out of !
US Michael Collins
An out of this world namesake
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
Katie Perry
Winning at quizzing and in the courts
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
Bowie knife
Inspiration for one of the biggest names in music
Share your result:
Alamy
You scored out of !
Michael Keaton
Phoning it in
Share your result:

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