Athlete Names: Football faves
Two of the biggest success stories in boys’ names in recent years have been Peyton and Eli, which are of course the names of the football-playing Manning brothers. Names of sports stars often prove inspirational, and in this Super Bowl weekend it makes sense to look at football names.
As with other celebrities, being attached to a fantastic player with personal appeal is not enough to catapult a name to stardom. The name itself has to have something going for it too.
LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers is one of the best players today, for instance, but parents are hardly rushing out to honor him by using his less-than-easy name for their sons. Plus, many football greats just have regular guy names, like Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisburger, two of the stars of this weekend’s contest.
Still, football abounds with creative names you might find inspiring for your own little athlete-to-be. Here, some fascinating choices from the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the teams playing this weekend.
ANQUAN Boldin
BYRON Leftwich
CALAIS Campbell
CHIKE Okeafor
DESHEA Townsend
DEUCE Lutui
DONOVAN Woods (McNabb made this appealing name famous)
EARLY Doucet
EDGERRIN James
ENOKA Lucas
FERNANDO Bryant
HEATH Miller
HINES Ward
IKE Taylor
KARLOS Dansby
KEYARON Fox
LEVI Brown
MEWEDDE Moore
ORPHEUS Roye
SANTONIO Holmes
TRAI Essex
TROY Polanalu