What’s in a name? Plenty. Look at the effort to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico years ago. Not much response, because in Spanish, “No va,” means no go.

And there are oddities in names, such as Conway Twitty, who was born Harold Jenkins. Feeling that his name was not particularly appealing for an entertainer, legend has it that he opened a map of the United States, and poked an index finger down twice. He got Conway, Ark. and Twitty, Texas: Thus was born Conway Twitty.

As for movie stars, there are some real changes. Here are some examples: Cary Grant was born Archibald Leach, a name that belies his debonair persona; Rip Torn was Rual Elmore Torn Jr.; Fred Astaire was Frederick Austerlitz; and Michael Caine originally was named Maurice Mickelwhite.

Mel Brooks was born Mel Kaminsky; Alan Alda was Alphonso D’Abruzzo; and Julie Andrews was Julia Wells. Then there’s Brigitte Bardot, the French mountain range, whose given name is Camille Javal. Actually, I like Camille Javal better than “BB.”

Sometimes, actors pretty much retain their names. Sean Connery is one, although his full name is Thomas Sean Connery. Not to mention Tim Allan, whose real name is Tim Allan Dick, but a promoter felt that he’d be better off using his middle name as his last. Jimmy Stewart actually was named James. Using a nickname seems like a good way to go.

Some may recall Steven McQueen, who became Steve after his first role, in the movie “The Blob.” His full name was Terrence Steven McQueen, so there’s another case of a guy pretty much keeping his real name. Not so Tom Cruise, though, who really is Thomas
Mapother IV: Hey, maybe he’s related to Illinois Valley? Probably not. Then there’s one of my heroes, the one and only Roy Rogers. His real name was Leonard Slye, which sounds like a name that Harold Jenkins might have used. Conway Twitty? Weird.

As for me, I was Robert or Little Robert until the seventh-grade. Then I became Bob to everyone except my family. A few friends called me Bobby. Others called me Rod or Roddo. Some who were not my friends called me names which we shall not print here. However, during a college journalism conference at Disneyland in the ‘60s, our adviser called me an “inconsiderate bastard.” During dinner he apologized, saying that I was not really a bastard, just inconsiderate.

I don’t know why my parents named me Robert, although I think it was the name of one of my grandfathers, neither of whom I ever saw. I do know, because my Dad told me, why my middle name is Rene. He was working at a San Diego aircraft company during World War II, and kept hearing a supervisor named Rene Rodriguez being paged. Hence, I am RRR.

I’m also El Jefe to some, which stems from the famous Perry White line in the “Superman” series. Perry was the editor of the “Daily Planet” in Metropolis, famous for shouting, “Don’t call me chief!” As I have a Mexican connection in my background, and jefe means chief; well, you can figure it out.

So, signing off for this week: Robert “Roberto” Rene Rodriguez, who is thinking of changing his name to Bobby Jefe RRR. Not really, I’m happy to be just Bob. Or as one friend was fond of repeating, “Call me anything you want; just don’t call me late for dinner.”