Famous names in the area: Bobby Ball, Paul Scholes, Olivia Buckland, Sean Locke and James Brown

One famous name in the area is Paul Scholes.

Using the shared name to a comedic advantage, he recently told his son that he was the Manchester United ex-footballer, Paul Scholes.

His son didn't believe him at first so Paul decided to show him a snippet from Wikepedia in an attempt to convince him.

Paul, who lives in Stamford, said: "I thought it was a joke, not realising he had told all of his friends, who then told their parents."

When asked if there were any similarities between the two of them, Paul joked: "I would like to say I'm a good footballer but that would be a lie."

He added: "The good part is that he's not a celebrity out there doing stupid things, he's always one to keep his private life quiet."

Paul, a project leader at Cummins, first came across 'the Paul Scholes' when he was 13.

Unbeknown to him his grandmother had seen the footballer in the newspaper and contacted Manchester United explaining how her grandson shared the name.

To Paul's surprise a few weeks later he received a postcard with a signed photo of the footballer.

Bobby Ball, from Stamford, is often mistaken over the phone for the English comedian, actor, and singer.

The 75-year-old comedian Bobby Ball is known for being one half of the double act, Cannon and Ball, whose Saturday night show was popular in the 1980s.

While Bobby, 53, has never been bombarded by misled fans he decided to use his proper name, Robert, for work matters to avoid misunderstanding.

Previously when Bobby picked up the phone he was often greeted by 'rock on, Tommy' - a catchphrase heavily associated with the comedian.

Bobby said: "I think people started to mention it when I left school in 1982.

"It wasn't a major annoyance."

Bobby added: "He's not a very glamorous person to be associated with.

"I like a laugh, I was always joking in school but not the way he jokes though."

Stamford is also home to another comedic name - Sean Locke.

Despite the minor spelling difference, the 20-year-old chef has a name many people won't forget as it is the same as the stand up comedian.

The 56-year-old Sean Lock, is best known for his role as team captain on the Channel 4 comedy show, 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Sean said: "When I was younger I had never really came across anybody else with the name spelt the same way that I had.

"I spent my whole childhood bigging up myself on how much of a unique name I had, only to travel to Ireland and find out every second person you meet is a S-E-A-N.

"Then to grow up and find out not just that but there is a hilarious comedian with the whole same name as me really added to my embarrassment."

He added: "Other then the odd comical: 'Hi my name's Sean Locke, and you?' and the typical 'Oh go on then, tell us a joke', having the same name as celebrity hasn't really affected me in a poor manner.

"As expected, as with every person who unfortunately or fortunately - depending on how you perceive it - shares a name with a celebrity, numerous times when booking a table at a restaurant, organising a party or even just ordering a pizza I've had the: 'Shut up, the Sean Lock' or, on the other hand, 'This is obviously a joke I'm not believing this is Sean Lock the comedian'.

"On one of these occasions, for a table booking, I agreed it was 'the Sean Lock'. I got to the venue only to be met with hostility as they'd obviously caught on to what I did!

"That's the one and only time I've ever used the shared celebrity name to my advantage, and I can tell you it wasn't worth it.

"I pretended I didn't know what they were on about; I thought they were just confirming my name and continued to get angry stares and poor service all night.

"Despite that, I love him for the person he is and the comedy he portrays, I even aspire to be a bit like him - his carelessness is enviable."

Olivia Buckland, who lives in Deeping St James, came under fire when her namesake appeared on the popular ITV show, Love Island.

Love Island's Olivia, now Olivia Bowen-Buckland, appeared on the second series of the reality show and with her husband is the highest earning contestant to leave the show.

However, this has caused both positives and negatives for the 19-year-old Deeping St James resident, who shares her name.

Olivia said: "When first meeting people at university and introducing myself as Olivia Buckland I really enjoy seeing people's reactions and I suppose its a conversation starter, to break the ice."

The most negative experiences understandably happened while Love Island season two was taking place in 2016.

Olivia, student at Liverpool John Moores University, said: "All of my social media handles are my full name and during this time I was bombarded with new followers and messages, most of which were very unpleasant.

"During this time I was 15 and the constant hate messages felt like an invasion of my privacy; I got in contact with Olivia Buckland herself over Instagram and she wasn't very helpful about the situation at all, and suggested 'I change my name'."

She added: "I also use my name as my handle on Snapchat and nearly four years later still receive at least 10 requests a day."

A famous name who also grew up in the area is 27-year-old James Brown.

The American singer/songwriter James Joseph Brown - who died in 2006 - is known for his hit singles 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' and 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World'.

Our local James, who is originally from Bourne, said: "Wherever I go, and people ask for my name or read my name, they think it’s a joke.

"I made a reservation at a restaurant once, and they thought it was a fake name."

James was first made aware of the name similarity by his swimming instructor when he was only a young boy.

He said: "They were making James Brown song references and I didn't have a single clue, then I was told who he was and it all made sense."

While James 'loves a good song to sing' his life is very different to the American singer's.

He currently lives in Calgary as a behavioural therapist in a school for children with autism and in Summer as a white water raft guide.

If you share your name with someone famous and wouldn't mind being interviewed, let us know by e-mailing: maddy.baillie@iliffepublishing.co.uk.

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