There’s only 1 Caesar, or Slim Shady, or Charlemagne or Attila.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Among Greeks, if you say Alexandros (or Philip for that matter) then people will know who you are talking about. But basically, those names are still in use. Caesar became the word for leaders rather than a name, and it’s relatively rare as a first name.

    Charlemagne is actually Charles le magne which means Charles the Great. If you called him “King Charles” you’d need to be much more specific.

    I can’t speak for Attila, because I don’t know if the name is popular in any particular cultures. Certainly in the USA, the Hun king is the most famous Attila.

    Slim Shady is an interesting example, because its’s basically branding for Marshall Mathers aka Eminem. One of his first widespread hits was a song essentially saying that he’s the only real Slim Shady, and anyone else using that nickname is a copycat poser.

    • Simon_Shitewood@lemmy.ml
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      22 hours ago

      If you talk about Philip the Greek in the UK on the other hand, it absolutely does not refer to Alexander the Great.