I will certainly admit that it was no fun growing up with the same name as a one-time famous baseball player. I couldn't even tell you how many times I got the old, "So, you related to the baseball player by any chance?" whenever someone would learn my full name. That being said, I could only imagine how horrible it must be for the folks who have the same name as big-time celebrities or popular fictional characters – and for proof, look no further than the poor bloke who had no idea his name would eventually become synonymous with that of a fictional boy wizard.

Oh yes, there's actually a real-life Harry Potter who lives in the UK, and is the same age as Daniel Radcliffe (20), the actor who portrays the fictional Harry Potter in all the films. Potter, who was born in 1989, had eight years before life became miserable – complete with, according to the Telegraph, "taunts from the public, phone companies and even a football referee."

Says the real Harry Potter: "My life has changed completely since the books were written. At first I thought it might be quite a good thing to have the same name. But now it is like someone has cast a bad spell on me, the reactions I get from people range from making fun to plain aggressive. People seem to forget that I was Harry Potter before the character. I was nine when the books first came out. Whenever I was playing up at school, the teachers would make some joke about my name, which soon shut me up. After 12 years of it I couldn't count the amount of times I've heard "You're a wizard Harry". It does wear a bit thin after a while. And I've heard all the puns about my wand." Poor Harry.

If you had the name Harry Potter, would you keep it or would you try to change it by now?