History Main / OneSteveLimit

* Averted by the short-lived supergroup GTR, featuring progressive guitar heroes [[Music/{{Yes}} Steve Howe]] and [[Music/{{Genesis|Band}} Steve Hackett]].

* Speaking of Music/TheMonkees, they included Micky Dolenz (George Michael Dolenz) and Mike Nesmith (Robert Michael Nesmith), though ironically, both go by their middle name.

* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} averted the limit from 1969 to 1974, when frontman Music/MickJagger was joined by guitarist Mick Taylor, who bridged the gap between Brian Jones and Ron Wood.
* {{Music/Santana}} used to have two members named Chester Thompson--the drummer who played with {{Music/Frank Zappa}} and would later tour with {{Music/Genesis|Band}}, and the organist who also played with Tower of Power.

* The core members of Music/TheyMightBeGiants are John Flansburgh and John Linnell. They are often referred to by fans as "the Johns." For almost five years, their touring band of Dan Miller, Dan Hickey, and Danny Weinkauf was often called "the band of Dans." In 2004, Dan Hickey was replaced by Marty Beller, introducing a third name to the group.

** Similarly, there's the the R&B singer Mario Winans, and the...other R&B singer...known simply as Mario.

* Sheena Easton's song "9 to 5" was renamed "Morning Train (9 to 5)" to avoid confusion with Music/DollyParton's song "9 to 5."
* Music/PeterGabriel has had 4 [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled albums]] released, which were nicknamed after what was shown on the cover (Such as ''Music/{{Car}}'', and ''Music/{{Scratch}}'') Although in the United States, [[ExecutiveMeddling it was made so that the 4th was titled]] Music/{{Security}}.

* [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html The WWE World Heavyweight Championship]] has been held by three Michaels ([[Wrestling/ShawnMichaels Shawn Michaels [Michael Shawn Hickenbottom]]], [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind [Mick Foley]]] and [[Wrestling/TheMiz The Miz [Michael Mizanin]]]). There have also been THREE Roberts or similar names (Wrestling/BobBacklund, [[Wrestling/SgtSlaughter Sgt. Slaughter [Robert Remus]]], and [[Wrestling/RobVanDam Rob Van Dam [Rob Szatkowski]]]). There have also been two Randys ([[Wrestling/RandySavage Randy "Macho Man" Savage [Randal Mario Poffo]]] and Wrestling/RandyOrton), two Stevens/Stephens ([[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stone Cold" Steve Austin [Steven Williams, born Anderson]]] and [[Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} Sheamus [Stephen Farrelly]]]), two Pauls ([[Wrestling/{{TripleH}} Triple H [Paul Michael Levesque]]] and [[Wrestling/TheBigShow The Big Show [Paul Wight]]]), and three Johns ([[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield John "Bradshaw" Layfield [John Charles Layfield]]], Wrestling/JohnCena and [[Wrestling/JonMoxley Dean Ambrose [Jonathan Good]]]).

* Wrestling/{{WWE}} tends to change wrestlers' names to avoid this trope altogether. A notable example is [[Wrestling/WilliamRegal Steven Regal becoming William Regal]] since they already had 3 Steves:[[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stone Cold" Steve Austin]], [[Wrestling/SteveBlackman "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman]], and [[Wrestling/StevieRichards Steven Richards]]. And Steve Williams becoming Steve Austin was another example, to distinguish him from Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams.

** Mark Henry, "Smart" Mark Sterling, and Marq Quen. AEW also had Marko Stunt before his May 2022 release.

** "Todd" has been a twin twice: a redheaded one from the 60s and a brunette one from the 90s. In spite of their similar identifies, they are said to not be the same character.[[note][There is also an unrelated ''third'' doll to share the name; the "Todd" groom doll to the bride "Tracy" doll released in 1982[[/note]]

** "Chelsea" is the name of a one of cousin Jazzie's friends [[SpellMyNameWithAnS (although spelled "Chelsie")]], a My Scene character and Barbie's second-youngest sister (after years of being named "Kelly").

** "Todd" has been a twin twice: a redheaded one from the 60s and a brunette one from the 90s. In spite of their similar identifies, they are said to not be the same character.

A [[SignificantNameOverlap strong dramatic reason to duplicate names]] can override the rule, as, for example, in the Creator/JackNicholson movie ''Film/TheTwoJakes'', but it's so rarely done that audiences will pick up on it almost instantly. Unintentional duplication of first or last names also sometimes occurs when characters from previously distinct works of fiction meet one another, or when fiction is in any way using [[HistoricalDomainCharacter individuals from]] RealLife, or in sprawling, shared-continuity settings like the Creator/{{DC}} or Creator/MarvelComics [[TheVerse universes.]]

The rationale behind this is that the audience, actors reading a script and even the writer will get confused by multiple characters with indistinguishable names: "Wait, was it good-guy Steve or bad-guy Steve who launched the missile?" It's even common for scripts to avoid names of similar length and/or first letter.

It is an EnforcedTrope, however, within screen and stage acting. After a large number of mistaken identity incidents that caused actors to lose out on jobs to other actors with the same name or even where actors' careers were unjustifiably ruined because of a similarity[[note]] one such case was that of the actor William Boyd. He had been a up-and-coming matinee idol in the late silent era, and was part of the ProductionPosse for Creator/CecilBDemille. However, there was another screen actor named William Boyd, usually credited as "William (Stage) Boyd" who had gotten in trouble with the law for alcohol possession and drunkenness (this was during Prohibition) among other things. The reports did not differentiate which Boyd was under arrest, and a number of national newspapers, assuming it was the more famous Boyd, ran his photo in the stories. [=RKO=], who had his contract at the time, fired him on the grounds of the morals clause, even though he had not committed the acts alleged. This stalled his career, though he finally won fame as the portrayer of Hopalong Cassidy[[/note]], most theatrical unions require or at least very strongly recommend that members joining who have a name of a pre-existing member change it to something else. For instance, "Stewart Granger", born James Stewart, who changed his name to avoide confusion with ''the'' Creator/JamesStewart, or Creator/MichaelJFox, who joined the union when veteran character actor Michael Fox was still active -- Michael J added the "J" (which stands for nothing outside of a tribute to Creator/MichaelJPollard, his real middle initial is "A") to differentiate.

* The Academy Is... has Mike Carden (rhythm guitar) and Michael Guy Chislett (lead guitar). Before Chislett joined the band, the very first lineup included Mike Carden and Mike [=DelPrincipe=] (drums).

* Danish pop band Alphabeat has six members: Anders, Stine, Anders, Rasmeus, [[RuleOfThree Anders]], and Troels.
* The Australian Pink Floyd Show introduce themselves on stage as six Bruces, four Sheilas, [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Rolf]].

* Extreme metal band Dimmu Borgir once had three Stians: Stian Thoresen (vocals, better known as Shagrath), Stian Arnesen (bass, better known as Nagash) and Stian Aarstad (keyboards, no stage name).

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faces_%28band%29 The Faces]] featured bass player Ronnie Lane and guitarist Ronnie Wood, the latter now better known as a [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Rolling Stone]].

* Post-hardcore band Finch features rhythm guitarist Alex Linares and drummer Alex Pappas.

* Insomnium's original lineup consisted of Niilo Sevänen (vocals and bass), Markus Hirvonen (drums), and two guys named Ville on guitar. After Ville Vänni left the band, leaving Ville Friman as the only "Ville" in the band, his replacement was...another Markus.

* Canadian band [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_and_the_muffins Martha and the Muffins]] (of "[[OneHitWonder Echo Beach]]" fame) was named for singer Martha Johnson, but they also had keyboard player Martha Ladly during their successful period in 1979/80.

* The Tea Party had two Jeffs (Martin and Burrows).

* The Brechtian cabaret band The Tiger Lillies consists of Martin the MonsterClown lead singer, and two guys called Adrian.

* Jon Anderson left Music/{{Yes}} in the late 70s and Music/TrevorHorn took his spot for the album ''Drama'' before the band went on hiatus. When they reformed for ''90125'', Anderson returned as vocalist, but Music/TrevorRabin became their new guitar player, and Horn produced the album.

* The soundtrack to the movie ''Dead Man On Campus'' includes a CoverVersion of Music/DustySpringfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You", as performed by Music/MarilynManson bassist Twiggy Ramirez and model / actress / singer {{Creator/Twiggy}} (partial inspiration of the former's stage name) - seemingly just done for the fun of having the track credited to "Twiggy & Twiggy".

** Several ''Relapse''-era songs mention a VictimOfTheWeek named Dakota, and one references Creator/DakotaFanning. It's a topic of debate as to whether the Dakota of "Music Box" is Ms. Fanning.

* Danish pop band Alphabeat has six members: Anders, Stine, Anders, Rasmus, Anders, and Troels.

* OneSteveLimit/WebVideo

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[AccidentalMisnaming "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/Chuck Armstrong (a background racecar sponsoring Mood Springs)/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), Rusty Rust-Eze/Rusty Cornfuel (a background racecar sponsoring Tow Cap), Dusty Dust-Eze/[[{{WesternAnimation/Planes}} Dusty Crophopper]], Miles "Meat Truck" Malone/[[spoiler:Miles Axlerod]], Cruz Besouro (Carla Veloso's crew chief)/Cruz Ramirez, etc.

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[AccidentalMisnaming "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/Chuck Armstrong (a background racecar sponsoring Mood Springs)/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), Rusty Rust-Eze/Rusty Cornfuel (a background racecar sponsoring Tow Cap), Dusty Dust-Eze/[[{{WesternAnimation/Planes Dusty Crophopper}}]], Miles "Meat Truck" Malone/[[spoiler:Miles Axlerod]], Cruz Besouro (Carla Veloso's crew chief)/Cruz Ramirez, etc.

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[AccidenalMisnaming "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/Chuck Armstrong (a background racecar sponsoring Mood Springs)/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), Rusty Rust-Eze/Rusty Cornfuel (a background racecar sponsoring Tow Cap), Dusty Dust-Eze/[[{{WesternAnimation/Planes Dusty Crophopper}}]], Miles "Meat Truck" Malone/[[spoiler:Miles Axlerod]], Cruz Besouro (Carla Veloso's crew chief)/Cruz Ramirez, etc.

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[AccidenalMisnaming "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/ChuckArmstrong (a background racecar sponsoring Mood Springs)/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), Rusty Rust-Eze/Rusty Cornfuel (a background racecar sponsoring Tow Cap), Dusty Dust-Eze/[[{{WesternAnimation/Planes Dusty Crophopper}}]], Miles "Meat Truck" Malone/[[spoiler:Miles Axlerod]], Cruz Besouro (Carla Veloso's crew chief)/Cruz Ramirez, etc.

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[AccidenalMisnaming "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), etc.

* ''{{Franchise/Cars}}'' does this with background characters, such as [[DoNotCallMePaul "My Name is Not Chuck"]]/Chuck Manifold, [[BrutishBulls Frank the combine]]/Frank Pinkerton, Hank "Halloween" Murphy/Murphy (an orange SUV), Timothy Twostroke/Timothy Timezone, [[ContinuityNod Todd the Pizza Planet Truck]]/Todd Marcus (a background racecar sponsoring No Stall), etc.

It's probably more feasible to list the exceptions rather than examples. Usually when there are exceptions, there will be a storyline involving the characters being confused for each other. One possible way to avoid the issue, however, is for the characters with the same name to use different derivatives: James and Jimmy, Lizzy and Betty, Ted and Theo, etc.

It is an EnforcedTrope, however, within screen and stage acting. After a large number of mistaken identity incidents that caused actors to lose out on jobs to other actors with the same name or even where actors' careers were unjustifiably ruined because of a similarity[[note]] one such case was that of the actor William Boyd. He had been a up-and-coming matinee idol in the late silent era, and was part of the ProductionPosse for Creator/CecilBDemille. However, there was another screen actor named William Boyd, usually credited as "William (Stage) Boyd" who had gotten in trouble with the law for alcohol possession and drunkenness (this was during Prohibition) among other things. The reports did not differentiate which Boyd was under arrest, and a number of national newspapers, assuming it was the more famous Boyd, ran his photo in the stories. [=RKO=], who had his contract at the time, fired him on the grounds of the morals clause, even though he had not committed the acts alleged. This stalled his career, though he finally won fame as the portrayer of Hopalong Cassidy[[/note]], most theatrical unions require or at least very strongly recommend that members joining who have a name of a pre-existing member change it to something else. For instance, "Stewart Granger", born James Stewart, who changed his name to avoide confusion with ''the'' Creator/JamesStewart, or Creator/MichaelJFox, who joined the union when veteran character actor Michael Fox was still active -- Michael J added the "J" (which stands for nothing outside of a tribute to Michael J. Pollard, his real middle initial is "A") to differentiate.

* Music/PeterGabriel has had 4 [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled albums]] released, which were nicknamed after what was shown on the cover (Such as ''Car'', and ''Scratch'') Although in the United States, [[ExecutiveMeddling it was made so that the 4th was titled Security]].