30 Famous People Named George

30 Famous People Named George

The name George is a pretty common name typically given to male babies. It is of Greek origin, derived from the word ‘georgos’ and the Greek name ‘Georgios.’ These words basically refer to a farmer or earth worker. Thus, if you intend to raise a baby somewhere on a farm and help them embrace farming as they grow up, then the name George would be perfect. With that in mind, therefore, who are some of the famous people carrying the same name?

1. George Harrison

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George Harrison was a former member of the very famous band that was known as ‘The Beatles.’ Throughout history, the Beatles were considered as one of the most influential bands in music and they are said to have played a huge role in influencing rock and roll. They had a very big fan base and actually, they still continue to even after they are long gone. George Harrison, individually speaking, was known for his unique and distinctive guitar-playing style. It set him apart and within no time, he was quite well known for this skill. Also, he was recognized for his brilliant songwriting technique including the writing of iconic songs like ‘Something’ and ‘Here Comes the Sun.’ When the Beatles disbanded, George journeyed on to having a solo career and was involved in so many philanthropic efforts. He unfortunately died in 2001 at the age of 58 but sure enough, left behind an unforgettable legacy.

2. George Michael

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George Michael was a very reknown pop singer. He was a British singer, songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s. He was a member of the duo ‘Wham!’ which was very well-known and popular. Later on, he left the duo and proceeded to go on for a solo career that was very successful. In fact, most people do not even know that George Michael started off as part of a duo and not solo. As a solo artist, he managed to sell over 100 million records worldwide and some of his best-known songs are ‘Careless Whispers,’ ‘Faith’ and ‘Freedom.’ He died in 2016 at the age of 53 and he was known quite popularly for his wonderful and soulful voice, catchy melodies and tune, and his flamboyant sense of fashion and stage presence.

3. George Washington

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George Washington is a very well-known name in the history of America. He was the first president of America, having served from 1789 to 1797. He is popularly referred to as the ‘father of his country’ as he is said to have played a huge role in the history of the American revolution. George Washington was known for his leadership, integrity, and commitment to democracy. He basically is the one who helped in establishing traditions and policies that are still shaping American politics today.

4. George W. Bush

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George Bush was another American president who served as the 43^rd president of the United States. He served for two terms, from the year 2001 to 2009. Bush was known popularly for his very conservative policies, especially in the areas of national security and foreign policies. Remember the War on Terror declaration that led to the invasion of Iraq? George Bush played a role. His time of reign was also surrounded by a lot of controversy and criticism especially the way he handled the Katrina Hurricane crisis. The use of enhanced interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists was also not taken so well with the public.

5. King George VI

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King George the Sixth is another very well-known name. He was the king of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth. His ear was from 1936 to 1952. He took the throne after his brother, Edward VIII renounced his throne. King George led the British through World War two and played a vital role in rebuilding the UK after this war left most economies in shambles. Popularly, he is known for his struggle with stammering and this was actually captured well in the film, ‘The King’s Speech.’

6. King George V

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King George the Fifth was also king of the United Kingdom and British Dominions and he ruled from 1910 until his death in 1936. King George was a member of the House of Windsor and was popularly known for his role in World War 1. His efforts also to modernize the monarchy and even improve its relations with other countries is something he will always be remembered for. Moreover, he oversaw the change in British society, including the extension of voting rights pertaining to women and the establishment of a sustainable and working national health service.

7. George Strait

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George Strait is regarded as legendary. He is an American country singer, songwriter, and actor, born in May 1952. He has released so many albums over the course of his music career and has also won multiple awards for his talents. Among these awards includes the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award. Having managed to sell over 100 million records worldwide, George Strait is now considered one of the most influential and successful country music artists. Popularly, he is known for songs that ended up becoming hits, like ‘Amarillo by Morning,’ ‘All of My Ex’s Live In Texas,’ and ‘The Chair.’

8. George H. W. Bush

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George H.W. Bush was the father of George W. Bush and he was the 41^st president of the United States. He served from 1989 to 1993 and he was a Republican who had previously served as a vice president under the rule of Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. During his era, Bush oversaw the end of the cold war and also led a coalition of Gulf countries against Iraq after they invaded Kuwait. He signed the Law of Americans with disabilities act and worked on so many environmental initiatives; for instance the Clean Air Act Amendments.

9. George Clooney

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Clooney is a well-known household name. He is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter known so well for his role as Dr. Doug Ross in the drama, ‘ER’ that aired first in the 90s. Thanks to this role, he became a darling to so many, and thereafter he starred in so many films, including Ocean’s Eleven, and Gravity among many others. George Clooney has won so many awards including two academy awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Other than acting, George Clooney is known also for his humanitarian work and political activism.

10. George Floyd

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The story of George Floyd is what made the world know that indeed racism is an evil thing and America is quite infested with it. In 2020, George Floyd was arrested after a store owner reported him to have made a purchase with a fake $20 bill. Within no time he has been arrested, pinned down, and suffocated to death. All this was captured on video and it is what enraged the world and made the ‘black lives matter’ to get followers and bring attention of the world to racism and police brutality in America especially when it comes to black people. His death will unfortunately remain with us forever.

11. George Jones

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George Jones was a country singer and one of the most influential and successful country artists throughout history. Born in 1931, his career began as a teenager, and over the period of his career, he managed to record so many hit songs and his distinctive voice and emotional delivery of his songs is something to deeply admire. Because of this, he came to be known as one of country music’s greatest performers. He, unfortunately, struggled with addiction and a lot of hardships but still continued to make music and perform. He did this until his death in 2013 when he was 81 years old.

12. George Martin

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Popularly known for his works with the Beatles, George Martin was an English record producer who produced so many albums including ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts,’ and ‘Abbey Road.’ He also became quite instrumental in shaping the sounds of iconic artists like Elton John, Jeff Beck, and even Celine Dion. He was often referred to as the ‘fifth Beatle’ because of his close relations and collaboration with the band. After all, he did a lot of projects with the band and they would always be seen together. He passed on in 2016 at 90 years old having left such a great legacy.

13. George Carlin

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George Carlin was an American comedian, actor, author, and also social critic who is regarded as one of the most influential stand-up comedians of all time. He was popularly known for his black comedy geared towards taboo subjects and reflecting on politics, religion etc. His guts to talk about that which many did not want to talk about is what made him popular. He died in 2008 but left behind a path that other comedians followed. Showed them that talking about sensitive issues and creating awareness of them using satire was allowed and it helped community members in the long run to open their eyes.

14. George Foreman

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George Foreman is a retired boxer who really did well in this career. Born in 1949, he is a two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist who had a very successful boxing career. He made a record of 76 wins and only 5 losses. That is honestly not an easy achievement. He did amazing for himself. Moreover, he is known for his entrepreneurial projects and ventures like the George Foreman Grill. This platform has sold over 100 million units worldwide. Now, he is a church minister and philanthropist who advocates for at-risk youths and the underprivileged members of the community.

15. George Best

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George Best was an Irish professional footballer who played as a winger. He is known notably for being a player at Manchester United and being a very talented dribbler. Because of this, he was considered one of the greatest players of all time and even named Europen Footballer of the Year in 1968. He even became fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote and received awards for his playing skills.

16. George Takei

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You probably know George Takei more as Sulu in Star Trek- Original Series. He is an American actor, author, and activist who began his acting career in college which eventually led to his role as Sulu in 1965. When he came out as gay in 2005, he became an active activist for LGBTQ rights and has also been vocal in advocating for the rights of immigrants. He still continues to do this.

17. George S. Patton

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Officially known as George Smith Patton Jr, he was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean theatre of world war 2. He was also the third united states army in France and Germany after an Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. He had a colourful image among his troops and this constantly overshadowed his controversial public statements. He had a philosophy of leading from the front and his unique ability to inspire troops with vulgar speeches (like his famous address to the third army) and attention-getting speeches was always received favorably by his troops.

18. George Gershwin

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George Gershwin was a well-known American composer and pianist who composed popular jazz and classical genres. He has very well-known compositions and his works became so popular, especially in the jazz and classical genres. Among his best and most well-known work is, ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ ‘An American in Paris,’ the opera ‘Porgy and Bess,’ and the jazz song, ‘Embraceable You’ among many others. George passed on in 1937 but he is forever remembered and his works have managed to live long after he left.

19. George Orwell

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His official name was Eric Arthur Blair but popularly and well known by his pet name, George Orwell. He was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His works, and why he is so popular, are characterized by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism. His ideologies have been borrowed a lot by socialists and students of political science. He died in 1950 but his ideologies and arguments still live on.

20. George Peppard

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Born in 1928, George Peppard was an American actor who became very popular and famous after securing a major role alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. His other famous work is in The Carpetbaggers and by the time he passed in 1994, George Peppard was such a household name. He will also be forever remembered for his role in the 1980s action TV series that was known as ‘The A-Team.

21. George Hamilton

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George Hamilton is an American actor best known for his performance in ‘Crime and Punishment U.S.A’ in 1959. Throughout his career, Hamilton has won a Golden Globe Award and was even nominated for a BAFTA Award. He is particularly famous for his commercials for Ritz Crackers.

22. George Burns

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Born as Nathan Birnbaum, Georg Burns was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer and one of the few entertainers whose careers spanned over to radio, film, and TV. His very impressive arched eyebrow and cigar smoke became a signature trademark whenever his name was mentioned. Up until his death in 1996, his name was a pretty known one and he managed to leave quite a legacy, especially in the field of radio entrainment.

23. George Washington Carver

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George Washington Carver was one of the most genius and celebrated scientists to ever have lived. He was an agriculturalist and inventor who promoted alternative crops and came up with methods to prevent soil depletion. Being black, he was celebrated more as they were not being given so many opportunities. Moreover, he developed techniques that were specifically aimed at improving types of soil that had been depleted due to overdone and repetitive cotton growing. His aim was to see poor farmers grow other crops like peanuts and sweet potatoes as a source of their own food in order to also improve their quality of life.

24. George Lucas

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George Lucas is an American filmmaker best known for his works in creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. He is one of the most financially successful filmmakers in the American film industry and has been nominated for four Academy Awards. His success is usually so celebrated because also his movies are the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office.

25. Boy George

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Born as George Alan O’Dowd in 1961, he is professionally known as simply Boy George. He is an English singer, songwriter, and DJ. Boy George is more prominently known for his soulful voice and unique fashion sense whenever he appears on stage. Additionally, he has been the lead singer of the Culture Club band since 1981. He however started a solo career in 1987 and his music is unique seeing as it is always a mashup of rnb and reggae. He still continues to make music and is very well celebrated all over the world.

26. George Lopez

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George Lopez is better known as a stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC comedy sitcom where he played as himself. Usually, his stand-up comedy revolves around the examination of race and ethnic relations. He has received so many honours and recognitions for his works, especially philanthropic work toward the Latino community. This is inclusive of the 2003 Imagen Vision Award, and the 2003 Latino Spirit Award among many others.

27. George Clarke

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George Clark is best known as an English architect, TV presenter, lecturer, and writer. He is particularly known for his work on Channel 4 programmes. Among these include ‘The Restoration Man,’ ‘George Clarke’s Old House New Home,’ and ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Space.’

28. George Stinney

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Just like George Floyd, George Stinney helped shed light on racism in America and how inhuman the discrimination was. George Stinney was only 14 years old when he was wrongly accused and convicted for a crime he did not commit. He was accused of having murdered two white girls whom he had the misfortune of having crossed paths with on the day he allegedly killed them. His trial and deliberation are said to only have taken 10 minutes for the verdict to be arrived at. He became the youngest American with an exact birthdate to be sentenced to death and executed in the 29th century. In 2014, his murder was vacated with a South Carolina court ruling that indeed he did not receive a fair trial and thus wrongfully convicted.

29. George Kennedy

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George Kennedy was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 films and TV productions in the span of his career. After appearing in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ in 1967 opposite Paul Newman, he won an Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor.’ He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for the same role.

30. George Shelley

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Born in 1993, George Shelley is an English singer, actor, and presenter. He is well known and recognized as the ex-member of the boy band, ‘Union J,’ and his appearance in the TV reality show known as ‘ I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ Additionally,  he co-presented ‘The Capital Breakfast Show’ opposite Dave Berry and Lilah Parsons.

The name ‘George’ is very well known and it referring to a hard worker just goes to show what a well-meant name it is.