Bond villain names from real life

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Nobby-W

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So, I've known or seen a few folks with fabulous names - fit for a Bond villain.
  • Sylbert Lobo - A chap I used to work with who sounds like he should really be leading a double life as a shadowy assassin for some sinister cabal. Who knows - perhaps he is.
  • Theo de Raadt - Grande Fromage of the OpenBSD project. Sounds like he should be running his criminal empire from a secret hideout in a volcano somewhere.
  • Christian von Koenigsegg - eponymous CEO of Koenigsegg Automotive AB, a Swedish firm that makes upmarket supercars. With a name like that, definitely plotting world domination.
So, what are your favourite Bond villain names from real life, and what nefarious conspiracy are they hatching in secret?
 
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I’m at a bit of a loss here, but I want to play. What makes a name specifically Bond-villainous?

To be a proper Bond villain name, it should sound catchy but have a slight hint of menace or evil. Note that not all actual Bond villains had good Bond villain names, but quite a few did.

 
I was shopping at Borders twenty years ago. I handed the cashier my credit card and he said, "Baulderstone. That's a perfect Bond villain name!"

And that was the day that set me on the road I have walked ever since...
 
I was shopping at Borders twenty years ago. I handed the cashier my credit card and he said, "Baulderstone. That's a perfect Bond villain name!"

And that was the day that set me on the road I have walked ever since...

I think it needs to be paired with a Germanic sounding first name, like Osric von Baulderstone.
 
Frankly I don't think this is going to amount to anything more than a list of non-Anglophone names by virtue of a history of conflict. Here's one -
Otto von Bismarck

Armand de Bilharzia might work. Rupert Murdoch might also be a good name, although I'm not sure if real megalomaniacs with designs on world domination count as Bond villains per se..
 
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I was shopping at Borders twenty years ago. I handed the cashier my credit card and he said, "Baulderstone. That's a perfect Bond villain name!"

And that was the day that set me on the road I have walked ever since...
Well, to my non-Anglo ears, “Adam Baulderstone” sounds positively archvillainous.

Actually any sufficiently long and aristocratic-sounding English name will do.

Fleming’s own “Hugo Drax” feels drab and uninspiring in its brevity. But “Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett” would be bitchin’

Titles help too. “Rodney Smith” is too short and proletarian but “The Lord Smith of Marlow” strikes fear in the hearts of men.
 
Gonna be honest, Plunkett makes him sound more like a backwoods moonshiner than a Supervillain.
I do not have sufficient native language context to get that. Plunkett might be the Queen’s first cousin as far as I (and my players) know.

Generally speaking my trick for villainous last names is toponyms. I open up Google maps and look for place names that might work as a last name, villainous or otherwise, as intended. Even my players might groan at a Lord Johnson or Lord Smith, but a Lord Crowhurst or Lord Ashbourne will be an easier sell.
 
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Marnus Labuschagne sounds like he should own a couple of diamond mines in Africa, a secret vault full of Nazi gold, and a volcano lair shaped like a skull, but he's actually an Australian cricketer.
 
I do not have sufficient native language context to get that. Plunkett might be the Queen’s first cousin as far as I (and my players) know.

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett was Lord Dunsany, the fantasy/fairy-story writer. It is a splendid name though.

His younger brother was the even more splendidly named Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL

Having 4+ names is the giveaway!
 
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett was Lord Dunsany, the fantasy/fairy-story writer. It is a splendid name though.

His younger brother was the even more splendidly named Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL

Having 4+ names is the giveaway!
I know. It was deliberate. :smile:

And yes, his brother was even better!
 
If nicknames count, we have quite a few here on this forum...:grin:
Or if I didn’t use a nickname we might have one more.

When my brother passed his final exams in medical school one of his professors approached him and discreetly hinted that there was still time to change his name before his degree certificate was printed.
 
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According to my secret sources, most supposed world leaders are actually fictional entities. This shouldn't have come as such a surprise, considering how obviously made-up their names are, easily meeting the standards of a Bond villain. "Putin"? C'mon: it sounds like you're spitting up. And "Boris Johnson" is clearly a porn actor's name ...
 
Probably is. They’ve been letting all sorts into the aristocracy since 1485. Place has gone to the pack.
Why don't you like Henry VII:grin:?

According to my secret sources, most supposed world leaders are actually fictional entities. This shouldn't have come as such a surprise, considering how obviously made-up their names are, easily meeting the standards of a Bond villain. "Putin"? C'mon: it sounds like you're spitting up. And "Boris Johnson" is clearly a porn actor's name ...
...actually, it should be the other way around. VP's family name has some undesirable connotations in my language, undesirable except for the profession you ascribed to BJ, that is. At the same time, Boris is actually a name derived from the word for "tiger":shade:.

Well, to my non-Anglo ears, “Adam Baulderstone” sounds positively archvillainous.

Actually any sufficiently long and aristocratic-sounding English name will do.

Fleming’s own “Hugo Drax” feels drab and uninspiring in its brevity. But “Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett” would be bitchin’

Titles help too. “Rodney Smith” is too short and proletarian but “The Lord Smith of Marlow” strikes fear in the hearts of men.
This, and also, compound names are the way to go. Plunketaxe, Draxspear, Moretsmith, and so on are real winners here. Or you could just tweak a normal name and say someone in his family history tweaked his name to be different from the simple people:thumbsup:!
 
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Why don't you like Henry VII:grin:?
Well, he was a Welsh usurper. And my family had just got reconciled to the Plantagenets after that nasty business in 1264–7.

But family grievances aside, the Tudors pretty much exterminated the mediaeval aristocracy of England with trumped-up treason charges, and stuffed the House of Lords with johnnie-come-latelies like the Cecils and the Dudleys. That's is what I was referring to.
 
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Well, he was a Welsh usurper. And my family had just got reconciled to the Plantagenets after that nasty business in 1264–7.

But family grievances aside, the Tudors pretty much exterminated the mediaeval aristocracy of England with trumped-up treason charges, and stuffed the House of Lords with johnnie-come-latelies like the Cecils and the Dudleys, and that's is what I was referring to.
You Europeans and your goofily named nobles! Dudley, Hah! Why wouldn't there be a dynastic civil war when the heir is named Dudley?
 
At one point there was a senior civil servant in the U.S. called Lawrence Eagleburger. I think if you added 'the third', you might get a good name some sort of old money type trying to corner the market for silver.

Perhaps add a middle name - Lawrence Bennett Eagleburger III.
 
I do not have sufficient native language context to get that. Plunkett might be the Queen’s first cousin as far as I (and my players) know.

In New Zealand, Plunkett is an outfit that runs an infant healthcare programme that does stuff like weighing babies and providing support for mothers. Quintessentially warm and fuzzy and a piece of Kiwiana going well back into the 20th century.
 
At one point there was a senior civil servant in the U.S. called Lawrence Eagleburger. I think if you added 'the third', you might get a good name some sort of old money type trying to corner the market for silver.

Perhaps add a middle name - Lawrence Bennett Eagleburger III.
Sounds like an episode from a game:grin:!
"Lawrence Beneath the Eagle Burgher's Turd, you say? Well, be welcome to my humbly establishment, I'll just write 'Lawrence, no middle name' here", the middle-aged dwarf proprietor said, showing the inn with a single gesture.
 
Tristram Evans
His name is inspired by this guy, so the villain label fits.
tumblr_n7bwfzXSwz1rkffkzo1_500.jpg
 
Not a bond villain, but I've always felt my name was a fire themed Batman villain name (with how Batman had so many real names that were puns like Edward Nigma).

(My first two initials and last name are N. A. Palmer)
 
I have a couple of these from other places. All but one are made up. All are exaggerated.

Konnor Webber. He is a man of above average looks and tailoring, but a magnetic personality. He is an engineer by training and a multilingual logistics expert by need. He is one of those "alternate vendors" that are able to provide any number of things of a grey to black market source. (Some of his cover operations do a profitable job of moving toys and electronics.) He dislikes weapons, but does a brisk business in what weapons he does move. He is often located around the Mediterranean with a variety of operations. His fingers are in many pies. He only gets "personal"/ face to face with big volume clients and very special operatives. If you are on the personal list, you can get almost anything... even if he has to build it himself. ) He gives deep discounts to special operatives, if they would do him an occasional favor (never against personal morals). He will also trade (and sometimes sell) information.

Tabitha Leon aka Tabby the Cat aka Tabby Cat
This sexy cat burglar of English extraction is wanted for questioning in eighteen places across the world. She is very good at this. Never an alarm. Never caught. Never prosecuted. She has targeted any number of high profile or very wealthy targets. Their reach is much farther than the law's and much crueler. She constantly finds herself in one situation or another... like the time she stole things out of a safe, including the control chip/ key for the villain's laser satellite system. Often entangled with one agent/ agency or another.

(The hard parts are the name with the double entendre/ pun and changing things to more modern sensibilities.)


"Card Sharp" Simon Bacharach. The only thing sharper than Simon's tongue is his favored weapon: a specially-made deck of killer playing cards.

Katya Zero. Korotin's favorite hacker. She"ll have you flagged as a terrorist in the local police databases, will wreak havoc with the traffic systems during chases, and turn any smart building or device into a deathtrap. Including your own spy gadgets.

Naifu o jakkusuru or Jakkusuru or just Jack Kunimitsu Itō is a Japanese Yakuza who has broken with his "family" and now plies his skills with knives for those who pay well and are willing to respect him and his skills. He is an expert martial artist who specializes in using knives (often Tanto style). For some reason, he can seem very intimidating (he has that gaze....). He is a man of some style, but not a Bond level of style. He tends to wear stylish clothes on the lower price end. He likes good food and women with loose morals. He always seems to have a drink in his hand, might be seen to take a drink from time to time, but never actually drinks. (One of his surprise moves is tossing it in oppositions eyes or breaking the bottle/ throwing the bottle.

Choi Bok: His road to espionage was paved with killed tong and crime. He started as a chef/ cook in a Chinese restaurant owned by (and was a front for) a local tong Shak Foo (Uncle/ leader). Having a small gambling problem, he found himself making extra money for "odd jobs" for the gang/ family. Strangely enough, became a "hitter" with his collection of chef cleavers/ knives. (And body removal). One tong invaded the restaurant and made the mistake of going through the kitchen... (insert HK martial art action scene). After the losing of Uncle and the firebomb of the restaurant, he found himself in need of money. He joined a non-tong crew for a few jobs. They got hired by some operatives. Soon he joined the organization and was the private chef and bodyguard to some important people.

(He is better about managing his gambling now. He is losing less money. However, he can be distracted by a bet.)
 
Tubby Cat would be a players favourite if I was running a campaign, I can predict that much...
"No, I'm Tabby Cat! Tabby!"
"Whatever you say, Tubby Girl...so about that job we want to hire you for, we don't care what your name is...in fact, if we're ever asked, we've never met a girl name Tabby, clear?"

Also, Skender Pasha is a name that just has to be a Bond Villain.
 
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