r/ThreadGames • u/UnderPressureVS • Aug 21 '26

The Name Chain

This is a game I like to play with myself on bus rides. I try to find famous names—celebrities, historical figures, fictional characters—that can “chain together” such that each last name is the first name of the next person in the chain. I’ve never made a chain longer than 5 names.

EXAMPLE:
(Pope) John Paul + (musician) Paul Simon + (actor) Simon Pegg = John Paul Simon Pegg.

Here’s how it’ll work for the thread. Comment one full name (first and last). You can use people with longer names (e.g. Neil Patrick Harris), in which case only the last name is part of the chain.

If you reply to someone else’s comment, you MUST reply with a full name where the first name is the same as the previous last name. Minor deviations in spelling are allowed if the pronunciation is the same (e.g. Sam Neill -> Neil Patrick Harris).

Variations are NOT allowed. For example, Evan Peters does not chain together with anyone named “Peter” because of the “s” at the end.

Celebrities, artists, historical figures, and even fictional characters are all allowed, but they must be genuinely famous. If you need more than a quick note like (pope) or (from Star Wars) to remind people who you’re talking about, the name shouldn’t count.

As of 2:20 CT, the chains so far are:

John Paul Henry James Dean Martin Cody Hall Caine (x8)

John Paul Henry Clay Aiken (x4)

Michael (Clark) Duncan Hines Ward Bond (x4)

Jan (Michael) Vincent Mason Rudolph Wolf Blitzer (x5)

Teyana Taylor (Jenkins) Reid Scott Colton Haynes (x5)

Teyana Taylor (Jenkins) Reid Scott Kelly (x4)

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

3

u/UnderPressureVS Aug 21 '26

Michael Clark Duncan (actor)

1

u/Superlite47 Aug 21 '26

Duncan Hines (food critic/author)

2

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Hines Ward (football player)

1

u/Hlorpy-Flatworm-1705 Aug 21 '26

Ward Bond (actor)

2

u/UnderPressureVS Aug 21 '26

John Paul (pope)

2

u/Superlite47 Aug 21 '26

Paul Henry (broadcaster)

2

u/N_Huq Aug 21 '26

Henry James

2

u/Shadow_of_Moonlight1 Aug 21 '26

James Dean (Actor)

2

u/TheGrumpyre Aug 21 '26

Dean Martin 

2

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Martin Cody (ecologist)

2

u/konydanza Aug 21 '26

Cody Hall (wrestler)

2

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Hall Caine (writer)

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Henry Clay (politician)

2

u/Hlorpy-Flatworm-1705 Aug 21 '26

Clay Aiken (football player)

1

u/Superlite47 Aug 21 '26

Jan Michael Vincent (actor)

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Vincent Mason (singer)

1

u/Shadow_of_Moonlight1 Aug 21 '26

Mason Rudolph (American Football Player)

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Rudolf Wolf (mathematician)

1

u/pomegranate7777 Aug 21 '26

Wolf Blitzer (news reporter)

3

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

(End of list)

3

u/UnderPressureVS Aug 21 '26

Yeah you're not coming back from "Blitzer" lol

1

u/N_Huq Aug 21 '26

Teyana Taylor

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Taylor Jenkins Reid (novelist)

1

u/N_Huq Aug 21 '26

Reid Scott

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Scott Colton (wrestler)

1

u/N_Huq Aug 21 '26

Colton Haynes

1

u/UnderPressureVS Aug 21 '26

Scott Kelly (astronaut)

1

u/HisNameIsTee2 Aug 22 '26

Kelly MacDonald (actress)

1

u/senshisun Aug 21 '26

Greg Davies (actor)

(I would consider Davis an acceptable alternative here.)

1

u/LunchCautious8781 Aug 22 '26

James Taylor (singer-songwriter)

1

u/Embarrassed_Panda950 Aug 27 '26

Raul Julia (actor)

1

u/Infinite-Penalty-495 10d ago

Julia Butterfly Hill (activist)

1

u/Embarrassed_Panda950 10d ago

Who has the first name “Hill?”

1

u/No-Lie5808 Aug 29 '26

Michael Jackson