What's in a name? Caesar, Napoleon

One of my many projects which I shall never complete is a history of Latin America as reflected in first names. The famous Mexican writer Josè Vasconcelos, about whom I have written, was accused of being pro-Axis in World War II. The same may be said of the parents of this also.ran diver about whom Alejo Orvañanos reports: "Today, in the diving finals, a Mexican competitor came in 10th. His name?: Rommel Pacheco.  Rommel might have done better in the Beach Volleyball, at least that is played on sand". Here are the final scores:

1. Bo Peng (CHN)            787.38
2. Alexandre Despatie (CAN) 755.97
3. Dmitri Sautin (RUS)      753.27
4. Feng Wang (CHN)          750.72
5. Fernando Platas (MEX)    704.25
6. Troy Dumais (USA)        701.46
7. Alexander Dobroskok(RUS) 697.29
8. Ken Terauchi (JPN)       690.00
9. Cesar Castro (BRA)       662.97
10. Rommel Pacheco (MEX)     642.69
11. Dmytro Lysenko (UKR)     629.64
12. Robert Newbery (AUS)     620.34
Note also the Brazilian names Cesar, a first name similar to Napoleon and also common in Latin America.  No wonder Latin American history is studded with military dictatorships. And what about the American Troy Dumais? Not a winning name.

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