A new Hyundai commercial, shown during the World Cup, brought to our attention a most unique naming story. (Click here to check it out on YouTube.) The commercial takes us to England in the 1960s and tells of a fan who named his child after a soccer team. That's right, you read correctly -- not one player or two, but an entire team. The result? Miss Paula St. John Lawrence Lawler Byrne Strong Yeats Stevenson Callaghan Hunt Milne Smith Thompson Shankley Bennett Paisley O'Sullivan. Intrigued, we decided to investigate -- could this be a true story or was it a fictional car-selling creation?

It's true. A 1966 issue of Sports Illustrated solved the mystery. The father in question is Peter O'Sullivan. Paula was his third child, and in naming her he honored not only his favorite Liverpool players, but also Liverpool's manager, coach and trainer. We found a picture of the 1963-1964 team, but it seems that the 1964-1965 team was the one that served as Paula's namesake.

The article says nothing about Mrs. O'Sullivan's opinion on the matter.

Any readers out there such feel such loyalty and admiration for a team that you'd want to name your child after an entire roster? Check out a post earlier this week on America's roster and a reader's comment sharing England's roster -- would these teams make good namesakes?

We wonder what Paula called herself as she got older. Because not only are there a lot of names at play, but most of them are two-plus syllables. There's the option of forgoing all the middle names and sticking with Paula O'Sullivan. She could choose her favorite one -- she'd have 15 options. Or perhaps she liked honoring Liverpool with her name, and signed checks Paula S-J.L.L.B.S.Y.S.C.H.M.S.T.S.B.P. O' Sullivan.

Thoughts?

Side note: You might be curious as to how this naming story connects to Hyundai -- the commercial ends with, "Fans show their loyalty in all kinds of ways, ours just buy another Hyundai."

--D.J.