John Carroll has been home to a few famous names throughout the years. From football legend Don Shula to Meet the Press host Tim Russert, the university has produced its fair share of famous alumni. One current student, however, already enjoys on-campus notoriety for a different reason: his name.  

John Carroll is a sophomore at John Carroll University. He says his major is still undecided, but he is minoring in entrepreneurship. And yes, his legal name is really John Carroll. 

“I think it is a really easy icebreaker,” Carroll told The Carroll News. “It makes it easy to make friends and talk to people.. I feel like I could talk to anybody because people usually come up to me and they’re like, ‘are you John Carroll?’ And then I’m like, ‘yeah.’”

Carroll was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Growing up, he played baseball and soccer but stopped after an ACL injury. He also took music lessons and continues to play both the guitar and ukulele.

Carroll said his parents did not know much about the University when they gave him his name. However, after he heard about John Carroll University, he felt compelled to attend.

“People had been telling me about [JCU] my whole life,” Carroll elaborated. “I  toured it and I thought it was pretty cool. They also gave me the most money out of every other college. My mom went to Xavier and that’s another Jesuit college; I didn’t really want to stay in Cincinnati. So, it was mostly the name but also the aid.”

Carroll stated that while, at first, his name usually catches the attention of classmates, his friends just know him as Johnny.

“The people who don’t know me call me ‘John Carroll’,” Carroll continued. “And the people who do know me call me Johnny. [With people I don’t know] it’s never like Johnny. It’s always like ‘Hi, John Carroll.’ If they bring it up I’ll talk to them about it.”

Carroll’s friends say the irony of sharing a name with the university he attends is fitting given his personality. 

“He’s crazy in the best way possible,” Scott Esteb ‘24, a friend of Carroll, said. “He really is the type of person to willingly go to a college with the same name. There is never a dull moment when he’s around.”

Carroll says that there is no real downside to his name except that sometimes the surprise at his name can get old. However, he thinks it may help him in his future endeavors at JCU.

“I want to run for student body president one day,” Carroll ended. “I think my name could get me far.”