As a kid, Shaquille O'Neal was teased for his distinctive first name. As Shaq became a household name during the early to mid-1990s, not surprisingly, there was a marked jump in children named Shaquille. So we're now at the point that a number of these kids are starting to make it as successful athletes.
And the original Shaq is keeping tabs on many of them, including Shaq Lawson, the Buffalo Bills' first-round pick in last week's NFL draft.
"I have Google Alerts any time 'Shaq' comes up," O'Neal told the Buffalo News. "The past four or five years -- I think I've ran into about 150 athletes named Shaq -- Shaq Lawson kept coming up. So I've known who he was and been a fan of him. I'm most proud of him."
According to the Social Security Administration, the name Shaquille ranked in the top 1,000 most popular names only between the years of 1991 and 1996. It peaked in 1993, when the name ranked 181st. In 1994, the year both Lawson and Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson was born, the name ranked 234th. It falls off considerably right after that.
So there could be a few more Shaqs making their way into the spotlight in the next couple of years, but the numbers could fall off relatively soon. No matter what, Shaquille O'Neal will know who they are, honored that their parents decided to name them after him.