Man named 'Darthvader Williamson' reflects on unusual name

In honor of Star Wars Day, meet Darthvader Williamson.

Yes, that is the name on his birth certificate. He is a surgical assistant at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett in Memphis. He's tried to keep a low profile, but he said some Star Wars fans get excited when they learn his name.

"I've been asked for autographs, I've been asked to take pictures," he said. "I've had people say, 'Hey, the opening for Star Wars is coming up, can you go with me?'"

Williamson, though, has only seen the original trilogy.

The name came from his father, he explained. He told ABC News that his mother had not even seen the movie when he was born in 1978.

"Him being a Star Wars buff, he was so enamored with the character Darth Vader, he was like, 'This would be one bad name for our son.'"

Williamson said his mother agreed to the name "under the effects of anesthesia" and wondered afterward "What have we done?" but they ultimately stuck with the name. Williamson himself struggled with it, until, his mother joked, he realized it made him popular with the ladies.

"He wanted to change his name when he was little, but after the girls started telling him they liked the name, he wanted to keep it," Patricia Knowles told ABC News.

Though he does not consider himself a big Star Wars fan, he does have a favorite character. Perhaps not surprisingly, it's not his namesake. It's bounty hunter Boba Fett.

And there is one way he's embraced his unusual name. A co-worker knitted a Darth Vader figure for him, and Williamson told the hospital he really appreciated the gesture.

"I call him 'Mini V,' for 'Mini Vader.' Sometimes I put him in the truck and we ride," he said. "She took her time to make it for me, so this is one of my most cherished possessions."

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