Fourteen-year-old Peyton Manning doesn't look much like the Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, and the Colorado teen seems to enjoy playing hockey more than football. But the young Manning can't get an authentic Facebook account because of his famous name.
"People don't believe me sometimes. They think I'm trying to impersonate," Manning, the teenager, told the Denver Post. "Facebook won't let me do Manning at all, no matter how many times I try."
The Littleton, Colo. teen's birth certificate says Peyton Scott Manning, and he was born three days before the Broncos quarterback and future Hall of Famer made his debut for the Indianapolis Colts. Young Peyton does follow the football star and likes the "cool kind of attention" his name gives him -- but when he tries to get social media accounts, they tend to doubt his authenticity.
His parents say they chose the name Peyton Manning when the elder Manning was a college football player in 1997.
"I would have never named him Peyton if I knew (the QB) was going to be a legendary football player anywhere, let alone Denver," Kim Manning told the Post. "We're not celebrity (starstruck). I just thought it was a great name, and he was full of strength and character."
U.S. & World
The young Manning skirted the issue by using his first and middle name on Facebook, Peyton Scott.
This isn't the first time Facebook hasn't allowed non-famous people with famous names to get accounts -- part of the reason they have an authentication process is to attract celebrities. But it's unknown if Facebook will cave on this one example. It isn't as if users can't have the same name, just search for "Lisa Smith" and notice the dozens of pages. Perhaps a better authentication system may help.
