I've never seen the problem with Claudius/Claude, Malory and
Cecil. They have acquired other meanings over the centuries, and in the case of
Claudius and
Cecil, the
Romans themselves weren't bothered, so why should we be? The important meanings are the current ones; I hesitate to refer to Victorian society as having pop culture, but that's what I mean. The name of a current criminal, an unpopular politician, the villain in a popular novel or play ... try some of the bad guys in Dickens, like
Uriah.