Namesakes
American Presidents:
1 president
Jimmy Carter (middle name Earl) 1977-1981 
Emmy Award Winners:
1 actor
(actor) James Earl Jones 1991 Gabriel's Fire
Fictional Characters from Books:
1 character
Earl Jackson 2012 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Fictional Characters from Song Titles:
1 character
(character) Earl 1999 Goodbye Earl
Fictional Characters from Television:
4 characters
Jack Deveraux (middle name Earl) 1965 Days of Our Lives
Steve "Patch" Johnson (middle name Earl) 1965 Days of Our Lives
Earl J. Waggedorn 1968 Julia
Earl "Pops" Johnson 2014; 2018 Black-ish; Grown-ish
Hall-of-Famers:
3 football, 2 basketball, 2 ice hockey, 1 baseball
(football) Earl "Curly" Lambeau 1963
(football) Earl "Dutch" Clark 1963
(ice hockey) Earl Seibert 1963
(ice hockey) Chuck Rayner (middle name Earl) 1973
(baseball) Earl Averill 1975
(basketball) Earl Monroe 1990
(football) Earl Campbell 1991
(basketball) Earl Lloyd 2003
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms:
6 hurricanes, 2 storms
Hurricane Earl 1980
Hurricane Earl 1986
Storm Earl 1992
Hurricane Earl 1998
Storm Earl 2004
Hurricane Earl 2010
Hurricane Earl 2016
Hurricane Earl 2022
Most Valuable Players:
3 winners
Chuck Rayner (middle name Earl) 1950 ice hockey
Earl Morrall 1968 football
Earl Campbell 1979 football
Nobel Prize Winners:
1 medicine, 1 peace
(medicine) Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. 1971
(peace) Jimmy Carter (middle name Earl) 2002
Notable Actors and Entertainers:
10 actors
Dennis Morgan (a.k.a. Earl) 1908-1994
Sydney Chaplin (middle name Earl) 1926-2009
Earl Holliman 1928-
James Earl Jones 1931-2024
Earl Hindman 1942-2003
Brian Thompson (middle name Earl) 1959-
W. Earl Brown 1963-
Wentworth Miller (middle name Earl) 1972-
Robert Buckley (middle name Earl) 1981-
Ryan Merriman (middle name Earl) 1983-
Notable Athletes:
2 basketball, 1 baseball, 1 football, 1 ice hockey
(football) Earl "Curly" Lambeau 1898-1965
(baseball) Earl Averill 1902-1983
(ice hockey) Chuck Rayner (middle name Earl) 1920-2002
(basketball) Earl Lloyd 1928-2015
(basketball) Earl Monroe 1944-
Notable Musicians:
3 musicians, 1 musician/singer, 1 singer
Earl Hines 1903-1983
Ben E. King (middle name Earl) 1938-2015
Dan Hartman (middle name Earl) 1950-1994
William "Bootsy" Collins (middle name Earl) 1951-
Earl "DMX" Simmons 1970-2021
Notable Writers:
1 author
Jonathan Franzen (middle name Earl) 1959-
Olympic Medalists:
6 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze, 1 bronze/silver, 1 gold/silver
(silver) Harold Barron (middle name Earl) 1920 110 m hurdles
(silver) Earl Eby 1920 800 m
(gold) Earl Thomson 1920 110 m hurdles
(bronze/silver) Earl Johnson 1924 cross country individual; cross country team
(gold) Howie Williams (middle name Earl) 1952 basketball
(silver) Bob McMillen (middle name Earl) 1952 1500 m
(gold) Bob Kenney (middle name Earl) 1952 basketball
(gold) Allen Kelley (a.k.a. Earl) 1960 basketball
(gold) Earl Young 1960 4x400 m relay
(bronze) Bob Bennett (middle name Earl) 1960; 1964 swimming - 100 m backstroke; swimming - 200 m backstroke
(gold) Steve Riddick (middle name Earl) 1976 4x100 m relay
(bronze) Earl Bell 1984 pole vault
(bronze) Earl Jones 1984 800 m
(gold/silver) Steve Lewis (middle name Earl) 1988; 1992 400 m; 4x400 m relay
(silver) Lance Deal (middle name Earl) 1996 hammer throw
Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famers:
2 musicians
Ben E. King (middle name Earl) 1988 The Drifters
William "Bootsy" Collins (middle name Earl) 1997 Parliament-Funkadelic