The Likeness of Stallone/ McCartney
There is no ‘tag’ stating where a person comes from, not even in their genetics. Scientists do not know this information without comparing populations, and trusting that the people they are testing in a given population, along with their families, have lived there for as long as they say they have, and have only procreated with locals (who in turn have been in the region for as long as they say they have, and also only procreated with locals, and on and on).
Then they compare chromosomal information and try to match length and specific “mutation” with the correct population. They don’t always get it right. And there is certainly no rule stating people in one given population must have blue eyes, black hair, certain height, etc. In select cases, the mutations on a given sample of chromosome may be virtually identical to another from a neighboring population, and the best identifier remaining is the specific length of the chromosome which may happen to be found at higher concentration in one population versus another (it’s why your “regional profile” keeps changing with updates, if you’ve genetically tested with say, AncestryDNA, 23andMe etc).
So while Paul McCartney and Sylvester Stallone are unlikely to share any autosomal data indicating the same “region” of the world, they undoubtedly share some chromosomal makeup that makes them look similar, such as the same mutations for hair color, eyebrow shape, eye color, and to a lesser degree, DNA responsible for the shape of their face.
It’s worth mentioning Rome initially invaded Britain in 55 BCE. They would occupy Britain in one way or another until about 410 CE. Historians refer to the culture at the time as Romano-British until the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons.
Stallone’s father was born in Puglia Italy, Gioia del Colle specifically. McCartney was born in Liverpool, and identified as Irish, but he was actually “Ulster Scot”, from Northern Ireland, and his family had a long history in Southern Scotland.
I’m not about to say they are related genetically, not inside of 2,000 years, although it’s perfectly conceivable. The Welsh, for example, owe their existence in part to their Roman ties. The extent of Roman rule went to the River Forth, well north of modern Glasgow.
It’s a small world.
-Interesting note-
Paul McCartney’s first girlfriend's last name was Rhone. This is a rare surname in the British Isles, that is generally taken to have come from France, possibly with the Huguenots fleeing Catholic persecution.
Sylvester Stallone’s most famous character had the last name Balboa, known as the Italian Stallion, only, Balboa is not an Italian name, it is a Spanish name, as in Spain. The surname Balbo does exist in Italy, and this could conceivably have gotten changed upon immigrating to the United States, but the imaginative backstory is unnecessary. The characters Stallone plays aren’t really known for their brains.
Both figures' most well known fictional characters have Spain in common, as the last paragraph outlines for Stallone with Balboa, while Paul McCartney famously used the alias Paul Ramone with consistency while traveling (this is the inspiration for the band, the Ramones). Ramone as a name is Spanish. As a surname, in Europe, it is chiefly represented by France and Italy.
https://forebears.io/surnames/balboa
https://forebears.io/surnames/balbo
https://forebears.io/surnames/ramone
This post was inspired by memes, pictures and posts circulating since 2008 on various social media platforms comparing Sylvester Stallone and Paul McCartney. These pictures are publicly available online in a multitude of places, and so I did not feel the need to cite where they came from, as it would be near impossible to trace their true origination.
Published 4/17/23