James Bond and other fictional stars whose names were changed

Perhaps sensing that “Secretan… James Secretan” didn’t have quite the same ring as the iconic introduction, “Bond… James Bond”, he disposed of the idea before the first Bond novel’s publication in 1953.

The name's Bond...but it very nearly wasn't.

Fans of the iconic spy woke up to a shock this morning as it was revealed that James Bond went under a different alias in early drafts of Casino Royal.

An extract from the 1952 version of the book has Bond introduce himself as "Secretan. James Secretan" while undercover.

The unfamiliar name was crossed out and "Bond" written over it in blue biro.

Fleming was far from the only writer who fiddled with the names of his lead characters...try these on for size.

Hermione Puckle [Granger] - The heroine of Harry Potter was born with a cheeky-sounding surname (hints of "chuckle" and Shakespeare's "Puck"). J K Rowling said "it didn't suit her at all", and switched to uptight "Granger". Full marks.

Count Wampyr [Dracula] - Bram Stoker's original name for his neck-chewing villain would have stripped some of the vampire's aura. The lisp evoked turns ominous broodings into high-camp (sample quote: "We are in Transylwania, and Transylwania is not England"). It is thought that the change was made after Stoker read of Vlad II of Wallachia, who went by the name Vlad Dracul.

Sherringford Holmes [Sherlock] - Arthur Conan Doyle's notes show he considered "Sherringford" as the first name for his detective. Tri-syllabic and a woolly, it lacks the satisfying snap of Sherlock. And if that doesn't twist your melon sufficiently, Holmes's assistant Watson was first called "Ormond Sacker".

Phillip Malory [Marlowe] - The hard-boiled detective who tramps through Raymond Chandler's famous noir series only just escaped being named after 15th century English poet Thomas Malory, author of the epic Le Morte d'Author . Thankfully Chandler's wife intervened in favour of the more dashing Marlowe.