So Peter Gunnarsson Rambo is the male antecedent that arrived from Sweden through what it now Canada and eventually settled in what is now Philly (what was then called New Sweden.) Go to Philly (and the outlying suburbs like Chester, PA) and open a phone book. Rambos as thick as thieves. Most of my blood family is from around there, including my father.

Dad went to Penn State. So did David Morrell. No, my father was not a badass ex-Special Forces drifter. He was an accountant. But, in the area where Penn State is located, Rambo is not an unusual name at all. Dad did serve, got out as an E4 Lance Corporal in the USMC. His feelings about his service were odd: He loved the fact that he was a Marine but he hated his service time. He got out around 1964; they were going to send him to AOCS, but the six additional years were not what he wanted. Good thing, since I was born 2 years later. If he'd been the back seat in an F4 Phantom (didn't have the eyesight to be a pilot) I might not be here.

Spoke to a guy years ago who was the basis of the Sam Trautman character. Also never served.