When describing something as being "popular by proxy", in a way it's similar to saying that a feminine name such as Suzanne is only "popular by proxy", since Leonard Cohen, who has the same birthday as Billy Murray had a song of that title. A feminine name like that hasn't been too popular since the late 60s as a baby name, and other celebrities such as Suzanne Somers were popular as a reason for "popular by proxy" for her first name after her appearances in Three's Company and Step By Step.

but look at Richard Dreyfuss, his movie career seemed to involve a handful of references to Susan or Suzanne in the movies he was in, then his appearance in the movie What About Bob with Bill Murray really boiled over on that in some other ways while Dreyfuss was married to actress Jermaine Rain. And guess what Jermaine Rain's actual first name was: YOU GUESSED IT: Susan, last name Davis. Susan's uncanny resemblance to Suzanne is why I treat it as a substitute to the name, even if the pronunciation and spelling are different combined!