Alexandre Dumas, fils
Hammer originally said that his father had named him after a character, Armand Duval, in "La Dame aux Camélias", a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. According to other sources, it was later said that Hammer was named after the "arm and hammer" graphic symbol of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP), in which his father had a leadership role. (After the Russian Revolution, a part of the SLP under Julius's leadership split off to become a founding element of the Communist Party USA.) Late in his life, Hammer confirmed that this was indeed the origin of his given name.