Van Rijn And Roan Tom

The two names seem slightly similar when put together like that.

Eric Tamarin-Asmundsen receives a letter from his biological father, Nicholas van Rijn, and reflects:

"Old Nick himself... You hear stories about him throughout space as if he were already a myth."
-Poul Anderson, Mirkheim IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 1-291 AT XII, p. 171.

When van Rijn visits the Hermetian flagship, the captain and ranking officers focus:

"...their attention mainly on the merchant, the living legend." (XIX, p. 254)

See also Legend And Myth.

Roan Tom, while still alive, is:

"...the rover and trader chieftain whose name was already in the ballads of a dozen planets."
-"A Tragedy of Errors,", p. 465.

In both cases, we are told that the physical appearance belies the legend. Another such contrast, between appearance and significance, is to be found in Manuel Argos. When first seen, the future Founder of the Terran Empire:

"...was below medium height, stockily built, dark and heavy-faced and beak-nosed, but his eyes were large and blue-gray, the coldest eyes I have ever seen on a human."
-Poul Anderson, "The Star Plunderer" IN Rise Of The Terran Empire, pp. 325-362 AT p. 334.

And, of course, there is another legend-in-his-own-lifetime:

"'...I have encountered tales of Admiral Flandry's exploits...'"
-Poul Anderson, The Game Of Empire IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, 2012), pp. 189-453 AT CHAPTER ONE, p. 213.

"'So this is the legenday Admiral Flandry.'"
-Poul Anderson, A Stone In Heaven IN Flandry's Legacy, pp. 1-188 AT III, p. 37.

(Returning to Earth Real, we have a legend of sorts living nearby in Morecambe: see Tyson Fury.)