Welcome Michael!
Some believe this individual who is identified by the number is Emperor Nero. There are early manuscripts of Revelation that record the beast’s number as 616, leaving off a number 50 in the equation, while others record the number as 666 (Nun (50) + Resh (200) + Waw (6) + Nun + (50) Qop (100) + Samekh (60) + Resh (200) = 666 (which spells “Caesar Nero” in Aramaic or Hebrew: NRWN QSR.
Both the Aramaic and ancient Hebrew alphabets are very similar and did not include vowels.
The 616 translation is from a different spelling of Nero Caesar, removing one of the consonants Nun: NRW QSR.
This is not to say that there cannot be a spiritual interpretation of others whom the mark of the beast can represent, but the possible literal interpretation is likely referring to Emperor Nero (who was around during the time of St. John).
I do want to say that I love the title of your post! It is a nice play on words. And again, welcome to the forum : )