His name was Randy, which he shortened to Rand when he got married, at the behest of his wife. There could be some tenuous connection to Ayn Rand, but he has not acknowledged it. He definitely knows about Ayn Rand and her philosophy, as does his dad (Ron Paul).

To be more precise, at least according to his father, his name is "Randall". "Randy" is a nickname, as is "Rand".

Ah okay. Then I'll bet an oak tree against an acorn that he adopted the nickname as an allusion to Ayn Rand.