In the UK & US at least that's not true, there are de facto (unregistered) and (offering more protection) registered trademarks.
In the UK at least if you could show your name gave it some weight, and that you'd suffered some financial harm as a result of its use, then you'd have a case without it being registered.
Yes, common law trademarks are a legal concept, but the article features Amazon telling the author to go pound sand unless they have the paperwork to back up a registered trademark.
But if the Scottish family weren't named McDonald, McDonald's would be far more likely to win the case. In fact, an exception being made for a Scottish family's real name implies rights outside of strict trademark over the use of one's own name.
In the UK at least if you could show your name gave it some weight, and that you'd suffered some financial harm as a result of its use, then you'd have a case without it being registered.