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{{trope|wppage=Sobriquet}}
{{quote|''"Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". ''You're'' Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."''|'''The Dude''' (so that's what you call him), ''[[The Big Lebowski]]''}}
This is a character who is primarily, or even only, known by their [[In-Series Nickname]].
[[Sister Trope|Related to]] [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]], but that is about people being referred to exclusively by their jobs or what they're best known for doing. Also related to [[Stage Names]]. Does not include [[Fan Nickname|Fan Nicknames]], [[Secret Identity|secret identities]], or explicit pseudonyms. Also doesn't include people who [[Meaningful Rename|give themselves new names following an act of self-reinvention]], and [[That Man Is Dead|stop responding to their old name]] (e.g. [[Harry Potter (Literature)|Voldemort]]). Exceptionally badass examples of this trope fall into the [[Red Baron]].▼
Usually, [[Dramatis Personae]] will give the full name of such a character first, though the actual script will use the nickname almost exclusively even in the unspoken directions.
Pretty much any superhero/supervillain with a secret identity
{{examples}}▼
▲[[Sister Trope|Related to]] [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]], but that is about people being referred to exclusively by their jobs or what they're best known for doing. Also related to [[Stage Names]]. Does not include [[Fan Nickname
== Anime & Manga ==▼
* Gyro Zeppeli from ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Steel Ball Run]]''. His real name is {{spoiler|Julius Caeser}} Zeppeli.▼
▲{{examples}}
▲* Gyro Zeppeli from ''[[
* Kyon and his sister in ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' - their real names will likely never be revealed. "Kyon" is just an irritating nickname his aunt once gave him and that his sister spread, that ended up sticking despite all his efforts to discourage it. His sister doesn't even get ''that'' much; everyone just calls ''her'' "little sister".
* Ayumu '[[The Idiot From Osaka|Osaka]]' Kasuga from ''[[
** On the class listings for the second year, she initially thinks she is not in Yukari's class, but then sees that her name is listed as "Osaka".
** To a lesser extent is Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara.
** Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa is a small example too. Early on in the series, everyone of the main cast switches from referring to her by her last name to referring to her by "Nyamo".
* Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno from ''[[Love Hina]]''.
* The top eight members of Ragnarok in ''[[Kenichi:
* Shien Mushanokoji, the quarterback of the Seibu Wild Gunmen in ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'', is only called "The Kid" for several volumes before his name is revealed.
** Additionally, when Sena and Monta set out on the trail of the mysterious third founding Devil Bat, literally all they know about him is his nickname, Musashi, causing them to think he's [[Jerkass]] soccer player '''Mu'''ro '''Sa'''to'''shi'''. He's actually Gen Takekura; the nickname is never really explained although Takekura and Musashi are two different ways to read the same kanji (武蔵).
** "Buffalo" Ujishima of the Seibu Wild Gunmen. Not that it can be helped, since his actual given name, "Baharou", is pronounced identically to "Buffalo" in Japanese.
* We never find out L's real name in ''[[
** Ditto for Matt, although both Mello's ({{spoiler|Mihael Kheel}}) and Near's ({{spoiler|Nate River}}) are revealed late in the story. In fact, many people go by nicknames in the series, since Kira knowing your real name is... problematic, to say the least.
* ''[[Madlax]]'' is only known by her [[Code Name]] (which has its own sinister backstory), even to her liaisons, the closest thing she has to family. In fact, {{spoiler|she doesn't have any "real" name at all, since she isn't that real herself, in the first place.}}
* The villain in ''[[Gun X Sword]]'' is known only as the Claw, sometimes called "Comrade" by his allies. He rejected his real name long ago and it is never revealed.
* In ''[[Monster (
* Ryo Marufuji, the Kaiser, of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]''
* C.C. (pronounced "C-Two") in ''[[Code Geass]]'' is only known by these initials. The only time her real name was spoken out loud the viewer is only treated with the speaker's vague lip-movements.
* The Gaba Thieves in ''[[Mahoujin Guru Guru|Doki Doki Densetsu Mahoujin Guru Guru]]'' make a deliberate point of only ever using nicknames to protect their identities. When Nike and Kukuri briefly join them, the leader Sly immediately gives them codenames. This is taken a step further with Sly himself, who [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|everyone calls "Ookashira"]], essentially meaning "Boss".
* The dub of ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' does this to justify the [[Dub Name Change|changes in names]] despite not trying to hide that most of the characters normally live in Japan; the first episode introduces the main cast listing both their full names and the nicknames derived from them (to varying degrees of plausibility) which the characters are referred to thereafter. Becomes sort of ridiculous when their parents use these nicknames for them, especially "Izzy", which is a of shortening the characters ''last'' name. The other series don't bother with such a thing.
* The famed criminal Mister in ''[[Coyote Ragtime Show]]'' is so called because he has as many aliases and false identities as there are stars in the sky and nobody knows what his real name actually is.
* ''[[Code
* Nobody in ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' calls Miyabi Oomichi "Miyabi". She's mainly referred by the main cast as "Professor," while Namiko calls her by the [[Alternate Character Reading]] "Masa," and the [[Faceless Masses]] calls her "Oomichi-san".
* Kasanoda from ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]''. We're given his first name (which is Ritsu), but he's almost always referred to as Kasanoda or some [[My Name Is Not Durwood|mispronunciation]] of his name.
** Mori and Honey as well, except to [[First-Name Basis|each other]].
* ''[[
** Index too. Presumably she wasn't named Index when she was born, but
** Aogami Pierce presumably has a real name as well. To us, though, he's just the blue-haired guy with piercings.
* The [[Anti-Hero|hero]] of ''[[Darker
* Tokidoki from ''[[Amatsuki]]'' is almost always known as Toki both inside and outside the story, mainly because his full name is described as "too weird". (It's Japanese for 'sometimes,' and while the Japanese do ''sometimes'' use words for names, just like any other language, that isn't one of them.)
* Everyone (both in the show and in [[Real Life]]) calls the main erm... "heroine"... of ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' "Lucy". The tail end of the manga {{spoiler|reveals her actual name is [[Only One Name|Kaede]]}}.
* Scar from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* Nodame from ''[[Nodame Cantabile]]'' rarely gets called by her real name, Megumi Noda.
* V. T. from ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' runs a pool for people guessing her name. Her real name is Victoria Terpsichore.
* Several members of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'''s cast are commonly referred to only by nicknames. The only one of the cast who has a name we actually know is real (and not just a nickname or an alias) is Rokuro Okajima, the main character, whom everyone just calls "Rock". Amongst other examples, "Revy" is a nickname (first name "Rebecca", nothing else known), "Dutch" is a nickname, "Balalaika" is a nickname, and "Hansel and Gretel" are nicknames (but they have no real names anyway).
** Balalaika is later given a full name: Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena.
* Takeshi Goda in ''[[Doraemon]]'' is commonly known as Gian. Some of the characters such as Shizuka and Gian's mother still call him Takeshi.
* Everybody in the Section 9 in ''[[Ghost in
* Kazuya Shibuya from ''[[
** There's also Takigawa, who everyone just calls "Bou-san."
* The Oracion Seis of ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' all have codenames.
** Hoteye mentions that his real name is {{spoiler|Richard}},though.
* Alexander from [[Seikon no Qwaser]] is almost always referred Sasha.
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', Yamato's real name is unknown and since his introduction he has just gone by the [[Code Name]] Tsunade gave him even after the mission he was given it for ended. Readers often confuse "Tenzo" to be his real name, but it's actually just the [[Code Name]] he used he worked with Kakashi.
** We eventually find out {{spoiler|A and Killer Bee}} don't go by their real names, but rather nicknames that have been used by {{spoiler|the Raikage and his partner}} through their village's history.
* Kafuka Fura of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou
* From the ''[[Gundam]]'' franchise, [[Mobile Suit Gundam
** ''[[G Gundam]]'' has a twofer with "Touhou Fuhai" (Undefeated of the East), AKA Master Asia (which is arguably just a pragmatic short-hand for the former). Quite often, Domon will refer to him by both titles in quick succession ("Touhou Fuhai Master Asia!") The manga ''G Gundam: Fight 7th'' gives his original name as {{spoiler|Shuji Kurosu}}.
* The title character of ''[[
* Boss from ''[[
{{quote|
* ''[[
** Sanada East's [[Student Council President]] is only known as "Ringo-chan."
** The Literature Girl or "Yassan." Her real name was never released.
* [[One Piece]]: Franky's real name is Cutty Flam. "Franky" was a name given to him by Iceburg.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* James Buchanan Barnes, current{{when}} [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] is almost always referred to as Bucky, or Bucky-Cap. Only his [[Black Widow|girlfriend]] refers to him by his first name.
* Jughead Jones in ''[[Archie Comics]]''. His real name is Forsythe.
** Similarly, his sister Jellybean Jones. Real name is Forsythia.
** Wow, so the nickname's actually an improvement.
** Pretty much everyone in the comics goes by a nickname, which usually are just shortened versions of their names. Only Veronica gets called by her name often, and even then you'll see it as "Ronnie" just as much.
* In ''[[The Sandman|Death: The Time of Your Life]]'', Foxglove's assistant goes by Boris, but Death calls him by his given name, Endymion. ("I really do prefer Boris, if you don't mind," he tells her.)
* Katchoo of ''[[Strangers in Paradise]]''. Her real name is Katina Choovanski, but those close to her only call her that when they're angry with her or in a very serious mood.
* In most ''[[Batman]]'' stories, regardless of medium, the Joker's given name is unknown, even in most stories expounding or referencing his secret origin. One of the few exception is in the 1989 [[Tim Burton]] film, and a subsequent episode of ''[[Batman:
** In one story his autistic cousin Melvin refers to him as Cousin Ja... but he is interrupted and the Joker tells him "That's not my name anymore, call me Cousin Joker".
** Melvin's last name is Reipan, Napier spelled backwards.
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* Private Hank the Yank in ''Adventures in the Rifle Brigade'' is listed in official documents as "Private the Yank"; this may have something to do with his apparent inability to articulate himself in words other than "GAWD DAMMIT!"
** Lieutenant Milk is also solely referred to by his nickname, "Doubtful", by Captain Darcy.
* Agent 355 from ''[[Y:
* Disney's Brer Rabbit comics seem to imply that all the animals have actual names, but everyone seems to just refer to everyone as "Brer <Species Name>".
* V in ''[[V for Vendetta]]''.
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* [[Green Lantern]] Hal Jordan, whose real name is "Harold" but is never addressed as such, ''ever''.
** His friend Tom Kalmaku once had the nickname "[[Unfortunate Names|Pieface]]", and he was referred to as such constantly. It was a more ignorant time.
* For the first two decades of her published existence, Rogue of the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] was known just as "Rogue", even to her nearest and dearest (which according to at least one version of her origin published before 2001 was shown to be her nickname before she discovered her powers). Only after the makers of the first movie decided to saddle her with "Marie" did that eventually bleed over into the comics, [[Chris Claremont]] eventually naming her Anna Marie Raven. (The surname is almost certainly an assumed name, it is identical with the the first name of her adoptive mother, Raven Darkhölme aka Mystique).
* The [[Daredevil]] villain Bullseye, is only known by that name and when asked for his name, "Bullseye" is what he always responds with.
** Turns out his first name is ''Lester''. again with the nickname being an improvement.
* Many characters in ''[[
* In ''[[Youngblood: Judgment Day]]'', Bryce Barstow, formerly the Fisherman, calls his former sidekick Toby King by his old hero name, Skipper - despite being ''his adoptive father''. Toby's a little irritated, but settles the matter by saying he'd prefer his real name in this situation.
* The real names of the main characters of ''[[
* Sonic from [[
* [[Wolverine]]; most of his friends and allies call him "Logan", and the only person who seems allowed to call him his actual name - "James" - is [[Squirrel Girl]]. Consequently, he is the only one who regularly calls her "Doreen"; whatever reason for this [[First-Name Basis]] is, [[Noodle Incident|like a lot of things]] involving Squirrel Girl, unknown.
* Non-character example, the setting of ''[[Sin City]]''. The town's actual name is Basin City, but nobody has called it that since someone covered the "B" and "A" on a sign that read "Welcome to Basin City". [[Wretched Hive|And it is far more fitting.]]
* In the ''[[Worm]]/[[Luna Varga]]'' crossover ''[[Taylor Varga]]'' this is the assumption made about the members of the reptilian Family by both the population of Brockton Bay and the PRT because the first members of the Family to appear were operating as capes (and one was explicitly given her nickname by the members of PHO) and they were presumed to be cape identities. Later the Family acknowledges that they take names in English because their "real" names in their "native language" [[The Unpronounceable|can't be pronounced by humans]], so they can only ever be known by nicknames.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[The Blind Side]]'': Michael, at first anyway. After he reveals to Leigh Anne that he doesn't like to be called "Big Mike", she thereafter always calls him "Michael" instead.
* The title character of ''[[
** And Mutt Williams in ''[[Indiana Jones and
* The Little Tramp in the [[Charlie Chaplin]] movies. Other languages call him Charlot or Carlitos.
** Chaplin himself referred to the character as "The Little Fellow".
* Lampshade hung, of course, in ''[[Last Action Hero]]'', where a one-note character named Skeezie is actually named just ''Skeezie''; he even gives that as his full name on a police report.
* Nose Noseworthy in ''Shorts'' - apparently not his actual given name (we assume it comes from his last name), yet he is listed as "Nose" Noseworthy on his episode card and Toby says he's 'a kid that everyone calls Nose', completely avoiding stating his real name. Even his father never calls him by name - or nickname, for that matter - the closest we get is 'son'.
* In ''[[Purple Rain]]'', Prince's character is referred to "The Kid" ''even in the credits''. He's never referred to by name, even by his parents. He's still just "The Kid" in the pseudo-sequel ''Graffiti Bridge''.
** What's especially weird about this is that almost every other character is [[Shaped Like Itself|known by their portrayer's real-life name (or real-life stage name, at least)]].
* The bartender with [[
* All characters in the thriller ''[[Exam]]'' are referred to by hair colour, ethnicity, or job title, with the exception of the mystical CEO.
* Although the main character of ''[[Falling Down]]'' is named William Foster, he is rarely referred to as such, and credited as the name on his vanity license plate, "D-FENS".
* "The Kid" in ''[[Dick Tracy (film)|Dick Tracy]]'', though at the end {{spoiler|he's given a name: Dick Tracy, Jr.}}
* "Captain" in ''[[The King and
* In ''[[The Gamers]] 2: Dorkness Rising'', the GM's name is Kevin Lodge, but almost everyone calls him Lodge. The newbie player addresses him by his first name, and the rest of the gaming group expresses astonishment at Lodge having a first name.
{{quote|
'''Mark''': Kevin? Who the hell is Kevin?
'''Lodge''': ''I'm'' Kevin!
'''Mark''': Dude, you have a first name? }}
* ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'' has Red, who is never referred to by full name in the movie.
** The book also has him as an Irishman with red hair, giving him two reasons for the nickname. but the movie version has [[Morgan Freeman]] playing the role. [[Morgan Freeman]]'s version [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on it when asked why he's called Red: "Maybe it's 'cause I'm Irish".
** You've got to pity poor Fatass from ''The Shawshank Redemption'', who is not only beaten to death his first night in prison, but is stuck with that name in the credits.
* ''[[Dog Soldiers]]'' has "Spoon" Witherspoon. His first name is never revealed.
* ''[[Repo!
* The title character in ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'', who is called that by everyone except his best friend Tommy Five-Tone. Tommy calls him his real name: Eddie.
* Penny Lane in ''[[Almost Famous]]''. Her real name is {{spoiler|Lady Goodman.}}
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** Of course it's lampshaded throughout whenever he gets angry at someone calling him by his real name rather than simply "The Dude".
* The Great Kanaka, Starcat, Provoloney and Yo-Yo from ''[[Psycho Beach Party]]''.
* "The Tramp" from ''[[Lady and
** This is also an example of [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]], because one of his old flames wrote a song about him called "He's a Tramp," and the name stuck.
* [[Dollars Trilogy|The Man With No Name]] gets a different nickname in each installment of the trilogy (in order "Joe," "Manco," and "Blondie"). His real name
**
* The main characters of ''[[
* The Bride in ''[[Kill Bill]]'' is this with respect to the
* ''U-571'' has Trigger, Rabbit, and Chief, among others. Chief is referred to as such because he's Chief of the Boat, but the others are nicknames.
* In Ocean's Eleven there is "The Amazing Yen" and Basher Tarr.
* [[Thank You for Smoking]] Nick Naylor's boss, BR. He even has that name on his office door.
{{quote|
* Most people in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' universe refer to him as Jabba the Hutt, probably completely unaware of his full name: Jabba Desilijic Tiure. This is never mentioned in the movies, but does appear in the Expanded Universe.
* The five protagonists of ''[[Sucker Punch]]'' are referred to only by the nicknames the antagonist, Blue, gives them: Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Rocket, Amber, and Blondie. Even Sweet Pea and Rocket, who are sisters, don't call each other by their real names.
* Goose in ''[[Top Gun]]''. Everyone, even his own wife, just calls him that. His real name, which was seen on a box, was {{spoiler|Nick Bradshaw}}.
** This seems to be based on some kind of fact. In the credits about a dozen technical advisors are listed as "<First Name> <Nickname> <Last Name>"
* In the various incarnations of ''[[
* In [[Apocalypse Now]], with the exception of Lance and Willard, all the main characters are primarily referred to by a nickname fitting their characters: Chief, Chef, and Clean. {{spoiler|Interestingly enough, it's the only two men not referred to by a nickname who make it out of the film alive.}}
* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean|Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides]]'' Blackbeard's real name is mentioned only once near the beginning of the film, and from that point on he's referred to as either Blackbeard or Captain. Probably a case of [[Truth in Television]] -A lot more people know the real-life pirate as Blackbeard than Edward Teach.
* In the film adaptation of ''[[La Reine Margot (
* In ''[[Camp Nowhere]]'', 12-year-old Morris Himmel goes by the nickname "Mud." The only people who call him by his actual first name are his father and his love interest.
* In the Japanese horror film ''House'', the seven girls are referred only by their nicknames, even by family; namely, they're Gorgeous, Fantasy, Prof, Kung Fu, Melody, Sweet, and Mac (that's short for "stomach"). This is the first real clue that these girls are meant to be thought of as more archetypes than actual characters.
* In ''[[Bajrangi Bhaijaan]]'' the titular character real name is Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (and he begins telling his life story to an audience of bus passengers by stating it), but he is only called that name by his late father, his fiancée, and legal authorities. For everybody else, he is Bajrangi Bhaijaan, or just Bajrangi.
* Ian and all of his henchmen in ''[[National Treasure]]'', though Ian's might be his actual first name, and the henchmen might be using their surnames only.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* Foxface from ''[[The Hunger Games (novel)|The Hunger Games]]''{{'}} trilogy. Katniss gives her the name on the basis that she looks like a fox, and we never learn what her real name is.▼
▲== Literature ==
▲* Foxface from ''[[The Hunger Games]]' trilogy. Katniss gives her the name on the basis that she looks like a fox, and we never learn what her real name is.
* Andrew "Ender" Wiggin from ''[[Ender's Game]]'', to the point where he can go around inconspicuously as Andrew Wiggin in ''Speaker for the Dead''. (Granted, that is 3,000 years in the future due to relativistic time travel, but still...)
** Well, and the fact that Andrew and Wiggin aren't exactly uncommon names. Ender [[Meaningful Name|is]].
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** Also in the later books of the ''[[Ender's Game]]'' saga many of the characters are from Lusitania, where long Portuguese names are the norm, and just about everyone goes my a nickname. These may be ordinary short forms of their names ("Liberdade Graças a Deus Figueira de Medici" becomes "Libo"), translations ("Estevão Rei Ribeira von Hesse" becomes "Quim," pronounced "king") or unrelated and based off of personal characteristics (Lauro Suleimão Ribeira von Hesse" is called "Olhado" due to his cybernetic eyes.) The full names are usually mentioned once or twice, and then ignored.
* [[The Phantom of the Opera]] (real name was Erik)
* There are [[Loads and Loads of Characters|several]] cases of this in the ''[[
** Even though it's never mentioned that he might have another name, [[Fish Out of Temporal Water|Dustfinger]] could easily be an example of this. Since [[Trapped in Another World|his world]] is full of regular names like [[Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder|Roxanne]], [[The Dragon|Basta]], and Minerva, it's probably safe to assume that this is a nickname rather than what his parents named him.
** [[Blessed
* ''[[Winnie
* In ''[[
* Neil Gaiman's short story ''October in the Chair'' features a boy who was bullied by his twin older brothers. They had nicknamed him the Runt and everyone called him this.
* In ''Zen and the Art of Faking It'', [[Deadpan Snarker|San]] falls in love with a [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl|girl]] named [[wikipedia:Woody Guthrie|Woody]], and only realizes that this isn't her real name when an adult refers to her as {{spoiler|Emily}} halfway through the book.
** This could also fall under [[Meaningful Rename]] since she chose the name herself and rejected the name her [[Parental Abandonment|mother]] gave her. [[Meaningful Rename|This happens again]] toward the end and reverses the first when she starts going by her real name again.
* Flick in Jean Shepherd's short stories, of which ''[[A Christmas Story]]'' is the most famous adaption. He was based on a real-life childhood friend of Shepherd's whose last name was Flickinger.
* The title character of ''[[
* Peekay in ''The Power of One'' has some typical English name, but it's never used.
* Many of [[
* ''[[Redwall]]'''s vermin are often named with [[Fail O'Suckyname|uncomplimentary descriptions of their physical features]] (possibly reaching its peak in ''Triss'' with the briefly-mentioned "Fatty" and "Stinky"). In ''Loamhedge'' the fan assumption that these were nicknames was made explicit, as the adolescent Redd is told he will soon receive his "proper vermin name".
** Urgan Nagru says that he took his official name from the wolf Urgan, whom he claims to have killed and whose pelt he wears. His original name is never revealed. Played with in the [[Official Fanfiction University]], when his wife Silvamord threatens to tell the students what his real name is.
* From the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]:
** Several characters in the [[X Wing Series]]. Rogue Squadron has Hobbie Klivian, whose real name is Derek, but no one ever uses it. Wraith Squadron has the most
** Mitth'raw'nuruodo, aka Thrawn. He went with the short version to make it [[Some Call Me... Tim|easier]], and it stuck. In his culture, core names are only suposed to be used by friends and family, but he doesn't seem to mind; presumably the over-familiarity is preferable to people continually mangling the pronunciation.
* Despite being [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] with him for decades, Fred Colon of [[Discworld]] fame apparently had no idea Nobby Nobbs's real name is 'Cecil Wormsborough St John Nobbs', or even just his real first name. Others may know his name (it presumably appears in the Watch pay accounts) but no one ever calls him it, even city nobles knew him as Nobby.
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* In Daniel Pinkwater's ''Young Adult Novel'', the protagonist goes by his ''nom de guerre'', Charles the Cat, and the other Wild Dada Ducks do likewise.
* Until the 7th book, JP in ''[[The Princess Diaries]]'' series was known only as The Guy Who Hates It When They Put Corn In The Chili.
* Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley from the ''[[Harry Potter (
** This is common with the Weasleys, although most of the time it's pretty easy to guess their full names, as the rest all have traditional English names.
** Similarly Voldemort is almost always called "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" by those who fear him, or "The Dark Lord" by those who follow him. Those who neither fear him or follow him actually call him Voldemort... which isn't his real name anyway. It was exactly the desired effect, as Voldemort wanted is real name to be forgotten, and the name he chosen to be feared. Dumbledore and Harry refer to him as Voldemort, but use his real name in front of him to upset him. Dumbledore is pretty much the only person to actually call him Tom. Harry calls him Riddle {{spoiler|during their final showdown}}.
** The Hogwarts ghosts: Nearly Headless Nick (his real name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington), Moaning Myrtle (
* In S.E. Hinton's ''[[Rumble Fish]]'' the Motorcycle Boy is only known by this nickname and even his teachers use it. His younger brother is one of the few in the neighborhood that even knows his, unstated, real name.
** Ditto Two-Bit Matthews in Hinton's [[The Outsiders]], whose real name is known, but only mentioned once by the narrator when introducing him into the story and never again.
* In Glen Cook's ''[[Black Company]]'' novels, all members of the titular mercenary group are given nicknames upon joining, and their real names are never used again. Sometimes overlaps with [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]].
** Taken to the extreme with Croaker. He once is asked for his real name so that he can be promoted, and he has to spend a little bit just trying to remember what his original name is.
* The [[Mad Max|strangely familiar]] road-warrior dwarf in ''[[
{{quote|
"Just 'Mad'? That's an ... unusual name."
"It ain't a name." }}
* Pumpkin in ''[[Memoirs of a Geisha]]''. Chiyo/[[Meaningful Rename|Sayuri]] gave her the nickname within a week of meeting her, never mentions her given name, and goes on to mention that it continues to stick even after she takes a new name as a geisha. Which must ''really'' suck for Pumpkin, because she spends the latter portion of the book {{spoiler|hating Sayuri's guts and deliberately sabotaging her chance with the man of her dreams, since she and Chiyo were forced rivals as girls and Pumpkin's life became very dismal as a result.}}
* In Son of the Shadows: Known as the Painted Man to most, Chief to his men, he has forgotten his own name, until Liadan (the only one to give him an actual name) reminds him.
* In Daughter of the Forest, the other way around - Everyone knows the male protagonist as Hugh of Harrowfield, except for those closest to him, who call him Red. More straightforward in the sequel, when he has moved to Ireland: everyone calls him Iubdan ('the little man'), so that hardly anyone remembers that he's actually a Briton called Hugh.
* [[
* Not really a nickname, but Reuven Malter in Chaim Potok's books seems to use his Hebrew name almost exclusively; his "real" first name is Robert, but he's only seen using a few times, and only when dealing with people who aren't Jewish.
* In the classic children's novel ''The Machine Gunners'' the son of the cemetery keeper is known only as "Cem." (A throwaway line in one of the sequels reveals that he inherited his father's position and was still known as "Cem" a good thirty years later.)
* Swan and Sister in ''[[Swan Song (
* Jude's eldest child in ''Jude The Obscure'': his mother didn't bother to christen him and simply called him "Little Father Time." Jude and Sue more or less do the same thing.
* Sticky Washington in ''[[The Mysterious Benedict Society]]'' series. His real name is "George," so he insists on people referring to him only by the nickname because he doesn't feel that he can live up to the name of "George Washington." However, none of the officials at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened will use the nickname, because they feel that "if it isn't official, then it can't be real."
* Yo-less, Wobbler and Bigmac in the ''[[Johnny Maxwell Trilogy]]''. When Johnny talks to Bigmac's social worker, it takes him a minute to remember that she'd know him as Simon.
* The main protagonist in ''[[
** Though, if any of you really are curious, a follow up short story reveals that his real name is {{spoiler|Balder}}. Which, really, we should've seen coming.
** His wife Laura's full name is given early in the book; if she took his surname, it implies that it's {{spoiler|Moon}}.
* Beezus from the ''[[Ramona Quimby]]'' series isn't actually named Beezus, she's named Beatrice. Many of the books don't even tell you that!
** One of the books mentions that she got this nickname from Ramona's toddler mispronunciation of Beatrice. She seems to be fine with being called so, although there was one episode in another book where some boys at the park took advantage of the fact that it rhymes with "[[Jesus]]".
* Many characters in the ''[[Mistborn]]'' trilogy appear to be examples of this trope, but occasionally do go by their real names. Two characters that ''are'' examples are Clubs, who is named for his leg injury, and his nephew Spook, a secondary character in the first book. As he develops both as a character and a member of the thieving crew, he's given the name "Spook" because it's easier to say than his real name, "Lestibournes." He eventually stops using his given name in favor of the one he has earned.
** It's revealed that Lestibournes is a nickname itself, meaning something like unwanted child in his slang.
* Dwarves in ''[[
** Elves are first given a "father-name" by their father, a "mother-name" later in life by their mother, and an "after-name" (basically a nickname) later in life by other elves. We usually only know the third.
** Also Ents; Entish being what it is, an Ent's full name is essentially the story of their life- and since Ents are just shy of immortal, that makes for ''long'' names. Most Ents use fragments of their name rendered into other languages for dealing with other races, such as "Treebeard".
** Another ''LOTR'' example: In Bree, Aragorn is known exclusively as "Strider."
* Most people refer to [[Percy Jackson]] as Percy, not his full name Perseus.
* In ''[[
* Ranger in the ''[[Stephanie Plum]]'' books. His full name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso.
* Y.T. in ''[[Snow Crash]]''. At first you might assume that they're her initials, but they're actually short for Yours Truly.
* This is the default state for elves in the [[Quantum Gravity]] [[The Verse|'Verse]]. [[True Name
* In the Russian ''[[Death Zone]]'' series, most characters and anyone else living in the Five Zones goes by a nickname. Occasionally, their real first name may be revealed, but the full name will usually stay hidden. For example, the leader of the Order is known by all as Commander Hunter, which is a nickname (in English, in fact) given to him by a neo-Nazi gang shortly before the Catastrophe. Only his closest advisors know that his real first name is Savva. On the other hand, all members of the rival organization known as the Ark are required to adopt a German name by their leader Heinrich Hister, the former head of the above-mentioned gang. Another interesting case is Titanium Vine, whose name is Darling. She was found in a [[Human Popsicle]] tank with no memory of her identity but a tattoo with "DRG" on her shoulder, hence the name.
* The Finn from [[William Gibson]]'s ''[[Sprawl Trilogy]]''.
* There are a few of these in the [[Chalet School]] books, the earliest example being (the) Robin (aka Cecilia Marya Humphries). Later on there's [[Bifauxnen]] Tom Gay (real name Lucinda Muriel, and given that she's an extreme [[Tomboy]], it's understandable why she hates her real name) and Polly Heriot (real name Hildegard).
* In the [[Sci Fi]] novel ''[[Malevil]]'', La Menou's actual name is never stated and she goes by her nickname which means "tiny".
* "Mullet Fingers" from [[Carl Hiaasen|Carl Hiaasen's]] ''[[
* Arcie in ''[[Villains
* Almost all of Anne and Gilbert's children in L.M. Montgomery's ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' series are known exclusively by their nicknames. Their first child, Joyce, is called "Joy" during her short life. The next child, James, is known as "Jem". Younger twins Anne and Diana go by "Nan" and "Di", for obvious reasons. Youngest child Bertha Marilla goes exclusively by "Rilla".
* ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'': Most professional soldiers in the series are known only by their nicknames, typically assigned during basic training. Examples include Whiskeyjack, Fiddler, Hedge, Bottle, Stormy, Halfpeck, Iron Bars and many more.
* Candlewick (a.k.a. Lampwick in other versions) the troublesome boy Pinocchio befriends from ''[[
* The [[Agent Z]] books give us a minor character who ended up known as "
* Almost everyone in ''[[The Gift (
* Kantorka (means: daughter of the cantor) in ''[[
* In [[
* The [[Left Behind]] book series character Albie, a Middle Eastern black market arms dealer who is only known by the nickname he acquired from his own hometown of Al Basrah.
* In [[
* The magicians in [[The Bartimaeus Trilogy]] all use nicknames, because they can't control the demons if they know their true name. The demons would prefer their names not to be known either (so they can't be summoned), but use them nonetheless.
* In the ''[[
* Princess Candacis in ''[[White
* Nearly everyone in ''[[Haunted
* In ''[[
* Many of the characters in ''[[I, Claudius]]'' are only known by their nicknames (for example, "Caligula" and "Castor"). Roman naming customs were very unimaginative, so several people might have identical or almost-identical names; nicknames make it much easier than trying to figure out which of the eight or nine "Drusus"es someone might be talking about.<ref>[[Truth in Television]]; the ancient Romans made use of nicknames for just that reason.</ref> In the books, the narrator will usually mention the real name before telling you that that guy will just be known as "Castor" from then on; in the TV series, they generally didn't even do that.
* Many characters in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' have nicknames, some of which are self-styled and others less so. Peasants generally don't care about the real names of other peasants, which leads to some people being known exclusively by their nicknames, such as Lommy Greenhands, a mook named Shitmouth, and most famously Hot Pie, among quite a few others. Arya becomes this once when traveling to Braavos. She would have invented a new identity at this point, but everyone just called her "Salty", so she went with it.
* Many of the characters in ''[[Someone Else's
* In ''[[Generation Kill]]'' Captain America is only referred to by his derogatory nickname due to being a real person.
* [[Lincoln Heights]]: ALL of the main characters are referred to by abbreviated nicknames of their actual names. Edward-Eddie, Jennifer-Jenn, Cassandra-Cassie, Elizabeth-Lizzie, Taylor-Tay. It's a wonder they didn't just give them those names in the first place.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* On ''[[
▲* [[Lincoln Heights]]: ALL of the main characters are referred to by abbreviated nicknames of their actual names. Edward-Eddie, Jennifer-Jenn, Cassandra-Cassie, Elizabeth-Lizzie, Taylor-Tay. It's a wonder they didn't just give them those names in the first place.
▲* On ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]'', we have Templeton "Faceman" Peck, and John "Hannibal" Smith (interesting in that he almost always introduces himself as "Hannibal Smith", as if it's his actual name).
** Also, "Howlin' Mad" Murdock. The team referred to him Howlin' Mad pretty consistently in the very first episode, but quickly switched to calling him [[Last-Name Basis|Murdock]] for the rest of the series.
* ''[[
** [[Joss Whedon]] seems to be fond of this trope (see also Mal, Echo, Captain Hammer, and so on, and so forth).
* Besides the above-mentioned Angel and Spike, ''[[Angel]]'' also had Fred, Gunn and Lorne.
** [[Justified Trope]] for Lorne in that "Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan" isn't a very appealing name for a nightclub owner. Previously they called him
* Subverted in ''[[Roseanne]]''; Jackie is a nickname, but even she herself wasn't aware of that fact until Bev casually brought it up in conversation. Her real name is either Marjorie or Mary-Jane; Bev can't remember which. Roseanne, as a child, was unable to say the original name and it came out as "My Jackie", which led to her just being called Jackie.
** Also used for DJ.
{{quote|
* Turtle on ''[[Entourage]]''. His first name (Sal) was not revealed until season five.
* Benjamin 'Hawkeye' Pierce, Walter '[[Hypercompetent Sidekick|Radar]]' O'Reilly and 'Trapper' John MacIntyre from ''[[
** Maybe. Hawkeye refuses to accept that explanation and demands to know what it really stands for. Instead of standing by his answer, BJ enigmatically replies, "Anything you like."
* In the 1988 TV miniseries version of ''[[The Bourne Series (novel)|The Bourne Identity]]'', the bespectacled leader of the Swiss assassins is simply called "[[Scary Shiny Glasses|Gold Glasses]]."
** In Robert Ludlum's original novel his nickname is "the owl." (Or it is implied when a subordinate tells [[Big Bad|Carlos]] "the owl is dead."
* Hoban Washburn (Wash) and Kaywinnit Lee Frye (Kaylee) of ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]''
* Coach in ''[[Cheers]]''.
** Somewhat parodied when Coach answers the phone, and when the person on the other end asks for Ernie Pantusso, he asks where that person is. Sam Malone says "That's you, Coach," at which point Coach gets back on the phone and says "Speaking!"
* Dorothy 'Ace' McShane in ''[[
** Hell, the Doctor himself. Consider how unlikely it is that "The Doctor" is written on his birth certificate.
** Even the surname McShane comes from the [[Expanded Universe]]; in the series Ace admits her real name is Dorothy when she's introduced, and is just "Ace" from then on.
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** Locke, Ben and Juliet are the only ones who call them by their real names.
** In later seasons, Sawyer is almost exclusively called James {{spoiler|or Jim, when he's working for DHARMA in the 1970's. The fact that he ''doesn't'' use the name "Sawyer" there plays into a scene in "He's Our You"}}.
* Screech was almost never referred to as Samuel Powers on ''[[Saved
* In ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', '''everyone''' refers to the female in the team as "Thirteen". Her real name was shrouded in mystery, until recent episodes.
* One ''[[Dharma and Greg]]'' episode introduced Greg's regular poker buddies, including one who had only ever been referred to by generic nicknames for years because ''everyone had forgotten his name''.
** If they ever knew it in the first place.
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* One-shot character One-nad from ''Oliver Beene''. Real name was Walter.
* Cory in ''[[Boy Meets World]]''. Nobody, not even his wife, knows his real name is Cornelius.
** Also, the recurring tough-guy character named Harley is revealed in one episode to be really named Harvey.
* Some say that he couldn't believe we hadn't mentioned him yet, so he wrote this himself, and that if his real name were known, we'd be able to uncover the secrets of the universe. All we know is, [[Top Gear|he's called The Stig.]]
** Some say his first name really is 'The'....
* The Cat in ''[[
** In the novel ''Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'', it's explained that the Cat can't grasp the concept of ''needing'' a name; everyone should just know who he is.
* [[General Hospital|Lucas Lorenzo "Lucky" Spencer, Jr.]] Mainly to differentiate him from his more famous father, the male half of the [[Ur Example|original]] [[Super Couple]].
* A famous one would be Commander Montgomery Scott on [[Star Trek]]. Everybody just calls him "Scotty".
** Also Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy.
* John "J.D." Dorian in ''[[Scrubs]]''. Only his brother and (late) father call him "Johnny".
** Don't forget [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|the]] [[Almighty Janitor|Janitor]], whose name we still don't know, although that's more because every time he reveals it, the audience is quickly led to believe he was lying.
** Turk arguably gets it worse than J.D. ([[Running Gag|Being called girls' names not withstanding]]), since only his biological family & his superiors in surgery call him Chris or Christopher, but Dr Kelso got drunk at his wedding to Carla (Who still calls him by his [[Last-Name Basis|last name]] after the wedding) & subsequently thought his name was ''Turk Turkleton'' & called him that for the rest of the series, with some people picking up on it & calling him by that name on occasion.
* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', the real first names of Gob Bluth, Buster Bluth, and Maeby Funke are given all of ''once'' in the entire series, during the pilot (George Oscar, Byron, and Mae, respectively). Most viewers probably forget that the latter two are nicknames.
* Mr. Big on ''[[Sex and
* [[That '70s Show|"Hello, my name is Fez."]]
** Reginald "Red" Forman.
* Detective Constable Alfred "Tosh" Lines in [[The Bill]]. After his first two or three episodes, nearly everybody just refered to him as "Tosh".
* Seymour of [[Burn Notice]] has a henchman whom he only ever refers to as "[[Meaningful Name|Jackass]]."
* Ned in ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'', although as [[No Name Given|that's the only name we're given for him]] besides "the pie maker", it's possible that it's actually his birth name rather than an abbreviation.
* Even in the credits of ''[[
** According to [[That Other Wiki]], Jamie Hyneman is "James" on his birth certificate.
* ''[[
{{quote|
Hancock: But...it's your name! You haven't got another one, have you?
Smith: Erm, yes...Clarence.
Sid James: (Characteristic cackle) Clarence! }}
* Many characters in ''[[The Sopranos]]'' are referred to by nicknames (Big Pussy, Junior, etc.).
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* [[Punky Brewster]]'s real name is Penelope.
* An episode of [[Small Wonder]] revealed that Vicki's legal name was Victoria. (The Lawsons probably had to fudge some papers fast.)
* ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'' has Coconut Head, Backpack Boy, and Crony, who never have real names given. Billy Loomer and Lisa Zemo are usually referred to by their last names (though that changes for Lisa in the 3rd season). Tracey and Stacey are referred to simply as the Oboe Twins (they both play the oboe), until they get their [[A Day in
* On [[Leverage]] Sophie is this, Sophie Devereaux isn't her real name it is merely her favorite of her many assumed identities. Parker also uses the name [[Alice Allusions|Alice White]] fairly often and is known by this name to Peggy, her only friend outside the team.
* Nicknames occasionally crop up in reality shows like ''[[Survivor (TV series)|Survivor]]'', and people who choose to go by these (like ''Survivor'''s "Dreamz", "Coach", and "Johnny Fairplay") are usually at least a little full of themselves.
** In Survivor: Nicaragua, one of the contestants (Judd) was promptly renamed Fabio, eventually getting Judd replaced with Fabio in the captions and opening credits. If you missed the first episode, you might never know it wasn't his real name.
* ''[[
** Their principal falls into this too, as he goes by Teddy instead of Tedward.
** In the iCarly movie ''iDate A Bad Boy'', there's a scene where Sam enters the Shays' house and calls for Carly. She says, "Carly? Carly? Carlotta?" So Carly's real name is Carlotta.
* Everyone calls [[Gossip Girl|Nate Archibald's]] father The Captain... Including Nate.
* DJ Tanner on ''[[Full House]]''. Her real name is Donna Jo.
* The Fonz, occasionally "Fonzie", on ''[[Happy Days]]'' is only seldom referred to by his real name, Arthur Fonzarelli.
** Another ''[[Happy Days]]'' example: Starting in the second season, "Arnold's" was owned by Matsuo Takahashi (played by [[The Karate Kid|Pat Morita]]). Everyone calls him "Arnold", however; he jokes that it was easier and cheaper to answer to "Arnold" than to buy the letter signs to rename the [[Malt Shop]] "Takahashi's".
* Starburns, one of the other students in Señor Chang's Spanish class from [[
* [[
* C.J. Cregg of ''[[The West Wing]]'' is only rarely called by her full name, which is Claudia Jean.
** And Percy 'Fitz' Fitzwallace.
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** To be fair, Leo and Toby appear to be their actual names, if the names that they give on in the subpoenas in season 3 are correct. [[The Nicknamer|CJ just calls them that.]]
* In one episode of ''[[Seven Days]]'', Frank runs into a former associate who's referred to only by nickname (can't remember what it is, Bear or something to that effect). At one point when Olga refers to him by his first name, Frank responds by saying that even the character's mother calls him by his nickname.
* Just about every [[Professional Wrestling|ProfessionalWrestler]] ever. [[Do Not Call Me "Paul"|Has a trope named after]] the two Pauls, [[Triple H]] and The Big Show, who only go by their ring names.
* It's not entirely certain whether the Wraith from [[Stargate Atlantis]] even had names. They certainly didn't use them around humans, who wound up calling recurring Wraiths things like "Michael", "Todd", and "Kenny".
* [[Leave It to Beaver|Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver]]
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** There are also a number of characters more commonly known by a street name than by their real name, such as Bodie (real name Preston Broadus), Poot (Malik Carr), Snoop (Felicia Pearson), and Bird (Marquis Hilton).
* Following Navy tradition, most of the characters on ''[[Sea Patrol]]'' are referred to by their nicknames - Bomber, Spider, Swain. Some of these make sense in context; RO is the Radio Operator, for example. Some, not so much.
* On ''[[
* On ''[[The Nanny]]'', C.C. Babcock is known only by her initials, as is practically her entire family (like G.G. and D.D., and mother B.B.). In the finale, her name is finally revealed to be {{spoiler|Chastity Claire Babcock}}.
* On ''[[Criminal Minds]]'', Jennifer Jareau is known exclusively as J.J., and [[Team Mom]] Aaron Hotchner is almost always called "Hotch" by his teammates.
* On ''[[Corner Gas]]'' the Mayor is "Fitzy" Fitzgerald.
* In ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', everyone who is on first-name basis with Commander Tucker calls him Trip. His real name is Charles Tucker the Third, the "third" part being where the nickname originated. The [[Expanded Universe]] novels indicate that even his parents generally use it, which makes sense given that his father had a prior claim to "Charlie" and three generations of Charles Tucker at the same Thanksgiving dinner table would get confusing. Trip also has a younger brother called Bart, which it's reasonable to suppose is short for something or other.
* ''[[NCIS]]'' has Ducky. He occasionally goes by Dr. Mallard or Doctor by those who don't know him (or Palmer, out of respect) but for the most part it's simply Ducky.
** That's because his full name is Dr. ''[[Donald Duck|Donald]]'' Mallard, by the way.
* In the ''[[Teen Wolf (TV series)|Teen Wolf]]'' series, Stiles's real first name is unknown, and allegedly very hard to pronounce. "Stiles" is derived from his last name Stilinski.
* One ''[[Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]'' episode involved Will and his grandmother sneaking out of the house and meeting up with an unseen character known only as The Captain who would then drive them to a Heavy D concert.
* In ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'', the Dorothy expy is known only by her initials "DG." It's implied in the third act that the "D" really ''does'' stand for "Dorothy" as {{spoiler|she was named for her great-grandmother, Dorothy Gale}}.
* ''[[
* Staff Sergeant Phillip "Hippy" Roper in ''[[
* In ''[[Have Gun — Will Travel]]'', Paladin isn't the main character's real name.
** Even people who'd known him since before the Civil War only used that name!
* [[Those Two Guys|Bulk and Skull]] from early ''[[Power Rangers]]'' seasons. With full names like Farkus Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovich, you can't blame them much. ''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'' introduces Skull's son, "Spike", whose real name hasn't been revealed yet.
* Bobby Singer, on ''[[Supernatural (TV series)]]''
* From ''[[Glee]]'' there's Noah "Puck" Puckerman, who has only been addressed by his first name by his mother, and Rachel while they were dating.
** Santana Lopez is from [[Wrong Side of the Tracks|Lima Heights]] and [[Badass Boast|didn't know her name wasn't "Garbage Face" until she was five]].
* ''[[Bitchin'
* "Charlie" Duncan from ''[[Good Luck Charlie]]''. her real given name is Charlotte.
== [[Music]] ==▼
* The main character of [[Savatage]]'s ''[[Streets:
▲== Music ==
▲* The main character of [[Savatage]]'s ''[[Streets a Rock Opera]]'' is known only by his drug dealer nickname "DT Jesus". The "DT" stands for both "de-tox" and "downtown". The [[All There in the Manual]] story provides another nickname unused in the lyrics, "the Savior on Avenue D".
* [[Evelyn Evelyn]] is a performance art duo supposedly made up of [[Conjoined Twins]], both named Evelyn. Their official names are Eva and Lyn Neville, but during their [[Hilariously Abusive Childhood]] nobody ever bothered to remember which one was which, so the twins themselves can't remember either.
* Canadian [[Synth Rock]] band [[The Birthday Massacre]] have stage nicknames; while some members just use their real names (Owen, formerly O-en Falcore and Nate) some band members' real names are not public knowledge (Rainbow and Chibi, as well as former members Aslan and Dank).
* The title character of the song "Delta Dawn" (a 1972 hit for [[Tanya Tucker]] and a number one hit for [[Helen Reddy]] in 1973) is referred to throughout only by the nickname she acquired as a young woman.
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* Pig-Pen from ''[[Peanuts]]''. Nobody knows his real name; at his first appearance, he actually says: "I haven't got a name... People just call me things... Real insulting things."
** In one strip, Pig-Pen says that everyone calls his dad "Pig-Pen Sr."
** Also from ''[[Peanuts]]'', Rerun Van Pelt. When he is introducing himself to his kindergarten class he reveals that he doesn't even know what his real name is.
** As well: Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt.
* In ''The Broons'', the three youngest kids are called "the twins" and "the bairn". Maybe their parents got tired of naming kids.
* ''[[Popeye (comic strip)|Thimble Theatre]]'': Scooner Seawell Georgia Washenting Christiffer Columbia Daniel Boom, usually called Swee'pea
** Popeye, upon finding his long-lost father, asks him what their real names are. Pappy doesn't remember.
* Doc Boy from ''[[Garfield]]'' hates being called by his nickname, especially by his older brother Jon, but ironically has no known name.
** Actually, his first few appearances said his name is Doc.
== [[Radio]] ==▼
▲== Radio ==
* The title characters of several series:
** ''[[Fibber McGee and Molly]]''
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* Also, some supporting characters
** Eddie "Rochester" Anderson of ''[[The Jack Benny Show]]''
* "[[Catch Phrase|I am your host,]] [[True Capitalist
== [[Theatre]] ==
* Sky Masterson in ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'', called that because nobody bets higher. In the few moments between "My Time Of Day" and "I've Never Been In Love Before," Sky reveals to Sarah his real name, Obediah Masterson, and says she's the first person he ever told it to.
* Little Buttercup in [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''HMS Pinafore''. Her real name, Mrs. Cripps, appears only in the [[Dramatis Personae]].
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* "Yank", the protagonist of ''The Hairy Ape'' by Eugene O'Neill. In one of the later scenes, he gives his name as Bob Smith, "but I been just Yank for so long."
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* Tails in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. His real name, Miles Prower, usually [[All There in the Manual|isn't mentioned in the games at all]].
** Sonic 2 did, and was the only game to call him "Tails", the quotes representing the fact that it's not his real name.
** This was a plot point in [[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
** Dr. Robotnik gets dubbed by the rest of the ''[[Sonic Adventure
* The ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series does this a lot, though in all cases, the character's real name is eventually revealed, or in some cases, revealed first. For example: Apollo Justice in the fourth game is continually referred to as "Forehead" by the prosecution, much to his dismay.
** They have fun with this in the first game, where a screechy old lady is known only as "old bag" the first few times you speak with her. When she's finally called in to court, she introduces herself as Wendy Oldbag.
* The Postal Dude in ''[[Postal]]'' has no other name. When he pays a traffic ticket in the second game, the cop tells him, "And let that be a lesson to you, Mr.... The Dude."
** The game seems to hint at his full name really being ''The Postal Dude, Jr.''. {{spoiler|Same with his dad - his grave is labeled "T. Dude Sr."}}
* Most of the cast of ''[[
** One character, Beat, will be sent into a rage if anyone actually refers to him by his real name.
** Nearly every major character has a nickname; notable exceptions include Shiki, and usually Sanae Hanekoma ('Coffee Dude') Some characters are referred to by title, such as The Composer or The Conductor, but usually only before you find out who they are. Even Shiki's stuffed cat, Mr. Mew, is given a nickname of sorts by the main character - 'Piggy'
* The street fighter (no, not that ''[[Street Fighter]]'') Shen Woo from ''[[King of Fighters|The King of Fighters 2003]]'' has an unknown real name; "Shen Woo" (roughly translated, it means God of Fighting) is a nickname he picked up while growing up in Shanghai.
** Likewise, if K' (pronounced K-dash) ever had a name other than that before the experiments, it's never come up.
* Double H from ''[[Beyond Good
* "Soap" MacTavish, the British playable character from ''[[Call of Duty]] 4'' is never given a real name, and all of his squadmates refer to him exclusively by his nickname. Captain Price even points it out in the training mission, remarking, "What kind of a name is 'Soap', anyway?" Presumably, being a [[Silent Protagonist]], Soap wasn't able to correct him. In the sequel he's just Captain MacTavish, but ''[[Modern Warfare]] 3'' confirms that Soap's first name is John.
** {{spoiler|Price}} still calls him Soap. Which confuses the hell out of the TF141 [[Red Shirt]] in the room when you break him out.
{{quote|
* Wilhelmina "Billie" Church from ''[[Clive
* Nikolai "Sledge" Slidjonovich from ''[[Quake
* John-117 and Thel 'Vadam are better known by their rank/titles: [[Halo|Master Chief and the Arbiter]].
** The Master Chief does refers to himself as "Spartan-117" at the end of Halo 2, and Cortana calls him John at the end of Halo 3. Other than that, information pertaining to either of their names is found only in supplemental material.
** The protagonists of ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' and ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' are respectively referred to in-game only as "The Rookie" and "Noble Six"; while the former is at least also known by the initials "J.D.", the latter is simply known as "SPARTAN-B312".
* Lady in ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3'' is only called her real name, Mary, by her father {{spoiler|Arkham}} on three occasions. By the end of the game, she's abandoned her name altogether.
* Lady in ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From The New World'' is actually {{spoiler|Grace Garland, Johnny's sister}}. Killer, from the same game, would probably be closer to [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]].
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* There's also Lightning in ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'', her real name is revealed late game to be {{spoiler|Claire Farron}}.
* Due to [[Hello, Insert Name Here]], the commentators in ''[[Backyard Sports]]'' only refer to custom players by their nicknames.
* Likewise, the protagonists of ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' games are only known by their [[
* [[Embarrassing First Name|Jethro]] "Jet" Bradley in ''[[
* Hub "[[
* Both Brooklyn Luckfield and Ricarla Borgnine of ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' are only ever addressed as "Bullet" and "Carla", respectively. In the case of the former, Bullet prefers people address him as such; for Carla, it's perhaps a case of "it's easier to say your name that way".
* An unnamed tavern/sauna owner in ''[[Little Big Adventure]] 2'' is known in the fan community as "Masher". This is because when the player attempts to enter the women's sauna, one woman yells out "Masher!", which is a little known slang word a sexual pervert.
* Four of the seven playable characters in ''[[
* Virtually every character in the ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series uses a pseudonym, often a code name chosen by the character or a superior. This phenomenon is referenced explicitly in the first game when Meryl asks Solid Snake his name, and he answers that, after a week on the battlefield, "no one has a name". Several characters' real names have been revealed, but they may also be pseudonyms, such as Big Boss's supposed real name {{spoiler|John Doe}}.
* Lord Roth from ''[[Infinite Space]]'', whose title is bestowed upon him for his accomplishments. His aide Nele calls him "Hartwig" on multiple occasions, but it is never known whether it is part of his real name or just another nickname.
* La Volpe (The Fox) from ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''. The novelisation ''Renaissance'' gives him the name Gilberto, but this has not made it to game-level canon.
* Lots and lots of these guys in [[STALKER]]. To name a few from across the series (retrieved from the [http://stalker.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page STALKER wiki]), namely those from ''Call of Pripyat''; [[Posthumous Character|Barge]], [[Badass Beard|Be]][[Wasteland Elder|a]][[The Bartender|rd]], [[Cowboy Cop|Gro]][[Animal Theme Naming|se]], [[The Faceless|Griz]][[Animal Theme Naming|zly]], [[Private Military Contractors|Bl]][[Names to Run Away From Really Fast/Colors|a]][[The Faceless|ck]], [[Private Military Contractors|Ha]][[Hitman
* Very many people in ''[[Alpha Protocol]]''. For one, Mike Thorton is stated to be a nickname/alias, and the main character's true name is never revealed. Albatross, Sis and SIE are some other examples.
* [[Tales of the Abyss]] has a few
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* ''[[The Force Unleashed]]'' has it's protagonist referred to only as "Starkiller", his code-name. This is a plot point in the novelization, as not even Starkiller himself knows his real name until late in the story, where it is revealed as {{spoiler|Galen Marek}}.
* [[Tex Murphy]], given his nickname as a kid due to the shape of a hole he left in the ceiling after being ejected off a malfunctioning hobby horse. We never do find out his real first name.
* In ''[[Dragon Age]]'', apparently neither Isabela nor Anders are known by their real name. [[Word of God]] states that Anders is apparently called that because he is [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6511895/3 from the Anderfels]{{Dead link}}, while Isabela's real name, and the reason she goes by "Isabela", is simply [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/5118004%26lf%3D8/1#5120696 unknown]. Fenris from ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' is only known by a nickname for the bulk of the game; his real name ({{spoiler|Leto}}) is revealed in his personal quest in Act 3, and he subsequently orders everyone not to call him that, because "Fenris" is the only life he can remember.
* [[Barbarian Hero|The Iron Bull]] in ''[[Dragon Age: Inquisition]]''. Sometimes he is called "Hissrad" but that is, in fact, his title in his own language. His actual name is never spoken.
* [[Mass Effect 2]] has the head of Cerberus, an elusive and secretive figure only known as "The Illusive Man".
** The tie-in comic series ''Mass Effect: Evolution'' reveals that his name is {{spoiler|Jack Harper}}.
* In ''[[Mario
* [[Fallout: New Vegas]] has Rose of Sharon Cassidy, better known as Cass.
* In ''[[
=== [[Visual Novels]] ===
▲== [[Visual Novels]] ==
* Ciel in ''[[Tsukihime]]''. Her real name is Elesia, which is referenced roughly equally relating to her as to her Nightmare in Kagetsu Tohya: One scene.
* All the Servants in ''[[Fate/stay
* M in ''[[
* The servants in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Redcloak from ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. He gives himself and his one-eyed brother Righteye easy-to-remember nicknames after witnessing their soon-to-be-partner Xykon murdering a lizardman for having an [[The Unpronounceable|Unpronounceable]] [[Overly Long Name]]. Sort of evolves into a [[Meaningful Rename]] over time.
▲* Redcloak from ''[[Order of the Stick]]''. He gives himself and his one-eyed brother Righteye easy-to-remember nicknames after witnessing their soon-to-be-partner Xykon murdering a lizardman for having an [[The Unpronounceable|Unpronounceable]] [[Overly Long Name]]. Sort of evolves into a [[Meaningful Rename]] over time.
* "Fox" Maharassa of ''[[Friendly Hostility]]'' [[Berserk Button|reacts with violence]] to being called by his real name -- "Kailen". [[Word of God]] is that this is due to years of having to listen to people mispronounce it (it's supposed to be something like "Ka-ee-len", not "Kay-len".)
* Riff from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' is actually named "Riffington." No one except his mother has ever actually called him that, except to tease him.
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* Smic from ''[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com Jayden and Crusader]'' is known to all, including his girlfriend, as Smic, which is an abbreviation, apparently, of Strange Man in Cupboard. His real name is Sir Reginald Vladimir Gregory Maximillian Augustus Posthumus Alexander Nicholas Derby, the third Earl of Derbyshire. Apprerently the name Smic was adopted for convenience.
* ''[[Path to Greater Good]]'' - the mannequin-like creature which apparently saved Tobi writes "3" as its answer to any question... so that's what Tobi calls it.
* In [[So Damn Bright]], Anxiety's name is actually Ana Cortez, but "only relatives are allowed to call [her] that."
* [[Crowbar Benson|'Crowbar' Benson]]. His real first name is unknown to readers, due to the fact that he is only ever referred to by his nickname.
* K from ''[[Blip]]''. Her full name is unknown to the readers, and even to her boyfriend.
* PeeJee from ''[[Something
** [[Overly Long Name|Shazam Wil-Wheaton Dowden-Patel]]'s name is usually shortened either some variant of his first name (usually by his father) or middle name (by his mother).
* Vauxhall from ''[[A Tale of Fiction]]'' is known only as 'Room' to his roommate Harper for a very long time.
* In [[General Protection Fault]], Jason "Fooker" Barker is initially known only by his nickname to Ki until she interviews at GPF.
* Vulture of ''[[My
* Used as a major plot point when [[Sluggy Freelance|Teddy Weddy]] becomes a character in [[
* A variation in ''[[Homestuck]]''. Jade's penpal ( {{spoiler|Jake English}}) was only known by his initial, J. After his full name was revealed, J itself turned out to be a nickname for him from one of his friends. Similarly, other characters referred to {{spoiler|Roxy Lalonde}} and {{spoiler|Dirk Strider}} by [[Last-Name Basis|their last names]], their initials, {{spoiler|Ro-Lal for Roxy and Di-Stri and Bro for Dirk}} before their proper introductions. This is [[Lampshaded]] by the narration.
* Shroomy is the only ''[[
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In ''[[
* [[Red vs. Blue|"Hey Sarge!"]] (Although this later turns out to be a case of [[His Name Really Is "Barkeep"]].) Also Doc, Sister, and all of the Freelancers.
* [[Red Panda Adventures|The Red Panda]] is never referred to by his real name, even in his secret identity.
* Does Captain Hammer of ''[[
* In ''[[The Guild]]'', most of the characters prefer to be addressed by the names they use in the game they all play. We, the audience, still don't know the real name of Tinkerballa, a.k.a. Tink.
** Spoiler! As of season 5, we do. It's {{spoiler|April Lou, which is why she hid it.}}
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* Calling [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] "Ben" is good way to piss him off.
* In [[Philthon Jones]], it's always "Jones", never James.
* The [[Let's Play
** Conversely, the [[Freelance Astronauts]] all call each other by their respected handles (Maxwell Adams, Evek, Ferr, and pipes!!). Of course, every once in a while, they'll slip up (either in a moment of [[Is This Thing Still On?]]? for Evek or [[Angrish]] for pipes!!), and that's when their [[U Stream]] erupts in chatter.
* [[
* Abused in the [[MSF High Forum]], with NPCs of Mitchell. There's a good reason, though. He's terrible with names!
** Examples include Snuggles, the hug-happy Kappa; Apprentice, the apprentice demonslayer; and The Mysterious Deviling, a Deviling cowgirl.
* The Mallers from ''[[
* On the game music podcast [[Nitro Game Injection]], co-host Suraida never goes by her real name on the air.
* Odd example in [[Something Awful]]'s Spring/Summer[[Webcomic Time|(/Fall/Winter]] 2011) Ghost Story Thread: The [http://nothotbutspicy.com/para/50fa3/ "Site Kilo-29"] (finished on SA) and [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3402557&userid=64773 "Cursed Snoopy"] (after the pictures; apparently abandoned?) epics by users 50 Foot Ant andOneWhiteWhisker. Because these eerie stories are framed as actual events, they're always referred to as Fifty or Sgt. Ant and Whisker (son of Mr. and Mrs. White) by characters within the story but only as covers for their real names. Which makes the time when Sgt. Ant actually shouts [[
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* Krusty, Sideshow Mel and Sideshow Bob of ''[[The Simpsons (
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* Krusty, Sideshow Mel and Sideshow Bob of ''[[The Simpsons (Animation)|The Simpsons]]'' might be borderline examples of this; while they do have full names (Krusty's is Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski, Mel's is Melvin Van Horne and Bob's is Robert Underdunk Terwilliger), they're rarely used on the show (and as far as I know Krusty's FULL name is never used; the most we hear is Herschel Krustofski).
** We're forgetting the most important one: Bartholomew "Bart" Simpson
** Margaret "Maggie" Simpson and Marjorie "Marge" Simpson
* El Toro in ''[[
* In a couple of [[Disney]] examples, there are many characters who are never given real names, even in their originally fairy tale format. [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]], was she given that name at birth or was it given to her because of her beauty as she aged? [[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]'s name was given to her by her step-sisters (she was the cinder girl). On the surface, [[The Lion King|Scar]] appears to be named after his scar, but [[All There in the Manual|in the novel series, it shows his given name was Taka]], though that isn't much better, as it's Swahili for dirt/trash. His parents obviously loved him. Not!
** On the subject of Snow White, the originally printed fairy tale had her mother bleeding three drops of blood onto the snow right about the time of/as conception, and named her thus.
** Some authors attribute Cinderella the name "Ella", but most usually continue to call her Cinderella regardless.
** [[Lady and
* "That Guy" from the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "Futurestock". [[Word of God]] says his real name is Steve Castle.
** What, no Nibbler?
** Bender Bending Rodríguez a.k.a. Bending Unit 22
** "Clamps" is revealed in "Silence of the Clamps" as Francis X. Clampazzo. It would be interesting if the X is for Xavier, to make him named after the founder of the Jesuits.
* Frankie (Francis Foster) and Bloo (Blooregard Q Kazoo) from ''[[
** And justified at least in Bloo's case, since he was made up and given that name by Mac, when latter was three years old. Nobody would stick to a name a very little kid gave him.
** Notably, [[Antiquated Linguistics|Mister Herriman]] does not abide by this, and calls them "Miss Francis" and "Master Blooregard," respectively.
* Double-Dee (Eddward) from ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' is referred to that way by everyone bar his parents, due to being best friends with two guys with incredibly similar names.
** Also Eddy's brother is only referred to as such. Despite rumors, the creators haven't really given him a name as of now.
** Both Ed and Eddy count too, for the same reason as DD - they're all named "Ed(d)ward".
* Pickles in ''[[Metalocalypse]]''
* Shaggy (Norville Rogers) in ''[[Scooby-Doo]]''
* [[
** A lot of the people in Jet's gang ([[Spell My Name
** Her real name is ''Smellerbee''?
** [[Third Person Person|The Boulder]] is angry that you haven't mentioned the Earthbending fighters yet!
* In ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', apparently ''everyone'' in the Autobot military goes by a nickname given to them by their drill sergeant. For example, one bot was shown to be good with stingers (small, electric weapons), he was named "Wasp", and when a certain yellow bot fails to show him up with the same weapon, he's considered a bumbler, and from that he gets the name "[[Kid Appeal Character|Bumblebee]]".
** Most of the Transformers in ''[[
* ''[[Teen Titans (
** Although one could probably speculate that because Larry, the Robin fanboy from another dimension, has a real name of Nosyarg Kcid ([[Sdrawkcab Name|Dick Grayson backwards]]), and he and Robin share DNA...
** It's actually a little creepy that they never use their real names. Starfire's a translation, fine, and B.B. appears to be fleeing the onus of [[Embarassing First Name|Garfield]], so presumably Dick doesn't trust the rest of the team, and Cyborg has emotionally distanced himself from 'Victor Stone?'
* Similarly, Batman in ''[[Batman:
** That is until "Chill of the Night!" when Bats {{spoiler|confronts Joe Chill, and declares, "I...am Bruce Wayne!"}}
* In ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]'', everyone refers to the title character's sister as D.W., her real name is Dora Winifred (after her grandmother). This is lampshaded in a later episode when she goes missing in the White House.
{{quote|
'''White House Guard''' That's it? Initials? You didn't give the kid a full name? }}
** Also, there's the Brain. His real name is Alan. His classmates are often confused when he is called this.
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** Spinelli is known by her last name, but that's because {{spoiler|her first name is Ashley and in the Recess world, the Ashleys are a group of shallow [[Valley Girl|ValleyGirls]], and Spinelli is a tomboy who hates girly things}}.
* Ferb from ''[[Phineas and Ferb]].'' It's short for--[[The Un-Reveal|oh, there's that thing I was looking for]].
** Given a [[Continuity Nod]] later when his ''sister'' admits she doesn't know.
* Presto from the ''[[Dungeons
* Megan, Christopher and Stewart in ''[[Family Guy]]''.
* ''[[South Park]]'' has Leopold "Butters" Stotch.
* ''[[King of the Hill]]'' has Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt. Lucky got his nickname from an incident at Costco when he'd injured himself tripping on pee-pee in the restroom. He sued the store and received a $53,000 cash settlement.
* Race Bannon of ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' fame. In the ''[[Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures
** The name "Roger" had been used in the classic series.
* Kick, Mouth and [[No Name Given|Emo Kid]] in ''[[Kick Buttowski]]''.
** Pantsy is presumable not the given name of Mouth's older brother, either. Maybe it's a family thing.
* Moose (Margaret Rose) Pearson from ''[[Pepper Ann]]''.
* Robin and [[Superboy]] in ''[[Young Justice (
** Actually, Kid Flash knows Robin's identity, but he's the only one.
** When Superboy starts school, he takes the name "Conner Kent."
* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' has Jamie "Peep" Two-Squirrels.
** This caused Heloise to get her hopes up when she started recieving love notes from a secret admirer with the initials "J.2.S."...
* "Piff" from ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
* Diane "Didi" Pickles from ''[[Rugrats]]''. The babies also all fit. Dylan "Dill" Pickles, Phillip "Phil" Deville, Lillian "Lill" Deville, Charles "Chuckie" Finster, Kimberly "Kimi" Finster, Susanna "Susie" Carmichael, and Thomas "Tommy" Pickles.
* A character from [[Combo
* Pinkamena Diane Pie of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* Steven Anita Smith from ''[[
* On [[Disney Channel|Disney Junior]]'s ''[[Doc McStuffins]]'', everyone refers to the titular character as "Doc," even her parents. Her real name, Dottie, was only mentioned during the series' first episode.
* Butthead from ''[[Beavis and Butthead]]''
* In ''[[The Owl House]]'', Eda's first name is actually Edalyn, but only Lilith - her sister - calls her that. Inverted with Lilith, however, as only Eda calls her "Lily".
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
* [[
▲== Real Life ==
▲* [[Ozzy Osbourne (Music)|Ozzy Osbourne]], Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler of [[Black Sabbath (Music)|Black Sabbath]]; their real first names are John, Frank and Terence, respectively.
* George Orson Welles. Even ''he'' didn't know his first name was "George" until he was in elementary school.
* George Herman "Babe" Ruth.
* Lawrence "Yogi" Berra
* Denton True "Cy" Young. "Cy" was short for "Cyclone", because he threw real hard.
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* Michael "Flea" Balzary of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]].
* James "Big Cat" Williams
* Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of the [[Grateful Dead]].
* Orenthal James "OJ" Simpson.
* Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone.
* German football player (soccer that is) and contestant for "[[Unnecessary Roughness|most gruesome foul of all time]]" Harald "Toni" Schuhmacher.
* Adam "Pac Man" Jones. He tried to tell media to stop using it, but no one listened.
* An interesting case: In many historical cultures it has been custom to call certain things (most especially animals) by euphemism (the Greeks referring to the Erinyes as Eumenides or "The Kindly Ones" is one such example, [[The Fair Folk]] is another) to avoid their attention. A particularly interesting case is the word "bear" (and it's variations in other Germanic languages) that is precisely such a euphemism. Only, we have no idea what the original name was. Bears are ''literally'' only known by their nicknames.
** Swedish has another case: The Swedish word for Wolf is ''Varg'' which originally meant "murderer", and was used as a euphemism for ''ulv'' (which is the same word as "wolf") nowadays ''ulv'' is a dead word while ''Varg'' is the one commonly used to describe the species.
* Thomas "Fats" Waller. Not to mention Antoine "Fats" Domino.
* Salvatore "Sonny" Bono.
* Cherilyn "Cher" Sarkisian.
* Paul "Bono" Hewson and Dave "The Edge" Evans of [[
* William "Smokey" Robinson.
* Gordon "[[The Police|Sting]]" Sumner.
* John Simon Ritchie {{spoiler|Sid Vicious}}
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* Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer. American actress and singer.
* Alvis "Buck" Owens.
* Charles Hardin Holley aka "[[
* Early Soviet leaders used this quite often:
** Vladimir Ilych "Lenin" Ulyanov
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** Lev "Trotsky" Bronstein
** Vyacheslav "Molotov" Skriabin
* Several racehorse trainers have been known to fans only by nicknames, including Grover "Buddy" Delp, Claude "Shug" [[Mc Gaughey]] III, and Hubert "Sonny" Hine.
* There are also several German politicians which are regularly referred to by their nickname instead of their first name, like the <s>governor</s> former first burgomaster of Hamburg ''"Ole" von Beust'' and former Minister of Foreign Afairs ''"Joschka" Fischer''. Former German chancellor ''Willy Brandt'' was born ''Herbert Frahm'', but exclusively used the name of his undercover identity as a resistance fighter when he returned to Germany after [[WW 2]].
* A couple of Latin American examples: Luiz Inacio da Silva is always known as ''Lula'' - to the point of adding it to his actual legal name - and Ernesto Guevara is much more famous as ''Che.'' And one ''norteamericano'' example: when was the last time you heard someone refer to President ''William'' Clinton?
** The best Presidential example is James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. He was the first President to officially sign documents with his nickname rather than his full name.
** Averted, though (at least in his political career) by Barack "Once Called Himself Barry" Obama.
* One of the most famous Spanish guerrilla leaders of the war against Napoleon was Don Juan Martin Diaz, known as ''el Empecinado''. After the war he got royal permission to use his nickname instead of "Diaz".
* [[Miley Cyrus|Destiny "Miley" Cyrus]], who later got her first name officially changed to "Miley".
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* All of the characters in [[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]], since people were known to each other by their courtesy names, and their real names were only used by family members.
* [[Spike Milligan]] (real first name Terrence).
* Rappers too numerous to mention.
* Happen a lot on [[
** Also happens with certain subcultures, including online ones, where someone can be known for years just by one's "handle" or "con name."
* Stefani Joanne Angelina "[[Lady Gaga]]" Germanotta
* Quite a few Christian saints are known by their "nicknames", for instance the apostles (Simon called) Peter, Andrew and Thomas (Greek words meaning "the Rock", "the Manly" and "the Twin"), and St. Francis of Asisi (real name: Giovanni Battista Bernardone, his nickname Francesco means "Frenchy").
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* Also quite a few famous painters: Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro die Mariano Filipepi, named after the goldsmith to whom he had been apprenticed), Canaletto (Antonio da Canal), the other Canaletto (Bernardo Bellotto), El Greco (Dominikos "the Greek" Theotokopoulos), three male artists called Tintoretto ("the little dyer", a nickname of the family, whose original name is Robusti) and a female one from the same family called "la Tintoretta".
* Too many Brazilian football players to list are known only by their ''noms-de-foot'', to name just three: Pelé (Edson Arantes des Nascimento), Tostão (Eduardo Gonzalves de Andrade), and Zico (Arthur Antunes Coimbra). Many may be self-chosen, though. A few enter [[First-Name Basis]] (''Ronaldo'' Luiz Nazário de Lima).
* In most Polish video game magazines, all the editors sign themselves, and refer to each other with nothing but nicknames. There are many long-time readers who don't know the names of their favorite writers.
* Many [[Black Metal]] artists' pseudonyms become more well-known than their real names: more people are probably familiar with original Mayhem guitarist's pseudonym "Euronymous" than his real name, Oystein Aarseth.
* Edward Michael 'Bear' Grylls
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* [[Barack Obama]]'s daughter Sasha's real name is Natasha.
* Genghis Khans given name was Temujin Borjigin.
* [[Banksy]] turns this trope [[Up to Eleven]] by keeping not only their name but also their appearance secret. Understandable in that creating graffiti is against the law in many places.
* [http://theferrett.livejournal.com/306843.html The Ferrett]{{Dead link}} ([[My Nayme Is|note spelling]]), a writer who is currently is best known for [https://web.archive.org/web/20130812074550/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Archive.aspx?author=The%20Ferrett his] [[Magic:
* Mistress Matisse. "[http://pervocracy.blogspot.com/2010/01/search-term-saf-sightseeing-journey.html Her real name--as in the name that she really uses with all her kink, prodom, and kink-writing activities--is really Mistress Matisse. The only reason to want her legal name is because you're a creep.]"
* Tre Cool (Frank Edwin Wright III) and Mike Dirnt (Michael Pritchard) of [[Green Day]]. Averted by Billie Joe Armstrong, whose name really ''is'' Billie Joe.
* [[Fatty Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]], who hated his nickname.
* Alicia Moore, better known as [[
* Eugene Klein famously had ''three'' nicknames: Chaim Witz (his Hebrew name), Lizard Demon, and Gene Simmons. Only the third nickname has become a household utterance for those only passingly familiar with the rock band KISS. Similarly, Stanley Eisen is both "Paul Stanley" and "Star Child."
* And Henry Ross Perot had this happen to him three times. He usually goes by "H. Ross Perot," but this was soon shortened to "Ross Perot." By the time of the 1992 presidential election, he was so famous that most people confidently referred to him simply as "Perot."
* Lawrence Feinstein, Morris Horwitz, and Jerome Horwitz...better known as [[The Three Stooges|Larry, Moe and Curley]].
* Marvin "Meat Loaf" Aday.
* Matthew "[[The Monk
* From UK politics, the former Liberal Democrat leader (
* Countless criminals police and or media don't (yet) know the real name of will get nickname, some more basic description than others. [[Jack the Ripper]] being the most famous example.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
▲[[Category:Pyschadelic Snake]]
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