Only One Name: Difference between revisions

Not to be confused with the similar-sounding [[First-Name Basis]] or [[Only Known By Their Nickname]].

 

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|Azumanga Daioh]]'', Sakaki is only known by that name, to the extent that, in the first episode, when everybody is introduced by their full name (including Osaka), she's simply introduced as "Sakaki-san, a.k.a. Sakaki-san".

** Kagura gets this treatment too. Whether Kaorin has a family name depends on what part of [[Fanon]] you want to believe. Chihiro doesn't even get that much (and is very secondary.)

* [[Blind Seer|Rezo the Red Priest]] of ''[[Slayers]]'', only known by his title. His great-grandson Zelgadis was this initially; however, his surname (Graywords) got mentioned in an interview with the creator, and it eventually gets mentioned several times. Also played straight with villains and minor characters.

* [[The Stoic|Amon]] of ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]'', and even that might just be his [[Code Name]], as he's usually [[Badass Longcoat|described]] to the cast rather than [[No Name Given|named]].

* [[Kagihime Monogatari|Delilah and Liddell]]

* Kyon of ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'', who, despite complaining about being reduced to a single nickname several times, never gives his full name.

* Van in ''[[Gun X Sword]]'' is just Van. Instead of a surname he has a number of nicknames, some compliments and some not (his favorite is "Van of the Dawn"). In point of fact, there are only six characters with surnames given through the entire series: William Will Wo, Ray and Joshua Lundgren, Carul Mendoza (she prefers to go by Carmen99), and Michael and Wendy Garret.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', Sai does not have a family name, since "Sai" was the alias given to him for his mission to join Team 7.

** In fact, it's easier to list the non-Leaf village ninja that ''do'' have last names (the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist beside Chojuro, the first team of Sound nin, and according to an artbook the Mizukage, who's named Mei Terumi). Even in the Leaf village (not counting Sai and Yamato, which are code names) there's the Sannin (despite it being her grandfather's name, Senju is ''not'' Tsunade's), Rock Lee (unless Rock and Lee are really his first and last name), and Tenten.

* Hevn and Makubex in ''[[Get Backers]]''. With the latter, it actually becomes something of a plot point that he doesn't know what his given name is--or if he ever even had one in the first place. All they know is that he was found in a bag with "Makube" printed on it; later, people that knew and admired his skills added an 'x' to express the unknown. Thus, Makubex.

* The Leafe Knights from ''[[Prétear]]'' have an excuse of not being from our world, but even outside their [[Magical Land]] they don't seem to use last names. No one in human world seems to care.

** At one point the human names were considered to be somewhat canon, as Himaruya answered a fan question and said that they would find out one day why Ludwig didn't have a surname. But as it was an old question on the deleted blog and the names have not been ever officially used, it remains unknown if that "significance" will ever come to light.

* All of the demons in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' have only one name--Chrono, Aion, Shader, etc. However, it seems most of them have at least one title tacked on, like "The Sinner" or "The Slayer of a Hundred".

* The [[Human Alien|aliens]] in ''Niea_7'' only appear to have one name, including the show's eponymous character.

* Many characters in ''[[One Piece]]'' have only one name, including Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Kaya, Nojiko, Bellemere, Chaka, Pell, Dr. Hiruluk, Burgess, Professor Clover, Pagaya, Conis, Enel, Hotori/Kotori/Satori/All of the priests/every Angel except Gan Fall...

* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', demons apparently don't have surnames (with one notable exception being Saotome Jorge/George, Koenma's blue ogre). Even if they have more than one name, it tends to be a title i.e. "Jaganshi" Hiei and "Yoko" Kurama (except for the English dub, in which Yoko is his "true" name). For the Uraotogi team, the two names are their name and an adjective that describes their corruption, rather than being a surname and given name, i.e. Kuro Momotaro = Black Momotaro, and Ura Urashima = Reverse Urashima (though Ura Urashima later reveals that his, and likely the rest of his teammate's names are mere pseudonyms in an attempt to deceive others into believing they are demonic reincarnations of folk heroes).

* ''[[Shakugan no Shana (Light Novel)|Shakugan no Shana]]'':

** Most (if not all) [[Demonic Invaders|Crimson Denizens]] have only one name. Semi-justified by them being not human.

 

 

== Comic Books ==

* Lyra and Skaar, from ''[[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|Incredible Hulk]]''.

* Marvel also gives us Thundra, Lyra's mother.

** Same applies to Yoda, Chewbacca and prequel-villain Count Dooku.

* The majority of the sidekick cadre in ''[[Sky High]]'' don't have last names. One of the lesser characters is also even credited to a pair of [[Only One Name]] actresses (Malika and Khadijah).

* [[Withnail and I|Withnail]], of course.

* Swan ("he has no other name"), Beef and Phoenix from ''[[Phantom of the Paradise]]''. Winslow Leach and Arnold Philbin are generally referred to as Winslow and Philbin respectively.

* Wilson W. Wilson Jr. from ''[[Home Improvement]]''. He's called by [[Only One Name]], because that ''is'' his only name - [[Repetitive Name|first, middle and last]].

* James Ford on ''[[Lost]]'' goes by the alias Sawyer. It's never clearly stated if Sawyer is his fake first name or fake last name.

*** The season 5 finale show us that that would be someone's great-great-great-great-great-uncle. Or, you know, that he was born before people had proper last names.

** Libby never got a last name on ''[[Lost]]''. For a long time this prompted fan speculation that she was actually related to another character, but now it seems to have been [[Shrug of God]]. A memorial video shown at Comic Con 2009 gave her name as Elizabeth 'Libby' Smith.

** Although the Narns have only one name, it actually consists of two halves divided by an apostrophe. For instance, main character Na'Toth is the daughter of Shak'Toth.

* Beth on ''[[News Radio]]'' claims not to have a last name.

* Mason, from ''[[Dead Like Me]]'', has no known ''other'' name, and the name that he does have could really be either his first or last name. Kiffany doesn't have a last name, but since she has a lot less screen time than Mason, it's slightly less odd.

* Siroc in ''[[Young Blades (TV)|Young Blades]]''. It's unclear whether this is a first or last name.

* Belize from ''[[Angels in America]]''; Most of the other main characters get specified middle names, for crying out loud, but not Belize.

** It's explained [[Expanded Universe|in the character page of the printed version of the script]] that his given name was Norman Arriaga; "Belize is a drag name that stuck".

* [[Shakespeare]]'s plays sometimes did this to fit the setting (ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, etc)...''except'' when dealing with comedic characters. This was because, [[Anachronism Stew|no matter what the setting or time period, the comedy characters would always be based on Elizabethan-era peasants]]--and in the Elizabethan era, people had last names. That's why, for instance, the main characters in ''[[A Midsummer Nights Dream]]'' are named simply "Demetrius", "Theseus" or "Hermia"--but the peasant caricatures putting on the [[Show Within a Show|play-within-a-play]] are named "Nick Bottom", "Tom Snout", "Peter Quince", and so on.

 

* [[Gadgeteer Genius|Maximilian]], aka Max, one of the protaginist of ''[[Dark Chronicle (Video Game)|Dark Chronicle]]''. The other, [[Action Girl|Monica Raybrant]], averts this trope.

* Pretty much everyone in the ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' series, to the point that the only full names given are either [[All There in the Manual]] (Samos and Keira Hagai, though the canon-ness of this is contested) or most likely a joke (Ozmar Itchy Drawers the Third).

* Ben, the player character in ''[[Full Throttle]]'', is only ever called just Ben, and prefers to keep his last name a secret. The same goes for Maureen, although you do find out her full name very soon after meeting her: {{spoiler|Maureen Corley.}}

* Many characters in ''[[Jade Empire]]'' have only one name and a title, and the few that do not are usually related to another NPC. (For example, Kia Min, a student in Chapter 1, is the niece of a merchant in the Lotus Assassin fortress).

* The 1993 [[Edutainment Game]] ''[[Eagle Eye Mysteries]]'' gives us minor character Sergio, who declares he is like Madonna and Cher and has no last name, when asked on one occasion. This causes another character, Silvia Torres, to suspect him in a later mystery of being a criminal and the mystery's guilty party. {{spoiler|He's innocent}}.

* In the ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series we have David (Solid Snake), John (Naked Snake/Big Boss), Adamska (Revolver Ocelot), Jack (Raiden), Rosemary, Mei-Ling, Dr. Clark (Para-Medic), Jonathan (two of them), Ed and Johnny (after his surname "Sasaki" was retconned out of existence). That's not even counting characters who are known primarily by their one-word codenames like EVA and Vamp.

** They will also refer the characters by their courtesy names (a unique name given later in life according to Chinese tradition). For example, Zhuge Liang is usually referred to as 'Konmin', a Japanese rendition of Kongming, Zhuge Liang's courtesy name.

 

 

== Web Originals ==

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Toph Bei Fong, her father Lao, and her mother Poppy are the only characters to possess a surname. This itself isn't too far off with the traditional Asian theme of the series, in that traditionally, in East Asian cultures, family names were reserved exclusively for members of high nobility, much like the wealthy Bei Fong family, before common people started adopting family names for themselves. Alternatively, this may be due to the Anglicisation all of the names have undergone, which can be seen when comparing the names given to the Chinese characters occasionally used to spell them. An Ang as written, for example, is rendered as Aang when spoken, and Ai Luo becomes Iroh. In case you're wondering, yes that's probably how they made their names.

* The naming conventions of the ''[[Transformers]]'' tend towards one-word names, like Dirge, Cliffjumper, or Rattrap. Two-word names such as Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, or Nemesis Breaker, aren't uncommon, but rarely is the second word treated as a surname. (Think of it as akin to some people in the southern United States bearing double first names such as Billy Bob or Rita Mae. Optimus Prime is called simply "Prime" fairly often, but that's because it's a title like "Captain".) Transformers with names of three or more words are EXCEEDINGLY uncommon, and generally only in Japanese continuity.

** However, being robots who routinely re-use identical bodies, names, and color schemes, this is probably not a big concern.

* Several characters from ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (Animation)|Galaxy Rangers]]'', Niko being the most obvious (as the other three have surnames).

* [[Gorillaz]] guitarist Noodle was created in a laboratory and apparently had no name at all until the other band members found her. They named her Noodle [[Verbal Tic Name|because it was the only English word she knew]] at the time, and she still doesn't have a surname.

* All of the ''[[Gargoyles]]'' have only one name, if they have a name at all.

* The titular character of ''[[Hey Arnold]]'' was never given a last name. He even won a contest once and when the announcer said he couldn't read the last name Stinky turned to Arnold and said it could only be him "on account of you being the only kid named Arnold in the whole school."

** Ronaldo, Romário and Rivaldo are given names. Ronaldinho and Robinho are diminutive forms of their given names. Really, only Pelé and Garrincha are known by nicknames.

* An old joke revolves around this: Schwarzenegger has a long one, Richard Gere has a short one, Cher doesn't have one, and the Pope has one but never uses it. What is it? Given this article, it is obviously: {{spoiler|a last name}}.

* Cher's full name was Cherylinn Sarkisia until she legally changed it to her single name.

* Radio talk show host "Lionel". "Mononymous, like God," he says. It isn't either of his real names, though.