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* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'' a religious assassin sect called the Faceless Men has initiates give up their names and [[LossOfIdentity former lives]] as part of their training, so for example [[EverybodyCallsHimBarkeep one of them is only known as "''waif''"]]. Subverted in the case of Jaqen H'ghar, although that was almost certainly just part of his cover as a Lorathi criminal.
** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
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* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'' a ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** A religious assassin sect called the Faceless Men has initiates give up their names and [[LossOfIdentity former lives]] as part of their training, so for example [[EverybodyCallsHimBarkeep one of them is only known as "''waif''"]]. Subverted in the case of Jaqen H'ghar, although that was almost certainly just part of his cover as a Lorathicriminal.
** Brieflycriminal. This was briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
** A religious assassin sect called the Faceless Men has initiates give up their names and [[LossOfIdentity former lives]] as part of their training, so for example [[EverybodyCallsHimBarkeep one of them is only known as "''waif''"]]. Subverted in the case of Jaqen H'ghar, although that was almost certainly just part of his cover as a Lorathi
** Briefly
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** The Spice King insists his name is too long and hard for foreigners to pronounce, perhaps because he is a CanonForeigner.
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** The Lawyer who opposes them in legal cases has never been given a proper name.
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* Until [[spoiler:it is revealed that he is actually William on a different timeline]] no name is given to The Man in Black on ''Series/{{Westworld}}''
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** The Ninth Doctor [[BadassBoast boasts to invading Daleks]] that his name translates to "Oncoming Storm" in certain languages but no one has ever called him that.
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* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S5E7TheHumanOperators The Human Operators]]", neither the man nor the women appear to have names. Ship only refers to her as "the female". The man's father is also never named. He simply calls him "my father".
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thinking more about it, Hodor does get a revealed name, which I think voids it.
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** Hodor is just referred to as Hodor by everybody because it is the only word he says. Eventually, his real name and backstory are revealed.
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** Hodor is just referred to as Hodor by everybody because it is the only word he says. Eventually, his real name and backstory are revealed.
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** Faith's surname was not revealed as Lehane (probably a ShoutOut to the crime writer Dennis Lehane) until after the TV shows ended. It was first used in the support material for the official role-playing game.
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** Faith's surname was not revealed as Lehane (probably a ShoutOut to the crime writer Dennis Lehane) until after the TV shows ended. It was first used in the support material for the official role-playing game. The lack of a surname subtextually places her among the show's supernatural entities and villains, most of whom have OnlyOneName.
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* The protagonist of ''Fleabag'' is never named. Although "Fleabag" is used as the character's nickname in publicity, even that's never used in-universe, and the credits simply say "starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge" without calling her character anything at all.
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* The protagonist of ''Fleabag'' ''Series/{{Fleabag}}'' is never named. Although "Fleabag" is used as the character's nickname in publicity, even that's never used in-universe, and the credits simply say "starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge" without calling her character anything at all.
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* The protagonist of ''Fleabag'' is never named. Although "Fleabag" is used as the character's nickname in publicity, even that's never used in-universe, and the credits simply say "starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge" without calling her character anything at all.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed although "Mr" and "Rowan" are seen, on diferent occasions, in the first name section of his passport.. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed although "Mr" and "Rowan" are seen, on diferent different occasions, in the first name section of his passport.. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* ''Series/PeepShow'' waits until the final series to reveal that Super Hans has been using a pseudonym all along. [[spoiler:It turns out that his real name is Simon.]]
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* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time. However, it reveleaed early on as Joan, which the scriptwriters regretted.
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* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''.''Series/FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time. However, it reveleaed early on as Joan, which the scriptwriters regretted.
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* Almost none of the characters in Series/TrailerParkBoys have any last names given. Given that they're often in court for their various crimes, this becomes comical as the judge always just refers to them as Ricky, Jules, Bubbles, etc. (especially Bubbles, as this is explicitly said to be a nickname. We never find out his real first or last name). Jim Lahey and his related family (and Sam Lasco) are the only recurring characters who get both first and last names.
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* Almost none of the characters in Series/TrailerParkBoys ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'' have any last names given. Given that they're often in court for their various crimes, this becomes comical as the judge always just refers to them as Ricky, Jules, Bubbles, etc. (especially Bubbles, as this is explicitly said to be a nickname. We never find out his real first or last name). Jim Lahey and his related family (and Sam Lasco) are the only recurring characters who get both first and last names.
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* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the [=DVDs=]. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his book, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
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* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the [=DVDs=]. Also in TrivialPursuit TabletopGame/TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his book, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
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Added namespaces.
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* ''{{Buffyverse}}'':
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* ''{{Buffyverse}}'':''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}'':
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* The species of the alien invaders in ''{{UFO}}'' is never mentioned. Even the members of SHADO never use a codename, but simply call them 'the aliens'.
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* The species of the alien invaders in ''{{UFO}}'' ''Series/{{UFO}}'' is never mentioned. Even the members of SHADO never use a codename, but simply call them 'the aliens'.
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* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Jacob's enemy seemingly has no name, just that title - or "[[ColourCodedForYourConvenience The Man in Black]]" (first seen in ABC's official recap - the press release called him "Man #2" - and actually used in-show by characters). Fans use Esau, Jacob's Nemesis and Mr. X.
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* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** Jacob's enemy seemingly has no name, just that title - or "[[ColourCodedForYourConvenience The Man in Black]]" (first seen in ABC's official recap - the press release called him "Man #2" - and actually used in-show by characters). Fans use Esau, Jacob's Nemesis and Mr. X.
** Jacob's enemy seemingly has no name, just that title - or "[[ColourCodedForYourConvenience The Man in Black]]" (first seen in ABC's official recap - the press release called him "Man #2" - and actually used in-show by characters). Fans use Esau, Jacob's Nemesis and Mr. X.
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** The [[EnigmaticMinion Smoke]] [[BigBad Monster]] has never been named on the show. This has led to more than one scene where characters who were not in the main cast from the start wonder what exactly is meant by "the monster," or otherwise are forced to go out of their way to explain.
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Should go in Comic Strips.
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* Maw Broon, Paw Broon, Grandpaw Broon, the Twins and the Bairn in ''TheBroons''.
** Parodied in a ''NakedVideo'' sketch, where the Twins and the Bairn were taken into care, to be looked after by someone who'd give them care and attention...and names.
** Parodied in a ''NakedVideo'' sketch, where the Twins and the Bairn were taken into care, to be looked after by someone who'd give them care and attention...and names.
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* Maw Broon, Paw Broon, Grandpaw Broon, the Twins and the Bairn in ''TheBroons''.
** Parodied''ComicStrip/TheBroons'' are parodied in a ''NakedVideo'' ''Series/NakedVideo'' sketch, where the Twins and the Bairn were are taken into care, to be looked after by someone who'd give them care and attention...attention... and names.
** Parodied
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* The messenger boy in ''Series/{{Dickensian}}'' is only called "Boy". Also Nell's grandfather, who was never named in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' either.
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** Glory is introduced as something that predates language, and thus has no name. Indeed, the name "Glory" is a moniker shortened from "Glorificus", which is just Medieval Latin for "glorious" - how her worshipers refer to her.
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* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the DVDs. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his book, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
to:
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the DVDs.[=DVDs=]. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his book, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
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** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]]. Another example is the High Sparrow. High Septons of the Faith of the Seven leave behind their birth names when taking the position.
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** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
** Another example is the High Sparrow. High Septons of the Faith of the Seven leave behind their birth names when taking the position.
** Another example is the High Sparrow. High Septons of the Faith of the Seven leave behind their birth names when taking the position.
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** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
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** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]]. Another example is the High Sparrow. High Septons of the Faith of the Seven leave behind their birth names when taking the position.
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Changed line(s) 158 (click to see context) from:
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the DVDs. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his own quiz game, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
to:
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the DVDs. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, though this was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his own quiz game, book, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered canon.
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** Yet some say his [[SpellMyNameWithAThe first name really is 'The']].
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* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'' a religious assassin sect called the Faceless Men has initiates give up their names and [[LossOfIdentity former lives]] as part of their training, so for example [[EverybodyCallsHimBarkeep one of them is only known as "''waif''"]]. Subverted in the case of Jaqen H'ghar, although that was almost certainly just part of his cover as a Lorathi criminal.
** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
** Briefly misunderstood by Arya when Jaqen (or another Faceless Man) told her that "''no one''" by the name Jaqen H'ghar was inside, leading her to believe that she'd gone on a [[SnipeHunt wild goose chase]].
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**Other Rangers have gone with only first names ever mentioned on camera. These include original Ranger Billy, Mystic Force sisters Madison and Vida, Samurai Rangers Mike, Kevin and Emily, Megaforce Rangers Troy, Noah, Jake, Gia and Emma. (Last names for all but the Samurai Rangers have been revealed in other media. Billy Cranston, Madison and Vida Rocca, Troy Burrows, Noah Carver, Jake Holling, Gia Moran and Emma Goodall.) There are also numerous Rangers of extra-terrestrial origin who are known only by one name, but it is possible that there planets do not have last names. (Andros, Zhane, Maya, Karone, Orion and the Rangers from Aquitar)
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BBT was mentioned twice, cleared it up
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* ''Series/The Big Bang Theory'' While the other characters have full names (including middle names), Penny's surname is never revealed.
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* If you're trying to remember the full names of all the characters on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', you might find yourself stuck when you get to Penny. Well, that's because she has no last name. She's just...Penny.
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* If you're trying to remember the full names of all the characters on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', you might find yourself stuck when you get to Penny. Well, that's because she has no last name. She's just...Penny.We have six characters with fun-sounding three-word names, and then just... Penny. Heck, since her real name being "Penelope" was only implied, we can't even say for sure we know her ''first'' name.
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Added Mrs Doyle\'s forename (Joan) from F Ather Ted. Added the fact the Penny\'s surname in the Big Bang Theory is never revealed.
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* In the black-and-white era series ''HaveGunWillTravel'', the main character is only ever known as Paladin.
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* In the black-and-white era series ''HaveGunWillTravel'', (lathough all filmed in colour and released colour on DVD) ''Series/Have Gun Will Travel'', the main character is only ever known as Paladin.Paladin. Some have thought that a Sheriff called him as 'Bobby' but he was actually addressing anohter chracter.
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* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time.
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* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time. However, it reveleaed early on as Joan, which the scriptwriters regretted.
* ''Series/The Big Bang Theory'' While the other characters have full names (including middle names), Penny's surname is never revealed.
* ''Series/The Big Bang Theory'' While the other characters have full names (including middle names), Penny's surname is never revealed.
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Correct cannon to canon.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed although "Mr" and "Rowan" are seen, on diferent occasions, in the first name sectino of his passport.. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed although "Mr" and "Rowan" are seen, on diferent occasions, in the first name sectino section of his passport.. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* The real name pf eponymous hero of the ''The Range Rider'' was never revealed.
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* The real name pf eponymous hero of the ''The ''Series/The Range Rider'' was never revealed.
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Clarified the reason for the misconception about Columbo\'s first name. Added \"Mr\" and \"Rown\" for Mr Bean\'s first name. Added The Range Rider, whose name was never revealed.
Changed line(s) 156 (click to see context) from:
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. Still there is some wild speculation over his name as his badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read. Also in TrivialPursuit his name is a question and the answer is Philip, thou this is not cannon and is often disproved. There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered cannon.
to:
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. Still there is some wild speculation over his name as his His badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read. read on VHS although it was clearly seen as "Frank" on the DVDs. Also in TrivialPursuit and other games his name is a question and the answer is Philip, thou though this is not cannon and is often disproved. was placed as a trap by Fred L. Worth, to catch out those who infringed the copyright of his own quiz game, "The Trivia Encyclopedia". There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered cannon.canon.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed.revealed although "Mr" and "Rowan" are seen, on diferent occasions, in the first name sectino of his passport.. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
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* The real name pf eponymous hero of the ''The Range Rider'' was never revealed.
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* ''{{Buffyverse}}'':
** On ''Series/{{Angel}},'' "The Host of Caritas" was not given an official name (even to the other characters) until late into the second season. His full name is "Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan." As noted before, he's not fond of it:
--->'''Host''' (who is a green-skinned demon): It's Lorne. I don't like to mention it because, well...\\
'''Angel''': Lorne Greene!\\
''(Cordelia and Gunn stare blankly)''\\
'''Angel''': ''Bonanza''? Fourteen years on the air doesn't mean anything?\\
''(They are still blank)''\\
'''Angel''': Okay, now I feel old.
** One might wonder why he didn't shorten it to ''Krev'' instead of ''Lorne'', so that he could say it's short for ''Crèvecœur'' (heartbreaker). Okay, maybe that's too recherché.
** Darla's human name is not known - she was named Darla by the Master, and being a whore, she probably wouldn't have used it anyway. We learn this when [[spoiler:she is revived as human]]; by this time she does not remember having a name before "Darla". By the time she sired Angel she had been Darla for over a century, and in over a century with him she never mentioned her original name.
** It's a while before we find out Angel's real name is "Liam".
** Faith's surname was not revealed as Lehane (probably a ShoutOut to the crime writer Dennis Lehane) until after the TV shows ended. It was first used in the support material for the official role-playing game.
** While we know that Spike's real name is "William", only after the shows ended did Joss Whedon reveal his last name is "Pratt".
** Who was he before he was Adam? Did Maggie name him that? [[DreamSequence Not a man among us can remember.]]
** The dancing demon in "Once More With Feeling" is never named in dialogue, though he is known to fans as "Sweet" because of a credit for "Sweet makeup". This violates the typical formula for a ''Buffy'' episode: Weird Stuff Happens/People Die/stuff gets stolen → the gang researches → they learn the threat's name and weaknesses → they vanquish said threat. But in this episode Sweet simply leaves without actually engaging in violence (aside from people bursting into flames).
** The human members of the Circle of the Black Thorn are unnamed.
* ''Series/GetSmart'' has, er, a ''[[{{Pun}} number]]'' of examples:
** Agent 99. Her lack of a name becomes a RunningGag:
*** The day she gets married to Max someone sneezes when her name is said.
*** A popular misconception is that she revealed her name in one episode as "Susan Hilton," but that was just an alias.
*** Double subverted when Max, consoling her when the Chief is in surgery after being shot, calls her "Ernestine."
---> '''99:''' Do you realize that's the first time you've ever called me Ernestine? ''(Max nods)'' I wish it were my name.
** Ditto the Chief, who could only reveal his first name (Thaddeus) as a matter of national security.
** Most other CONTROL agents are identified only by number; on the other hand, Agent Larabee's number is not revealed.
* Mr. Big on ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. His first name was revealed in the last episode of the series. He gets a full name and e-mail address in TheMovie.
* Fez, ''Series/That70sShow''. Fez is short for [[FunWithAcronyms Foreign Exchange Student]]. At one point, someone asks his real name and he is drowned out by a school-bell while seen saying an incredibly long name. (In that scene, actor Wilmer Valderrama was actually saying the first names of all the cast members.) His friends call him Fez because his real name is too long to easily remember or pronounce.
* Number Six and many other residents of The Village in ''Series/ThePrisoner''. (It is officially denied that Six is John Drake, a spy previously played by the same actor – because that character is owned by another company.)
* On ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', The Doctor (the Emergency Medical Hologram, not [[Series/DoctorWho that one]]) went seven years without getting a name that stuck. In the last episode, he's portrayed as finally having settled on "Joe," but that was in a future that got erased. [[note]]WordOfGod is that he was originally named Dr Zimmerman in the script, but they managed to go long enough without mentioning his name onscreen that it became a plot point of its own.[[/note]]
* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', none of the Changelings have names, and the 'leader' only goes by 'female Changeling' or 'Founder'. Odo and Laas only have names because they have interacted with 'solids' and we like to place names on things.
** Played with in Odo's case. His name comes from what was written on his jar when he was first studied at a Bajoran science facility: the Cardassian word ''odo'ital'' ("nothing"), a mistranslation of the Bajoran "unknown sample".
* This trope turns up in mainstream shows too: British nostalgic hospital drama ''TheRoyal'' has a major character known only as Matron.
* Mac Taylor on ''Series/{{CSINY}}''. Mac *can* be a full name, but we've never found out for sure. Gary Sinise has said his name is [=McCanna=] (after Gary's son), but they've never said it onscreen.
* The Doctor on ''Series/DoctorWho'', as well as ArchEnemy Time Lord the Master and minor Time Lord enemies the Rani, the War Chief, and the Monk. The latter four have had their names revealed in the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' ([[spoiler: The Master - Koschei, the Rani - Ushas, the War Chief - Magnus, the Monk - Mortimus]]), but not the Doctor. The series initially implied that Time Lords did not have personal names, [[RetCon but this later got forgotten]]. (In any case, the Doctor's granddaughter ''did'' have a name, though, oddly, an ordinary-sounding human one.)
** Apparently the Doctor has one but never uses it. (The [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse novels]] go into the reasons why.) An old schoolmate of the Doctor's in the episode "The Armageddon Factor" calls him Theta Sigma -- Thete for short -- but a later episode establishes that this is a nickname.
** The Ninth Doctor [[BadassBoast boasts to invading Daleks]] that his name translates to "Oncoming Storm" in certain languages but no one has ever called him that.
** River Song whispers his name in the Doctor's ear in ''Forest of the Dead''. The Doctor confirms it towards the end of the episode, though naturally the audience never hears it. Other episodes have alluded to his name being hidden in some dark secret ("The Girl in the Fireplace"; "The Shakespeare Code"; "The Fires of Pompeii"). The end of series 6 reveals [[spoiler:there is one time and place where he can be asked who he is and must answer truthfully - and that there are those willing to do anything to kill him and stop him ever answering]], making the running gag below deadly serious.
** This is, in fact, where the name of the series comes from. While even in the credits the actor is often credited as playing "Doctor Who", the character's name is simply "the Doctor". The show's name comes from characters' tendency to emphatically ask "Doctor ''who''!?" -- stemming from the very first episode: "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" -- when he is introduced as just "the Doctor". A running gag in the new series has been for characters to ask questions similar to "Doctor who?", but not quite, ranging from "Doctor ''what''," to "But what's his ''name''?". It gets played straight again in a trailer for the 2010 series.
*** The Doctor does, however, seem to like making "Doctor Who" allusions: one of his pseudonyms is 'Doctor von Wer' ("wer" being German for "Who"), and he uses "WHO" on his car's registration plates.
*** In fact, it seems that "The Doctor" is his real name ''now.'' When the Lord President of the Time Lords meets the Doctor and the Master, he calls them "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master." Apparently, picking your own name is a Time Lord 'thing', and you can be a The Something or a Susan. We know that the Doctor used to be Theta Sigma, but what it was before that... actually seems less important nowadays. [[spoiler: At least, until we learn that the universe could be destroyed when the Question "Doctor Who?" is finally ''answered.'']]
** "Aliens of London/World War Three" subverts this. Here it was discovered that the alien enemies were not of a ''species'' named Slitheen; the word 'Slitheen' was in fact their crime family's surname, similar to 'The Sopranos'. Their species name later turned out to be the extremely difficult to pronounce Raxacoricofallapatorians. As such, they were primarily known as the Slitheen, ever after.
** Also used with the character of the Hostess in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight "Midnight"]], [[spoiler:which makes it a lot sadder when she [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices herself]] to save the Doctor and the [[HumansAreBastards various bastard passengers]] on the shuttle]].
** Frobisher, from the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' strip. It's made clear that he's adopted numerous aliases in the past, of which 'Frobisher' is the latest (and the one he sticks with); we never learn his original name. Another name of his is briefly glimpsed in his introductory story, but this is likely another alias.
** The third Doctor was fond of using "[[MrSmith Doctor John Smith]]" as an alias while confined to Earth.
* On ''Series/DarkAngel'', Max's friends went mostly by nicknames -- Sketchy (Calvin Simon Theodore), Herbal Thought, and Original Cindy (say it out loud) (Cynthia [=McEachin=]). Her boss was referred to as Normal for the entire series, though a couple of jokes were made about his real name, eventually revealed to be Reagan Ronald.
* On ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Shepherd Book's real name was never revealed, not even in [[Film/{{Serenity}} the movie]] or the comic-book adaptation. Derrial Book [[spoiler: Was the name he took from [[KillAndReplace a man he killed]]]]. The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' claims that he has no name, in the credits he is listed simply as "The Operative."
* ''Series/{{MASH}}''
** Radar's real name (Walter) wasn't revealed until episode 81 ("Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?") in season 4, even though it appears in the ''very first sentence'' of the [[Literature/{{Mash}} original novel]].
** Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt insists that his name was given to him by his mother, ''Bea'' Hunnicutt, and his father, ''Jay'' Hunnicutt, and his official Army files list only his initials.
** Sparky's real name is never revealed. Not his first name, but he's Staff Sergeant Pryor (as shown in the Season 1 episode "Tuttle").
* ''Series/GilligansIsland''.
** The conceptual material for the series listed Gilligan's name as "Willy Gilligan", but during the series, it was used as a first name, with the last name never revealed.
** Similarly, the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) and the Professor (Roy Hinkley) were known mainly by their titles.
** Mrs Howell was called Lovey but this was a nickname. Her real first name, Eunice, was mentioned in only one episode.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', Deep Throat's real name is not given until the fourth season, despite the character's prominence in the first season. The second season premier implies that Mulder knows it, but he never speaks it onscreen. In the fourth season flashback episode, he and the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Cigarette Smoking Man]] are the main characters, and the Cigarette Smoking Man calls him [[spoiler: Ronald]].
** The Cigarette Smoking Man is later referred to by the name [[spoiler: C.G.B. Spender]], though Scully believes it's just an alias and not his real name.
** The X-Files was full of this trope, many of the main conspirators are never named and are often known solely by the descriptive terms used in the credits. There's Mr. X, The Well-Manicured Man, The Grey-Haired Man, Second Elder, Third Elder, Toothpick Man, Quiet Willy, The Red-Haired Man, and so on and so forth.
* One of the main characters in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' is simply known as 'The Janitor'. His nametag and uniform also just say 'Janitor', and he even calls himself "Dr. Jan Itor" when pretending to be a doctor. It was said (jokingly) that when the Janitor's name is revealed, the series will be over. One episode features JD discovering that the Janitor had a role in the film "The Fugitive", suggesting that the Janitor is actually supposed to be the actor portraying him (Neil Flynn), fallen on hard times.
** More janitor name silliness: in one episode he fools J.D. by signing his name as "Dr. Rotinaj," and when J.D. points out that this is "janitor" backwards, an Asian doctor walks by:
--->'''Janitor:''' Hello, Dr. Rotinaj.
--->'''Dr. Rotinaj:''' Hello, Mister Clean-Up-Man.
** In the last episode though,[[spoiler: he reveals to JD that his name is "Glenn Matthews". He never revealed his name, because no one ever asked. It's not sure if this is his real name, as seconds later someone calls him "Tony".]]
*** WordOfGod states that, yes, his name is indeed [[spoiler: Glen Matthews.]]
* Much like his Creator/{{Disney}} counterpart above, Prince Charming in ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is tough to pin a name on. When first encountered in Storybrooke, he's suffering from amnesia and can't even remember his cursed identity, and he's only referred to in the Enchanted Forest as "Prince Charming", an originally derisive nickname bestowed upon him by his future wife upon their first meeting. Later it's discovered that his cursed identity is David Nolan, and he is known to many of those in the Enchanted Forest as "Prince James", but this is in fact the name of his [[EvilTwin twin brother]] whom he was [[TwinSwitch forced to replace]] when James got himself killed. It's not until Season 2 that he reveals that his real name is [[spoiler:David, the same as his Storybrooke name.]]
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has a number of examples:
** Noah Bennet is first credited as "Horn-Rimmed Glasses," referring to his eyewear. In the third episode of the series he is revealed to be Claire's father, and so became referred to by various characters as "Mr. Bennet," but his first name remains a mystery. A lampshade is hung on this in one episode, in which his wife says, "It's so strange that you all refer to him as 'Mr. Bennet'. I've always just known him as--" [[TheUnReveal before she is distracted by her dog]]. He finally reveals his first name, Noah, in the first season finale.
** Mr. Bennet's partner, who appears fairly regularly, is never referred to as anything but "the Haitian." In season 4, his name was revealed to be René.
*** It wasn't so much a [[TheReveal reveal]] as a stealth {{Retcon}}. There's no explanation for how everyone learned his name, no side-arc leading up to it, and no drama about it. People just start calling him René out of the blue.
**** If anything happens off screen, it doesn't necessarily means that it's a {{Retcon}}. Noah probably knew his name before the series started, but everyone in the Primatech Paper just called him by his nickname, so Noah usually would, too. As for Peter and Nathan, they start out knowing him just by his nickname, but after a while they become, if not friends, acquaintances with him... to the point that they end up helping him in his family feud. It's likely that he just, you know, took a second to tell 'em: "Btw, my real name's René". Not every single mundane aspect of life needs drama or entire story arcs about it.
** Mr. Bennet's ''previous'' partner doesn't appear to have a real name either. He's usually referred to as Claude, but that comes from a joke he made in an early appearance: "I'm [[IAmNotShazam Claude Rains]]! I'm [[ShoutOut The Invisible Man]]!"
** Another man named after his nationality was The German, one of the escaped level five villains, who had magnetic powers. Knox tore his heart out in his second appearance, so his real name is unknown.
*** It was probably [[Comicbook/XMen Max]] [[ShoutOut Eisenhardt]].
* Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies in ''TheLastDetective'' does not appear to have had his real first name revealed on screen. Even his wife calls him "Dangerous".
* The fourth season of ''Series/{{House}}'' features a legion of young doctors who are applying for a job with the title character. At the start, each one is given an identifying number. They're rarely brought up except for one woman, who only answers to "Thirteen." Even after she's hired and joins the cast as a regular, nobody says her actual name. House doesn't call anyone by their name if he can help it. The other finalists are given monikers such as Cutthroat Bitch and Bosley, and the audience doesn't learn their real names for a few more episodes.
** Thirteen's name is eventually revealed to be Dr. Remy Hadley, but everyone on the team, herself included, still calls her Thirteen.
* ''Man in a Suitcase'' featured an ex-CIA man turned Private Eye who was known only as [=McGill=]. Supposedly his first name was John, but it was never used onscreen.
* Several characters in ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' are known only by nicknames. This is taken farthest with Coconut Head -- his real name is obscured by tape with "COCONUT HEAD" on the wall of student pictures, he is named only as Coconut Head by teachers, and in the yearbook. In the "Guide to Nicknames" episode, Moze agreed to call him by his real name (which wasn't revealed)... but only if he got a better haircut.
* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', the real name of Captain Jack Harkness is never revealed. A flashback to his childhood has his parents repeatedly addressing him as "son" while calling Jack's brother Gray by his real name.
* Cappie in ''Series/{{Greek}}''. Though it's not that ''all'' of the characters don't know his real name; in fact, one of them threatened to reveal it to everybody as blackmail. [[EmbarrassingFirstName He quickly complied]].
** It was revealed in the final episode that his real name is (I'm not making this up) Captain John Paul Jones. Similarly Beaver was known as that for most of the series and his name was just revealed a few episodes earlier to be Walter Boudreaux, only his girlfriend calls him by his name so when she asks for "Walter" nobody seems to know who he is.
* Elmo from ''Series/SesameStreet'' was a minor background Muppet simply known as "Baby Monster" prior to 1985, when his current character started to take shape.
* Doc in ''Series/FraggleRock''. In the last episode his name is revealed to be Jerome Crystal (making him "Doc Crystal"; a pun on ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'').
** Doc's [[MultiNationalShows multinational counterparts]] were mostly called Doc as well; exceptions include Norway's Oppfinneren (the Inventor) and Britain's Captain, a lighthouse keeper (the Captain was later replaced by his nephew, who was known as P.K., for "Principal Keeper").
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''
** The recurring character The Waitress is never given a name. This is lampshades in a number of occasions. Dennis admits to never remembering her name, and sorts his sex tape with her under "The Waitress." In a later episode, she hears Dee call her "The Waitress" and gets upset that she doesn't know her name.
--->'''Dennis:''' *answering his phone, we only hear his side* Hello? Who is this? Who? Oh! Why didn't you just say The Waitress? *angry yelling heard from The Waitress' end*
** The real name of Mac is not revealed until season 7 when at their highschool reunion it is revealed that [[spoiler: Mac shares his name with a famous hamburger chain mascot, Ronald.]]
* In ''Series/TheMiddleman'' the titular hero is very careful about his name. As demonstrated in this exchange just after a truth gas has been released into the room:
-->'''Wendy:''' "So if I were to ask you anything right now, you'd have to tell the truth?"
-->'''The Middleman:''' "Yes, I would."
-->'''Wendy:''' "What's your real name?"
-->'''The Middleman:''' "The same as my father's."
** The unproduced 13th episode, read at Comic-Con by the cast and made into a graphic novel, reveals it. It's [[spoiler: Clarence Coulton]]. Javier Grillo-Marxach, the creator, pauses the read-through for a moment, and then says to the audience, "Yes, that's his name."
* The species of the alien invaders in ''{{UFO}}'' is never mentioned. Even the members of SHADO never use a codename, but simply call them 'the aliens'.
** Well, how would anyone know what species they are? If we were sneaking around an alien planet trying to take it over, I doubt we'd be wearing a sign saying "humans" or "Earthlings".
*** In any case, it is revealed that [[spoiler:the UFO pilots themselves are not aliens, but abducted humans possessed by alien intelligences]].
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Jacob's enemy seemingly has no name, just that title - or "[[ColourCodedForYourConvenience The Man in Black]]" (first seen in ABC's official recap - the press release called him "Man #2" - and actually used in-show by characters). Fans use Esau, Jacob's Nemesis and Mr. X.
** Somewhat justified in "Across the Sea." [[spoiler: His mom didn't know that she was giving birth to twins and intended to name her son Jacob. Right after the second baby was born, the mid-wife killed her and apparently never bothered to given Jacob's twin brother a name.]]
*** The mother in "Across the Sea" also has no name but "Woman". Only two characters in the episode, Jacob and Claudia, have names in fact...which makes discussing it rather difficult.
** According to ''Entertainment Weekly'', the scripts called MIB "Samuel", the same name used in the (intentionally misleading) casting call. However, it's not known if this is actually his name or not (given that they also kept calling Terry O'Quinn's character "Locke" after he wasn't regularly playing Locke anymore, it could easily just be out of convenience instead of something canon).
* In the black-and-white era series ''HaveGunWillTravel'', the main character is only ever known as Paladin.
** Supposedly, some audience members thought his name was Will. Will Travel. Because that's what it said on his business cards. Have Gun - Will Travel.
** His business card also inspired the joke that his first name was "Wire," since it read "Wire Paladin/San Francisco."
* On ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', Sarah's real full name is unknown as of yet. Her other known childhood aliases are Jenny Burton, Rebecca Franco, and Katie O'Connell. As Bryce Larkin's partner, she was known as Mrs. Anderson on some missions. She introduces her father as Jack Burton; it's likely that was just the first name she thought of, since Chuck knew the Burton alias but not that it was an alias, and Jack was willing to play along. She does tell Chuck her middle name is Lisa, and from context it's likely that much is true.
** In "Chuck Versus the Fake Name", Sarah's real name is found out: [[spoiler:Sam]].
** Wasen't Colonel Casey's real name not given till like season 3?
* Nobody knows C.C. Babcock's full name in ''Series/TheNanny'' until it's revealed in the final episode: [[spoiler: Chastity Claire Babcock]].
* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the characters of Parker and Sophie Devereaux are both within this trope. Parker is OnlyOneName and as a foster child may have no other name, nor a need for one as she has no life outside being a thief. "Sophie Devereaux" is just Sophie's favorite of many aliases, and her real is yet to be revealed.
* GOB's wife on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' is never given a name, to reflect the fact that GOB doesn't know it. She's listed as "Bride of GOB" in the credits and "Wife of GOB" in other material. GOB makes several guesses to it, including "Krindy", "Amy" (Amy Poehler, Will Arnett's wife, plays the role), and "Saul" (actually her divorce lawyer). Michael knows what it is, but the opportunity never arises for him to use it.
* ''Series/TopGear'': "Some say that he was born of a planet that has no concept of 'naming'..."
* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time.
* The title character in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', believe it or not. Batiatus remarks that he fights like Spartacus, the legendary Thracian king of old, after Legatus Glaber explains the he had never bothered to learn his name. Every time Spartacus attempts to mention his real name he is cut off by other characters, oftentimes on purpose, to make clear that his old life is over.
* There are several in the UK sitcom ''Series/TimeGentlemenPlease''. The landlord is usually referred to as 'Guv' (and other less pleasant nicknames), the old man never tells anyone his name ("I'd rather not say, sometimes you just want to go where ''no-one'' knows your name"), and of all the regulars in the pub we only ever hear Terry's full name. Even the pub itself isn't named until the second series when the brewery needs to know the name and nobody, not even the landlord, has any idea what it is, having always simply referred to it as 'the pub by the chemical works'. All this is lampshaded in one episode when the old man is using the telephone: "Hello, it's the old man with no name in the pub with no name."
* Almost none of the characters in Series/TrailerParkBoys have any last names given. Given that they're often in court for their various crimes, this becomes comical as the judge always just refers to them as Ricky, Jules, Bubbles, etc. (especially Bubbles, as this is explicitly said to be a nickname. We never find out his real first or last name). Jim Lahey and his related family (and Sam Lasco) are the only recurring characters who get both first and last names.
* In ''Series/BurnNotice'', most major characters are [[FunWithSubtitles introduced with snarky subtitles]]. The mysterious employer of Carla, apparently the man who burned Michael for some nefarious purpose, is only introduced as "Management".
* On the short-lived series ''Series/{{Kidnapped}}'', the ProfessionalKiller employed by the NebulousEvilOrganization behind the kidnapping is referred to only as "The Accountant." He explains to one of his victims that this is because, "I balance the books."
* The main character in the one season series ''Series/JohnDoe'' does not know his name - nor his history. All through the series, he tries to find out who he is. His name remains unknown (up to the point that the producers of the show never made one). ''John Doe'' is a name used by law enforcement agencies to refer to unknown male people (dead or alive).
* Jeeves, from ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'', is universally known simply by his last name. It isn't until the final episode that we hear someone address him as [[spoiler:"Reggie", presumably for Reginald]]. Unfortunately, many descriptions of the character freely use his full name, which rather [[ItWasHisSled spoils the surprise]].
* From ''Series/{{Becker}}'', Linda and Bob's last names were never revealed.
* All but one of the cast members in Series/AccordingToJim are only referred to by their first names. The one exception takes place in Dana after she gets married and adopts her husband's surname.
* On many reality shows (one example being ''Series/BillyTheExterminator''), last names aren't given, even the ones of the people the show is about.
* In ''Series/ThePretender'', virtually ''no one'' has a full name:
** Jarod, Sydney, Jacob, Brigitte, Sam the Cleaner, Willie the Cleaner, Angelo, Major Charles, Margaret, Emily, and Kyle are only known by their first names, and no last names are ever given.
** Miss Parker, Mr. Parker, Broots, and Mr. Fenigor are only known by their last names, and no first names are ever given.
*** Fanon claims Miss Parker's first name is [[spoiler: Angel, her father's nickname for her]], but that's never been confirmed. It's also kind of silly.
** Only William Raines, Debbie Broots, and Catherine Parker (née Jamieson) get full names.
** Mr. Lyle is an interesting case, as that's an alias he adopted, and he may not even have a first name. One episode does reveal his full childhood name -- [[spoiler:Bobby Bowman]] -- but he would probably argue that [[DoNotCallMePaul that's not his name any more]], if it ever really was.
* ''Series/{{Star Trek|TheOriginalSeries}}'' has a few prominent examples:
** The character played by Majel Barrett in the first series pilot, "The Cage," is referred to only as "Number One," the unofficial nickname attached to her position as Captain Pike's first officer.
** Neither of the two main Romulan adversaries in the series were ever referred to by name, but simply as "the Romulan Commander."
* The BBC show ''Series/{{Bugs}}'' manages this with the three stars, Nick Beckett, Ros Henderson and 'Ed', who has no specified surname.
* In ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'', the leading agent of the team, Callen, has no first name. Not even ''he'' knows his first name. All we know is that it starts with "G". The others refer to him as "Callen", "Agent Callen", "G. Callen", "G", or "Mr. Callen". Even during the most recent season finale where [[spoiler:Hetty leaves her position at NCIS to get a Romanian crime family off Callen's back by faking G's death certificate (complete with video evidence of G's death), we never know his first name.]] To maintain the mystique surrounding G's name [[spoiler:they probably had the first name on the form illegible except for the G, [[GenreSavvy knowing that someone with a DVR could just pause at that exact moment to see it]].]]
** G is his first name/initial. That was all he was left with when put in foster care. One of the episodes shows that when his foster sister was killed, she still had a bat he used to own. G. CALLAN is carved into the wood.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Puck's little sister. Granted, she's only shown up once so far, and that was in a flashback, but it still poses a problem for fanfic writers who want to include her. [[{{Fanon}} Surprisingly many of them]] call her Sarah.
* ''Series/DrTerriblesHouseOfHorrible'' parodied this with a voodoo man who said "My name is...unimportant." Later, we see on his passport that his name is actually "Unim Portant".
* Maw Broon, Paw Broon, Grandpaw Broon, the Twins and the Bairn in ''TheBroons''.
** Parodied in a ''NakedVideo'' sketch, where the Twins and the Bairn were taken into care, to be looked after by someone who'd give them care and attention...and names.
* The titular mother in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. Mostly justified in that none of the characters have met her yet, but great pains have been taken to conceal her name anyway. In "Girls vs. Suits", when Ted goes out with a [=PhD=] student who was the mother's roommate, she refers to the mother as "my roommate", even when she talks about her in some detail.
** Ted's children, referred to in the credits as "Son" and "Daughter", but fandom often refers to them as [[Franchise/StarWars "Luke" and "Leia"]] due to a throwaway gag. As of the episode "Unpause" the children's names are revealed to be [[spoiler: Penny and Luke.]]
** Wendy the Waitress's last name is never given. Made even funnier when it's revealed she married one of Marshall's coworkers, who is only known by his last name "Meeker".
** Wendy's last name may be an enforced RiddleForTheAges, because the Ted of the year 2021 couldn't remember her name until she prompted him ("Hey! It's...uh...you...""Wendy the Waitress?""RIGHT! Wendy the Waitress!"), so one might assume the Ted of 2030, and everyone in the stories he tells, refers to her as Wendy the Waitress simply because the Ted of 2030 can't remember her last name. Like the girl whose name Future Ted couldn't remember and referred to as "Blah Blah", and so everyone in the past was depicted as calling her "Blah Blah" as well.
* ''Series/TheVirginian'' was this trope.
* ''Series/MacGyver''[='=]s first name was only revealed in the series finale.[[note]]It's "Angus", by the way.[[/note]]
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has never revealed the name of Angela's father. Or her real name for that matter. We know her dad is Billy Gibbons in real life, but he never is given an onscreen name. And Angela named herself when she became an adult, due to her dad giving her an EmbarrassingFirstName.
* On TV and in the radio, ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' was this trope. We know his last name was Reed, like his brother and great grand-nephew ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'', but we never learn his first name.
* Two SixthRanger types in ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' and ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' never have their true identities revealed: The Phantom Ranger, and the original Magna Defender.
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', the family's last name is never spoken, but during the pilot, Francis wears a nametag that reads "Wilkerson", and during a deleted scene shown on the first season DVD, the name Wilkerson is also said. The pilot's script also refers to the family with the name Wilkerson.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Mycroft's GirlFriday introduces herself to John as "Anthea." She cheerfully admits it's not her real name about ten seconds later.
* Many if not most series regulars on ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' start out this way. The title character stays with no last name until roughly the middle of season 2, when a TV reporter reveals it as Meers. Michael, Amanda, and Percy have no last name through the season 2 finale.
* If you're trying to remember the full names of all the characters on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', you might find yourself stuck when you get to Penny. Well, that's because she has no last name. She's just...Penny.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': One character's name has never (so far) been spoken on screen. The name "Pennsylvania Two" was used for the character in the press release for "No Good Deed;" in the press releases for "The Contingency" and "Bad Code," he's referred to as "Special Counsel".
** There's also the fact that the names of the two main characters are aliases. While Reese's first name actually is 'John', his real surname is never revealed. Midway through the third season, flashbacks confirmed that 'Harold' really is Finch's first name, but his last name remains unknown.
** The real name of Elias' second-in-command is never spoken by any character, and only seen on-screen when the Machine is assessing him; he's also only credited by his nickname. This changes in "The Devil You Know", where it turns out that Elias is very much on a first-name basis with him.
-->'''Reese''': Anthony, huh? Guess I just always thought of him as Scarface.
* Not only is [[Series/MrLucky Mr. Lucky's]] first name never revealed, it's not even specified whether "Andamo" is his sidekick's first or last name.
* Series/{{Quincy}} is called one of four things: "Quincy," "Dr. Quincy," "Doctor" or "Quince" - while one episode has a shot of his business card showing his first name begins with the letter R, said name is never used. Not even by his girlfriends. Not even by the ''officiating pastor'' in "Quincy's Wedding, Part 2" when the main man takes a new bride!
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. Still there is some wild speculation over his name as his badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read. Also in TrivialPursuit his name is a question and the answer is Philip, thou this is not cannon and is often disproved. There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered cannon.
* ''Series/TeenWolf'': Stiles' first name is unknown, and is supposedly {{embarrassing|FirstName}} and [[NoPronunciationGuide very hard to pronounce]]. According to his dad, Stiles himself was the one who decided that he wanted to be [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname called Stiles]], which is derived from their last name, Stilinski.
** Stiles' dad is this as well; his first name is never revealed, and he is referred to as [[TheSheriff Sheriff]] Stilinski. A [[{{Fanon}} surprising amount of fans]] prefer to call him John.
* All Wraith on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' with the implication that they have names, but they just don't give them out to other species. To compensate, Sheppard gives them common names like Todd and Michael.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' has the Ancient Crichton meets in "Unrealized Reality". When John asks his name, the being simply states "Unimportant to our encounter." John then refers to him as "Einstein" in reference to their conversation about relativity.
* This was the case for some time in ''Series/TrueBlood'' with Andy's daughters who rapidly aged until they hit 18, if you don't count numbers as names. It was only after [[spoiler:three of them were killed]] that he gave them actual names.
* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
* Grandad's first name "Ted" was only revealed in the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' book series ''The Bible of Peckham'' and the pilot episode of ''Rock And Chips''.
----
** On ''Series/{{Angel}},'' "The Host of Caritas" was not given an official name (even to the other characters) until late into the second season. His full name is "Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan." As noted before, he's not fond of it:
--->'''Host''' (who is a green-skinned demon): It's Lorne. I don't like to mention it because, well...\\
'''Angel''': Lorne Greene!\\
''(Cordelia and Gunn stare blankly)''\\
'''Angel''': ''Bonanza''? Fourteen years on the air doesn't mean anything?\\
''(They are still blank)''\\
'''Angel''': Okay, now I feel old.
** One might wonder why he didn't shorten it to ''Krev'' instead of ''Lorne'', so that he could say it's short for ''Crèvecœur'' (heartbreaker). Okay, maybe that's too recherché.
** Darla's human name is not known - she was named Darla by the Master, and being a whore, she probably wouldn't have used it anyway. We learn this when [[spoiler:she is revived as human]]; by this time she does not remember having a name before "Darla". By the time she sired Angel she had been Darla for over a century, and in over a century with him she never mentioned her original name.
** It's a while before we find out Angel's real name is "Liam".
** Faith's surname was not revealed as Lehane (probably a ShoutOut to the crime writer Dennis Lehane) until after the TV shows ended. It was first used in the support material for the official role-playing game.
** While we know that Spike's real name is "William", only after the shows ended did Joss Whedon reveal his last name is "Pratt".
** Who was he before he was Adam? Did Maggie name him that? [[DreamSequence Not a man among us can remember.]]
** The dancing demon in "Once More With Feeling" is never named in dialogue, though he is known to fans as "Sweet" because of a credit for "Sweet makeup". This violates the typical formula for a ''Buffy'' episode: Weird Stuff Happens/People Die/stuff gets stolen → the gang researches → they learn the threat's name and weaknesses → they vanquish said threat. But in this episode Sweet simply leaves without actually engaging in violence (aside from people bursting into flames).
** The human members of the Circle of the Black Thorn are unnamed.
* ''Series/GetSmart'' has, er, a ''[[{{Pun}} number]]'' of examples:
** Agent 99. Her lack of a name becomes a RunningGag:
*** The day she gets married to Max someone sneezes when her name is said.
*** A popular misconception is that she revealed her name in one episode as "Susan Hilton," but that was just an alias.
*** Double subverted when Max, consoling her when the Chief is in surgery after being shot, calls her "Ernestine."
---> '''99:''' Do you realize that's the first time you've ever called me Ernestine? ''(Max nods)'' I wish it were my name.
** Ditto the Chief, who could only reveal his first name (Thaddeus) as a matter of national security.
** Most other CONTROL agents are identified only by number; on the other hand, Agent Larabee's number is not revealed.
* Mr. Big on ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. His first name was revealed in the last episode of the series. He gets a full name and e-mail address in TheMovie.
* Fez, ''Series/That70sShow''. Fez is short for [[FunWithAcronyms Foreign Exchange Student]]. At one point, someone asks his real name and he is drowned out by a school-bell while seen saying an incredibly long name. (In that scene, actor Wilmer Valderrama was actually saying the first names of all the cast members.) His friends call him Fez because his real name is too long to easily remember or pronounce.
* Number Six and many other residents of The Village in ''Series/ThePrisoner''. (It is officially denied that Six is John Drake, a spy previously played by the same actor – because that character is owned by another company.)
* On ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', The Doctor (the Emergency Medical Hologram, not [[Series/DoctorWho that one]]) went seven years without getting a name that stuck. In the last episode, he's portrayed as finally having settled on "Joe," but that was in a future that got erased. [[note]]WordOfGod is that he was originally named Dr Zimmerman in the script, but they managed to go long enough without mentioning his name onscreen that it became a plot point of its own.[[/note]]
* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', none of the Changelings have names, and the 'leader' only goes by 'female Changeling' or 'Founder'. Odo and Laas only have names because they have interacted with 'solids' and we like to place names on things.
** Played with in Odo's case. His name comes from what was written on his jar when he was first studied at a Bajoran science facility: the Cardassian word ''odo'ital'' ("nothing"), a mistranslation of the Bajoran "unknown sample".
* This trope turns up in mainstream shows too: British nostalgic hospital drama ''TheRoyal'' has a major character known only as Matron.
* Mac Taylor on ''Series/{{CSINY}}''. Mac *can* be a full name, but we've never found out for sure. Gary Sinise has said his name is [=McCanna=] (after Gary's son), but they've never said it onscreen.
* The Doctor on ''Series/DoctorWho'', as well as ArchEnemy Time Lord the Master and minor Time Lord enemies the Rani, the War Chief, and the Monk. The latter four have had their names revealed in the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' ([[spoiler: The Master - Koschei, the Rani - Ushas, the War Chief - Magnus, the Monk - Mortimus]]), but not the Doctor. The series initially implied that Time Lords did not have personal names, [[RetCon but this later got forgotten]]. (In any case, the Doctor's granddaughter ''did'' have a name, though, oddly, an ordinary-sounding human one.)
** Apparently the Doctor has one but never uses it. (The [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse novels]] go into the reasons why.) An old schoolmate of the Doctor's in the episode "The Armageddon Factor" calls him Theta Sigma -- Thete for short -- but a later episode establishes that this is a nickname.
** The Ninth Doctor [[BadassBoast boasts to invading Daleks]] that his name translates to "Oncoming Storm" in certain languages but no one has ever called him that.
** River Song whispers his name in the Doctor's ear in ''Forest of the Dead''. The Doctor confirms it towards the end of the episode, though naturally the audience never hears it. Other episodes have alluded to his name being hidden in some dark secret ("The Girl in the Fireplace"; "The Shakespeare Code"; "The Fires of Pompeii"). The end of series 6 reveals [[spoiler:there is one time and place where he can be asked who he is and must answer truthfully - and that there are those willing to do anything to kill him and stop him ever answering]], making the running gag below deadly serious.
** This is, in fact, where the name of the series comes from. While even in the credits the actor is often credited as playing "Doctor Who", the character's name is simply "the Doctor". The show's name comes from characters' tendency to emphatically ask "Doctor ''who''!?" -- stemming from the very first episode: "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" -- when he is introduced as just "the Doctor". A running gag in the new series has been for characters to ask questions similar to "Doctor who?", but not quite, ranging from "Doctor ''what''," to "But what's his ''name''?". It gets played straight again in a trailer for the 2010 series.
*** The Doctor does, however, seem to like making "Doctor Who" allusions: one of his pseudonyms is 'Doctor von Wer' ("wer" being German for "Who"), and he uses "WHO" on his car's registration plates.
*** In fact, it seems that "The Doctor" is his real name ''now.'' When the Lord President of the Time Lords meets the Doctor and the Master, he calls them "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master." Apparently, picking your own name is a Time Lord 'thing', and you can be a The Something or a Susan. We know that the Doctor used to be Theta Sigma, but what it was before that... actually seems less important nowadays. [[spoiler: At least, until we learn that the universe could be destroyed when the Question "Doctor Who?" is finally ''answered.'']]
** "Aliens of London/World War Three" subverts this. Here it was discovered that the alien enemies were not of a ''species'' named Slitheen; the word 'Slitheen' was in fact their crime family's surname, similar to 'The Sopranos'. Their species name later turned out to be the extremely difficult to pronounce Raxacoricofallapatorians. As such, they were primarily known as the Slitheen, ever after.
** Also used with the character of the Hostess in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight "Midnight"]], [[spoiler:which makes it a lot sadder when she [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices herself]] to save the Doctor and the [[HumansAreBastards various bastard passengers]] on the shuttle]].
** Frobisher, from the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' strip. It's made clear that he's adopted numerous aliases in the past, of which 'Frobisher' is the latest (and the one he sticks with); we never learn his original name. Another name of his is briefly glimpsed in his introductory story, but this is likely another alias.
** The third Doctor was fond of using "[[MrSmith Doctor John Smith]]" as an alias while confined to Earth.
* On ''Series/DarkAngel'', Max's friends went mostly by nicknames -- Sketchy (Calvin Simon Theodore), Herbal Thought, and Original Cindy (say it out loud) (Cynthia [=McEachin=]). Her boss was referred to as Normal for the entire series, though a couple of jokes were made about his real name, eventually revealed to be Reagan Ronald.
* On ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Shepherd Book's real name was never revealed, not even in [[Film/{{Serenity}} the movie]] or the comic-book adaptation. Derrial Book [[spoiler: Was the name he took from [[KillAndReplace a man he killed]]]]. The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' claims that he has no name, in the credits he is listed simply as "The Operative."
* ''Series/{{MASH}}''
** Radar's real name (Walter) wasn't revealed until episode 81 ("Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?") in season 4, even though it appears in the ''very first sentence'' of the [[Literature/{{Mash}} original novel]].
** Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt insists that his name was given to him by his mother, ''Bea'' Hunnicutt, and his father, ''Jay'' Hunnicutt, and his official Army files list only his initials.
** Sparky's real name is never revealed. Not his first name, but he's Staff Sergeant Pryor (as shown in the Season 1 episode "Tuttle").
* ''Series/GilligansIsland''.
** The conceptual material for the series listed Gilligan's name as "Willy Gilligan", but during the series, it was used as a first name, with the last name never revealed.
** Similarly, the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) and the Professor (Roy Hinkley) were known mainly by their titles.
** Mrs Howell was called Lovey but this was a nickname. Her real first name, Eunice, was mentioned in only one episode.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', Deep Throat's real name is not given until the fourth season, despite the character's prominence in the first season. The second season premier implies that Mulder knows it, but he never speaks it onscreen. In the fourth season flashback episode, he and the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Cigarette Smoking Man]] are the main characters, and the Cigarette Smoking Man calls him [[spoiler: Ronald]].
** The Cigarette Smoking Man is later referred to by the name [[spoiler: C.G.B. Spender]], though Scully believes it's just an alias and not his real name.
** The X-Files was full of this trope, many of the main conspirators are never named and are often known solely by the descriptive terms used in the credits. There's Mr. X, The Well-Manicured Man, The Grey-Haired Man, Second Elder, Third Elder, Toothpick Man, Quiet Willy, The Red-Haired Man, and so on and so forth.
* One of the main characters in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' is simply known as 'The Janitor'. His nametag and uniform also just say 'Janitor', and he even calls himself "Dr. Jan Itor" when pretending to be a doctor. It was said (jokingly) that when the Janitor's name is revealed, the series will be over. One episode features JD discovering that the Janitor had a role in the film "The Fugitive", suggesting that the Janitor is actually supposed to be the actor portraying him (Neil Flynn), fallen on hard times.
** More janitor name silliness: in one episode he fools J.D. by signing his name as "Dr. Rotinaj," and when J.D. points out that this is "janitor" backwards, an Asian doctor walks by:
--->'''Janitor:''' Hello, Dr. Rotinaj.
--->'''Dr. Rotinaj:''' Hello, Mister Clean-Up-Man.
** In the last episode though,[[spoiler: he reveals to JD that his name is "Glenn Matthews". He never revealed his name, because no one ever asked. It's not sure if this is his real name, as seconds later someone calls him "Tony".]]
*** WordOfGod states that, yes, his name is indeed [[spoiler: Glen Matthews.]]
* Much like his Creator/{{Disney}} counterpart above, Prince Charming in ''Series/OnceUponATime'' is tough to pin a name on. When first encountered in Storybrooke, he's suffering from amnesia and can't even remember his cursed identity, and he's only referred to in the Enchanted Forest as "Prince Charming", an originally derisive nickname bestowed upon him by his future wife upon their first meeting. Later it's discovered that his cursed identity is David Nolan, and he is known to many of those in the Enchanted Forest as "Prince James", but this is in fact the name of his [[EvilTwin twin brother]] whom he was [[TwinSwitch forced to replace]] when James got himself killed. It's not until Season 2 that he reveals that his real name is [[spoiler:David, the same as his Storybrooke name.]]
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has a number of examples:
** Noah Bennet is first credited as "Horn-Rimmed Glasses," referring to his eyewear. In the third episode of the series he is revealed to be Claire's father, and so became referred to by various characters as "Mr. Bennet," but his first name remains a mystery. A lampshade is hung on this in one episode, in which his wife says, "It's so strange that you all refer to him as 'Mr. Bennet'. I've always just known him as--" [[TheUnReveal before she is distracted by her dog]]. He finally reveals his first name, Noah, in the first season finale.
** Mr. Bennet's partner, who appears fairly regularly, is never referred to as anything but "the Haitian." In season 4, his name was revealed to be René.
*** It wasn't so much a [[TheReveal reveal]] as a stealth {{Retcon}}. There's no explanation for how everyone learned his name, no side-arc leading up to it, and no drama about it. People just start calling him René out of the blue.
**** If anything happens off screen, it doesn't necessarily means that it's a {{Retcon}}. Noah probably knew his name before the series started, but everyone in the Primatech Paper just called him by his nickname, so Noah usually would, too. As for Peter and Nathan, they start out knowing him just by his nickname, but after a while they become, if not friends, acquaintances with him... to the point that they end up helping him in his family feud. It's likely that he just, you know, took a second to tell 'em: "Btw, my real name's René". Not every single mundane aspect of life needs drama or entire story arcs about it.
** Mr. Bennet's ''previous'' partner doesn't appear to have a real name either. He's usually referred to as Claude, but that comes from a joke he made in an early appearance: "I'm [[IAmNotShazam Claude Rains]]! I'm [[ShoutOut The Invisible Man]]!"
** Another man named after his nationality was The German, one of the escaped level five villains, who had magnetic powers. Knox tore his heart out in his second appearance, so his real name is unknown.
*** It was probably [[Comicbook/XMen Max]] [[ShoutOut Eisenhardt]].
* Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies in ''TheLastDetective'' does not appear to have had his real first name revealed on screen. Even his wife calls him "Dangerous".
* The fourth season of ''Series/{{House}}'' features a legion of young doctors who are applying for a job with the title character. At the start, each one is given an identifying number. They're rarely brought up except for one woman, who only answers to "Thirteen." Even after she's hired and joins the cast as a regular, nobody says her actual name. House doesn't call anyone by their name if he can help it. The other finalists are given monikers such as Cutthroat Bitch and Bosley, and the audience doesn't learn their real names for a few more episodes.
** Thirteen's name is eventually revealed to be Dr. Remy Hadley, but everyone on the team, herself included, still calls her Thirteen.
* ''Man in a Suitcase'' featured an ex-CIA man turned Private Eye who was known only as [=McGill=]. Supposedly his first name was John, but it was never used onscreen.
* Several characters in ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' are known only by nicknames. This is taken farthest with Coconut Head -- his real name is obscured by tape with "COCONUT HEAD" on the wall of student pictures, he is named only as Coconut Head by teachers, and in the yearbook. In the "Guide to Nicknames" episode, Moze agreed to call him by his real name (which wasn't revealed)... but only if he got a better haircut.
* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', the real name of Captain Jack Harkness is never revealed. A flashback to his childhood has his parents repeatedly addressing him as "son" while calling Jack's brother Gray by his real name.
* Cappie in ''Series/{{Greek}}''. Though it's not that ''all'' of the characters don't know his real name; in fact, one of them threatened to reveal it to everybody as blackmail. [[EmbarrassingFirstName He quickly complied]].
** It was revealed in the final episode that his real name is (I'm not making this up) Captain John Paul Jones. Similarly Beaver was known as that for most of the series and his name was just revealed a few episodes earlier to be Walter Boudreaux, only his girlfriend calls him by his name so when she asks for "Walter" nobody seems to know who he is.
* Elmo from ''Series/SesameStreet'' was a minor background Muppet simply known as "Baby Monster" prior to 1985, when his current character started to take shape.
* Doc in ''Series/FraggleRock''. In the last episode his name is revealed to be Jerome Crystal (making him "Doc Crystal"; a pun on ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'').
** Doc's [[MultiNationalShows multinational counterparts]] were mostly called Doc as well; exceptions include Norway's Oppfinneren (the Inventor) and Britain's Captain, a lighthouse keeper (the Captain was later replaced by his nephew, who was known as P.K., for "Principal Keeper").
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''
** The recurring character The Waitress is never given a name. This is lampshades in a number of occasions. Dennis admits to never remembering her name, and sorts his sex tape with her under "The Waitress." In a later episode, she hears Dee call her "The Waitress" and gets upset that she doesn't know her name.
--->'''Dennis:''' *answering his phone, we only hear his side* Hello? Who is this? Who? Oh! Why didn't you just say The Waitress? *angry yelling heard from The Waitress' end*
** The real name of Mac is not revealed until season 7 when at their highschool reunion it is revealed that [[spoiler: Mac shares his name with a famous hamburger chain mascot, Ronald.]]
* In ''Series/TheMiddleman'' the titular hero is very careful about his name. As demonstrated in this exchange just after a truth gas has been released into the room:
-->'''Wendy:''' "So if I were to ask you anything right now, you'd have to tell the truth?"
-->'''The Middleman:''' "Yes, I would."
-->'''Wendy:''' "What's your real name?"
-->'''The Middleman:''' "The same as my father's."
** The unproduced 13th episode, read at Comic-Con by the cast and made into a graphic novel, reveals it. It's [[spoiler: Clarence Coulton]]. Javier Grillo-Marxach, the creator, pauses the read-through for a moment, and then says to the audience, "Yes, that's his name."
* The species of the alien invaders in ''{{UFO}}'' is never mentioned. Even the members of SHADO never use a codename, but simply call them 'the aliens'.
** Well, how would anyone know what species they are? If we were sneaking around an alien planet trying to take it over, I doubt we'd be wearing a sign saying "humans" or "Earthlings".
*** In any case, it is revealed that [[spoiler:the UFO pilots themselves are not aliens, but abducted humans possessed by alien intelligences]].
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Jacob's enemy seemingly has no name, just that title - or "[[ColourCodedForYourConvenience The Man in Black]]" (first seen in ABC's official recap - the press release called him "Man #2" - and actually used in-show by characters). Fans use Esau, Jacob's Nemesis and Mr. X.
** Somewhat justified in "Across the Sea." [[spoiler: His mom didn't know that she was giving birth to twins and intended to name her son Jacob. Right after the second baby was born, the mid-wife killed her and apparently never bothered to given Jacob's twin brother a name.]]
*** The mother in "Across the Sea" also has no name but "Woman". Only two characters in the episode, Jacob and Claudia, have names in fact...which makes discussing it rather difficult.
** According to ''Entertainment Weekly'', the scripts called MIB "Samuel", the same name used in the (intentionally misleading) casting call. However, it's not known if this is actually his name or not (given that they also kept calling Terry O'Quinn's character "Locke" after he wasn't regularly playing Locke anymore, it could easily just be out of convenience instead of something canon).
* In the black-and-white era series ''HaveGunWillTravel'', the main character is only ever known as Paladin.
** Supposedly, some audience members thought his name was Will. Will Travel. Because that's what it said on his business cards. Have Gun - Will Travel.
** His business card also inspired the joke that his first name was "Wire," since it read "Wire Paladin/San Francisco."
* On ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', Sarah's real full name is unknown as of yet. Her other known childhood aliases are Jenny Burton, Rebecca Franco, and Katie O'Connell. As Bryce Larkin's partner, she was known as Mrs. Anderson on some missions. She introduces her father as Jack Burton; it's likely that was just the first name she thought of, since Chuck knew the Burton alias but not that it was an alias, and Jack was willing to play along. She does tell Chuck her middle name is Lisa, and from context it's likely that much is true.
** In "Chuck Versus the Fake Name", Sarah's real name is found out: [[spoiler:Sam]].
** Wasen't Colonel Casey's real name not given till like season 3?
* Nobody knows C.C. Babcock's full name in ''Series/TheNanny'' until it's revealed in the final episode: [[spoiler: Chastity Claire Babcock]].
* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the characters of Parker and Sophie Devereaux are both within this trope. Parker is OnlyOneName and as a foster child may have no other name, nor a need for one as she has no life outside being a thief. "Sophie Devereaux" is just Sophie's favorite of many aliases, and her real is yet to be revealed.
* GOB's wife on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' is never given a name, to reflect the fact that GOB doesn't know it. She's listed as "Bride of GOB" in the credits and "Wife of GOB" in other material. GOB makes several guesses to it, including "Krindy", "Amy" (Amy Poehler, Will Arnett's wife, plays the role), and "Saul" (actually her divorce lawyer). Michael knows what it is, but the opportunity never arises for him to use it.
* ''Series/TopGear'': "Some say that he was born of a planet that has no concept of 'naming'..."
* [[TheUnreveal Not revealing]] Mrs. Doyle's first name became a RunningGag in ''FatherTed''. At one point, she said it three times, but was drowned out by [[SoundEffectBleep a convenient noise]] each time.
* The title character in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', believe it or not. Batiatus remarks that he fights like Spartacus, the legendary Thracian king of old, after Legatus Glaber explains the he had never bothered to learn his name. Every time Spartacus attempts to mention his real name he is cut off by other characters, oftentimes on purpose, to make clear that his old life is over.
* There are several in the UK sitcom ''Series/TimeGentlemenPlease''. The landlord is usually referred to as 'Guv' (and other less pleasant nicknames), the old man never tells anyone his name ("I'd rather not say, sometimes you just want to go where ''no-one'' knows your name"), and of all the regulars in the pub we only ever hear Terry's full name. Even the pub itself isn't named until the second series when the brewery needs to know the name and nobody, not even the landlord, has any idea what it is, having always simply referred to it as 'the pub by the chemical works'. All this is lampshaded in one episode when the old man is using the telephone: "Hello, it's the old man with no name in the pub with no name."
* Almost none of the characters in Series/TrailerParkBoys have any last names given. Given that they're often in court for their various crimes, this becomes comical as the judge always just refers to them as Ricky, Jules, Bubbles, etc. (especially Bubbles, as this is explicitly said to be a nickname. We never find out his real first or last name). Jim Lahey and his related family (and Sam Lasco) are the only recurring characters who get both first and last names.
* In ''Series/BurnNotice'', most major characters are [[FunWithSubtitles introduced with snarky subtitles]]. The mysterious employer of Carla, apparently the man who burned Michael for some nefarious purpose, is only introduced as "Management".
* On the short-lived series ''Series/{{Kidnapped}}'', the ProfessionalKiller employed by the NebulousEvilOrganization behind the kidnapping is referred to only as "The Accountant." He explains to one of his victims that this is because, "I balance the books."
* The main character in the one season series ''Series/JohnDoe'' does not know his name - nor his history. All through the series, he tries to find out who he is. His name remains unknown (up to the point that the producers of the show never made one). ''John Doe'' is a name used by law enforcement agencies to refer to unknown male people (dead or alive).
* Jeeves, from ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'', is universally known simply by his last name. It isn't until the final episode that we hear someone address him as [[spoiler:"Reggie", presumably for Reginald]]. Unfortunately, many descriptions of the character freely use his full name, which rather [[ItWasHisSled spoils the surprise]].
* From ''Series/{{Becker}}'', Linda and Bob's last names were never revealed.
* All but one of the cast members in Series/AccordingToJim are only referred to by their first names. The one exception takes place in Dana after she gets married and adopts her husband's surname.
* On many reality shows (one example being ''Series/BillyTheExterminator''), last names aren't given, even the ones of the people the show is about.
* In ''Series/ThePretender'', virtually ''no one'' has a full name:
** Jarod, Sydney, Jacob, Brigitte, Sam the Cleaner, Willie the Cleaner, Angelo, Major Charles, Margaret, Emily, and Kyle are only known by their first names, and no last names are ever given.
** Miss Parker, Mr. Parker, Broots, and Mr. Fenigor are only known by their last names, and no first names are ever given.
*** Fanon claims Miss Parker's first name is [[spoiler: Angel, her father's nickname for her]], but that's never been confirmed. It's also kind of silly.
** Only William Raines, Debbie Broots, and Catherine Parker (née Jamieson) get full names.
** Mr. Lyle is an interesting case, as that's an alias he adopted, and he may not even have a first name. One episode does reveal his full childhood name -- [[spoiler:Bobby Bowman]] -- but he would probably argue that [[DoNotCallMePaul that's not his name any more]], if it ever really was.
* ''Series/{{Star Trek|TheOriginalSeries}}'' has a few prominent examples:
** The character played by Majel Barrett in the first series pilot, "The Cage," is referred to only as "Number One," the unofficial nickname attached to her position as Captain Pike's first officer.
** Neither of the two main Romulan adversaries in the series were ever referred to by name, but simply as "the Romulan Commander."
* The BBC show ''Series/{{Bugs}}'' manages this with the three stars, Nick Beckett, Ros Henderson and 'Ed', who has no specified surname.
* In ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'', the leading agent of the team, Callen, has no first name. Not even ''he'' knows his first name. All we know is that it starts with "G". The others refer to him as "Callen", "Agent Callen", "G. Callen", "G", or "Mr. Callen". Even during the most recent season finale where [[spoiler:Hetty leaves her position at NCIS to get a Romanian crime family off Callen's back by faking G's death certificate (complete with video evidence of G's death), we never know his first name.]] To maintain the mystique surrounding G's name [[spoiler:they probably had the first name on the form illegible except for the G, [[GenreSavvy knowing that someone with a DVR could just pause at that exact moment to see it]].]]
** G is his first name/initial. That was all he was left with when put in foster care. One of the episodes shows that when his foster sister was killed, she still had a bat he used to own. G. CALLAN is carved into the wood.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Puck's little sister. Granted, she's only shown up once so far, and that was in a flashback, but it still poses a problem for fanfic writers who want to include her. [[{{Fanon}} Surprisingly many of them]] call her Sarah.
* ''Series/DrTerriblesHouseOfHorrible'' parodied this with a voodoo man who said "My name is...unimportant." Later, we see on his passport that his name is actually "Unim Portant".
* Maw Broon, Paw Broon, Grandpaw Broon, the Twins and the Bairn in ''TheBroons''.
** Parodied in a ''NakedVideo'' sketch, where the Twins and the Bairn were taken into care, to be looked after by someone who'd give them care and attention...and names.
* The titular mother in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. Mostly justified in that none of the characters have met her yet, but great pains have been taken to conceal her name anyway. In "Girls vs. Suits", when Ted goes out with a [=PhD=] student who was the mother's roommate, she refers to the mother as "my roommate", even when she talks about her in some detail.
** Ted's children, referred to in the credits as "Son" and "Daughter", but fandom often refers to them as [[Franchise/StarWars "Luke" and "Leia"]] due to a throwaway gag. As of the episode "Unpause" the children's names are revealed to be [[spoiler: Penny and Luke.]]
** Wendy the Waitress's last name is never given. Made even funnier when it's revealed she married one of Marshall's coworkers, who is only known by his last name "Meeker".
** Wendy's last name may be an enforced RiddleForTheAges, because the Ted of the year 2021 couldn't remember her name until she prompted him ("Hey! It's...uh...you...""Wendy the Waitress?""RIGHT! Wendy the Waitress!"), so one might assume the Ted of 2030, and everyone in the stories he tells, refers to her as Wendy the Waitress simply because the Ted of 2030 can't remember her last name. Like the girl whose name Future Ted couldn't remember and referred to as "Blah Blah", and so everyone in the past was depicted as calling her "Blah Blah" as well.
* ''Series/TheVirginian'' was this trope.
* ''Series/MacGyver''[='=]s first name was only revealed in the series finale.[[note]]It's "Angus", by the way.[[/note]]
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has never revealed the name of Angela's father. Or her real name for that matter. We know her dad is Billy Gibbons in real life, but he never is given an onscreen name. And Angela named herself when she became an adult, due to her dad giving her an EmbarrassingFirstName.
* On TV and in the radio, ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' was this trope. We know his last name was Reed, like his brother and great grand-nephew ''Franchise/TheGreenHornet'', but we never learn his first name.
* Two SixthRanger types in ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' and ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' never have their true identities revealed: The Phantom Ranger, and the original Magna Defender.
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', the family's last name is never spoken, but during the pilot, Francis wears a nametag that reads "Wilkerson", and during a deleted scene shown on the first season DVD, the name Wilkerson is also said. The pilot's script also refers to the family with the name Wilkerson.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Mycroft's GirlFriday introduces herself to John as "Anthea." She cheerfully admits it's not her real name about ten seconds later.
* Many if not most series regulars on ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' start out this way. The title character stays with no last name until roughly the middle of season 2, when a TV reporter reveals it as Meers. Michael, Amanda, and Percy have no last name through the season 2 finale.
* If you're trying to remember the full names of all the characters on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', you might find yourself stuck when you get to Penny. Well, that's because she has no last name. She's just...Penny.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': One character's name has never (so far) been spoken on screen. The name "Pennsylvania Two" was used for the character in the press release for "No Good Deed;" in the press releases for "The Contingency" and "Bad Code," he's referred to as "Special Counsel".
** There's also the fact that the names of the two main characters are aliases. While Reese's first name actually is 'John', his real surname is never revealed. Midway through the third season, flashbacks confirmed that 'Harold' really is Finch's first name, but his last name remains unknown.
** The real name of Elias' second-in-command is never spoken by any character, and only seen on-screen when the Machine is assessing him; he's also only credited by his nickname. This changes in "The Devil You Know", where it turns out that Elias is very much on a first-name basis with him.
-->'''Reese''': Anthony, huh? Guess I just always thought of him as Scarface.
* Not only is [[Series/MrLucky Mr. Lucky's]] first name never revealed, it's not even specified whether "Andamo" is his sidekick's first or last name.
* Series/{{Quincy}} is called one of four things: "Quincy," "Dr. Quincy," "Doctor" or "Quince" - while one episode has a shot of his business card showing his first name begins with the letter R, said name is never used. Not even by his girlfriends. Not even by the ''officiating pastor'' in "Quincy's Wedding, Part 2" when the main man takes a new bride!
* Series/{{Columbo}}'s first name or his wife's is never given. He is only known by his rank. Being that his wife is [[TheGhost never seen]]. Still there is some wild speculation over his name as his badge does appear in several episodes showing his full signature but unfortunately never quite clearly enough to be read. Also in TrivialPursuit his name is a question and the answer is Philip, thou this is not cannon and is often disproved. There was also a show called (among other things) ''Series/MrsColumbo'' in which her name is revealed to be Kate, but again it is not considered cannon.
* ''Series/TeenWolf'': Stiles' first name is unknown, and is supposedly {{embarrassing|FirstName}} and [[NoPronunciationGuide very hard to pronounce]]. According to his dad, Stiles himself was the one who decided that he wanted to be [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname called Stiles]], which is derived from their last name, Stilinski.
** Stiles' dad is this as well; his first name is never revealed, and he is referred to as [[TheSheriff Sheriff]] Stilinski. A [[{{Fanon}} surprising amount of fans]] prefer to call him John.
* All Wraith on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' with the implication that they have names, but they just don't give them out to other species. To compensate, Sheppard gives them common names like Todd and Michael.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' has the Ancient Crichton meets in "Unrealized Reality". When John asks his name, the being simply states "Unimportant to our encounter." John then refers to him as "Einstein" in reference to their conversation about relativity.
* This was the case for some time in ''Series/TrueBlood'' with Andy's daughters who rapidly aged until they hit 18, if you don't count numbers as names. It was only after [[spoiler:three of them were killed]] that he gave them actual names.
* In ''Series/MrBean'', the title character's first name was never revealed. The book ''Mr. Bean's Diary'' included an old report card on which his first name was covered by an ink stain.
* Grandad's first name "Ted" was only revealed in the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' book series ''The Bible of Peckham'' and the pilot episode of ''Rock And Chips''.
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