Line #67 Main/IconicCharacterForgottenTitle


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/DonQuixote https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/don_quixote.png]]]]
5
6	Sometimes, the title of a work overshadows the main character. It's hard to fault someone ([[FandomEnragingMisconception even though people do all the time]]) for assuming ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' stars a green-clad elf named Zelda for both this reason and the fact that the game features no elves at all.[[note]]If you want to nitpick, they have [[PointyEars pointy elf ears]] but otherwise human bodies and personalities.[[/note]] The title of a work can be heard so much that the character names become footnotes in comparison. This is IAmNotShazam.
7
8	But what happens when the ''opposite'' occurs? What about when you've got an iconic character, the subject of a million parodies, whom anyone can caricature at a moment's notice, but no one can remember the name of the work they're in? You've got this trope. Iconic Character, Forgotten Title covers those character names that overshadow the title of their story.
9
10	Often, this will be lost in foreign language translations which use the character's name as the title instead of translating the original one.
11
12	Compare CowboyBebopAtHisComputer. Contrast SpotlightStealingTitle. See also MainstreamObscurity.
13	----
14	!!Examples:
15
16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* Parodied InUniverse at one point in ''Manga/LuckyStar'', when Kagami is looking for a "Lelouch" manga for Konata but can't find it, and the manga in question turns out to be ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Kagami lampshades how Konata could have just told her the actual title instead of giving her the name of the main character.
20	* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': The series is often called [[BreakoutCharacter "Lum"]] because the English manga used the title "Lum" with "Urusei Yatsura" written in small print under it. In some European countries, the series is actually ''re-titled'' and known as "Lamu" (Lum's name in the dub, taken from the Japanese pronunciation / spelling of "Lum", which is ラム). There was also a British dub of the early episodes (cropped into widescreen) called ''Lum the Invader Girl''.
21	* ''Manga/DoctorSlump'': The series is commonly referred to as "Arale" (or "the Arale manga"/ "the Arale cartoon") by most people. It makes sense since the name of the main protagonist (Arale) is obviously more iconic than ''the nickname'' of [[SecondaryCharacterTitle a secondary character.]] The original anime adaptation was officially titled ''Dr. Slump Arale-chan''.
22	* Neko Musume has eclipsed ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro'' outside of Japan. The series is one of the most famous anime in Japan and has numerous adaptations however it's [[AmericansHateTingle never made much of a splash elsewhere]], likely due to {{youkai}} being a very Japanese concept. Many people know Neko Musume's design but assume she's an original character unattached to any manga.
23	* In Japan, the rowdy alley cat Nyarome is a rather famous and iconic anime character. Somewhat forgotten, though, is his original source, ''Manga/MoretsuAtaro''.
24	* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' is often simply called "Keroro" by casual fans due to the popularity of the original Japanese anime (titled ''Keroro Gunso'') on [=YouTube=] back in the mid-to-late 2000s and due to the show's Japanese theme song, wherein Keroro's name is sang repeatedly throughout.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Arts]]
28	* ''The Treachery of Images'' by Creator/ReneMagritte is sometimes called "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" or "This is not a pipe".
29	* Creator/MCEscher's ''Art/{{Relativity}}'' is often simply known as the "Impossible Stairs" or "Crazy Stairs", among other names.
30	* Creator/SalvadorDali's ''Art/ThePersistenceOfMemory'' is frequently referred to as "Melting Clocks".
31	* ''Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1'' is almost universally known as "Whistler's Mother".
32	* There's a Creator/RembrandtVanRijn's picture which is probably most properly called, "The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem Van Ruytenburch Preparing to March Out". Or perhaps "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq". Or even "The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch". No wonder everyone knows it as "The Night Watch".
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* This happened early on with Franchise/{{Superman}}. ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' was at first supposed to feature a variety of characters but Superman quickly took off and interviewing newstand owners revealed that kids were asking, not for Action Comics, but for "that comic book with Superman in it." Eventually, the title shifted to some variation of "Action Comics starring Superman" or "Superman in Action Comics " (this has shifted back and forth over the decades). Of course, he has additional titles in his own name.
37	* A similar thing happened with ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' and Franchise/{{Batman}}.
38	* ''ComicBook/AdventureComics'' eventually became a vehicle for ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, and later on the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes.
39	* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' is primarily known as the comic with ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' in it, and has spawned a sister comic titled as such. ("Judge Dredd Magazine", that is, not "The Comic with Judge Dredd in It".)
40	* ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]'' (UK) has been headlining the British comic book ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' since 1974. And like Judge Dredd, Dennis now has a magazine in his own name.
41	* Similarly, ''Desperate Dan'' was the main draw in ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' from 1984 until its demise, with only a short interruption in 1999.
42	* The word ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' just gets smaller and smaller, while the words "ComicBook/JohnConstantine" get larger and larger. Ironic, because the original title was chosen specifically because they didn't think anyone would know who Constantine was (despite his appearances in the ''Comicbook/SwampThing'').
43	* ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'' is another example of a book that was originally supposed to be an anthology but eventually became dominated by stories about its [[BreakoutCharacter most popular character]] before finally just being renamed for him. In this case, it became ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor.'' The title ''Journey Into Mystery'' has since been revived on occasion heavily featuring Thor's supporting characters as its focus, with the most recent run centering first on Loki and later Lady Sif.
44	* The [[MilestoneCelebration 100th issue]] of ''Tales of Suspense'' saw the series renamed ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', after the superhero who co-starred (alongside ComicBook/IronMan) since issue #59.
45	* Similarly, ''Tales to Astonish'' became ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'' with #102, after the character who'd been co-starring since issue #59.
46	* ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'', whose collected editions are downright called ''Comicbook/JessicaJones: Alias''. [[Series/{{Alias}} The unrelated TV series with Jennifer Garner]] and [[Series/JessicaJones2015 the live-action adaptation that goes for the character name]] don't help matters.
47	* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} is currently one of the most popular and iconic superheroes in the world, but relatively few people could tell you that he was introduced as a recurring antagonist in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' {{spinoff}} ''ComicBook/XForce''. Overlaps with MorePopularSpinoff, since most people would agree that his various solo series are also much more popular and iconic than the various incarnations of ''X-Force''.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
51	* What's the strip about the mountain-dwelling moonshiner with the large wife and baby named Tater? ''ComicStrip/SnuffySmith'', of course. Except its actual full title for decades was ''Barney Google & Snuffy Smith''. Initially it was just ''Barney Google'', and it was about Barney, a horse racer. Once he met the Smith clan in the 30s, they became incredibly popular, Snuffy even being added to the title, until Barney was completely written out. Eventually he was dropped from the title, but not until years had passed wherein he didn't even appear. His name was usually written in tiny font above Snuffy's name.
52	* Charlie Brown from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''. ExecutiveMeddling produced the name ''Peanuts'',[[note]]The reason given by the syndicate was they believed "Peanuts" was slang for "children", something Schulz had never heard before. They probably thought this because the made-up-of-kids studio audience on the ''Howdy Doody'' show (very popular at the time) was famously referred to as "The Peanut Gallery"; however, that term actually has its origins in Vaudeville[[/note]] and Charles Schulz reportedly hated it (he had named it ''ComicStrip/LilFolks'' after his first strip from 1947-1950, but there were already two strips with similar-sounding names – the now-unknown ''Little Folks'', and the very popular ''Li'l Abner''). So not only do most of the animated specials and book collections include "Charlie Brown" in the title, but the title panels on the Sunday strips for many years said ''Peanuts featuring '''GOOD OL' CHARLIE BROWN'''''. Also applies to Snoopy.
53	** Well averted with the animated shorts – ''The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show'' – and all major features – ''[phrase], Charlie Brown'', not to mention the iconic [[Theatre/YoureAGoodManCharlieBrown stage musical]].
54	** In Italy it's known as "Linus" by most readers, mostly because of a publication of the same name.
55	** In France, it's known as "Snoopy".
56	** In Brazil there is an attempt to equal character and title by changing Charlie Brown's nickname "Chuck" to "Minduim" (from amendoim, "Peanut").
57	** On a related note, most people know that famous Music/VinceGuaraldi jazz piece only as "The Charlie Brown Theme". Its actual title is "Linus and Lucy".
58	** The irony of that is there's a Guaraldi song ''actually called'' "Charlie Brown Theme" (listen to it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ojk1dwbos here]]) and it has been included on a number of albums (including the first one released in 1963), but it takes a while to find on the internet due to people confusing it with "Linus and Lucy", which was released on the same first album.
59	* Caspar Milquetoast from ''The Timid Soul''. "Milquetoast" has even entered the lexicon as a term for a weak, submissive person.
60	* By the 80s, the title character of ''Moon Mullins'' had become a supporting character in his own strip. Much of the action was focused on the couple who owned the boarding house he lived in, "Lord" and "Lady" Plushbottom.
61	* Both ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' and ''Outland'' were known for Opus, so the third comic strip with him became just ''Opus''. Subverted in that when Opus' character appeared in a new strip, it was ''Bloom County 2015''.
62	* ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} originally debuted as a bit player in ''Thimble Theatre'', with Olive Oyl already well-established. Pretty soon after, Popeye became the main star, with Olive Oyl becoming his love interest over her original love, the [[ComicStrip/Blondie1930 Dagwood-like]] Harold Hamgravy.
63	* There are many who think the comic strip ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'' is called ''Dagwood'', since he's become the main character rather than Blondie.
64	* ''ComicStrip/{{Pogo}}'' had so many well-loved and memorable supporting characters that the title character could go weeks at a time hardly appearing, and just being a part of the action when he did, rather than the focus. Many people have referred to it as ''Albert'', ''Churchy'' or just "that political cartoon set in a swamp." Of course, Pogo's status as the swamp's OnlySaneMan often had him delivering the Aesop or solving the problem.
65	* ''ComicStrip/GasolineAlley'' initially was about an auto mechanic named Walt Wallet. One morning he found a baby on his doorstep, named him Skeezix for some reason, and the baby actually grew up in real time, becoming a boy, young man, grown man with a wife and kids and later a grandfather. The action began to center around Skeezix so much, with initially single Walt becoming a husband and eventual widower, all the while moving further into the background, it should be no surprise that after not much time, the comic became referred to as ''Skeezix''.
66	* The ancient strip ''ComicStrip/BringingUpFather'' centered on Jiggs, an Irish hod carrier who came into the United States as a millionaire thanks to winning a sweepstakes. Also prominent is Jigg's disapproving wife Maggie. The strip has been referred to as ''Jiggs'', ''Jiggs and Maggie'' or ''Maggie and Jiggs'' almost exclusively, almost never by its actual title.
67	* A strip that was originally known as "Big Chief Wahoo"[[note]]no connection to the Cleveland Indians[[/note]] when it was originally introduced, but a few years later Wahoo was joined by an adventurous news photographer, and several years after that a grizzled adventurer-type joined the narrative. Before long Wahoo [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome unceremoniously disappeared]] from the strip, and it was renamed after the new main characters: ''Steve Roper and Mike Nomad''. Probably [[ValuesDissonance for the best]], [[EthnicScrappy all things considered]].
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
71	* Some people think ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' is actually called "Fievel" (and that's ''before'' you mention dubs which are). It doesn't help that it has a sequel called ''Fievel Goes West''.
72	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': A few foreign adaptations have changed the title into "Rapunzel", which has the unfortunate side effect of not indicating at first glance its parodic aspect.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
76	* The murderous doll Chucky from ''Film/ChildsPlay''. The ''Child's Play'' title is entirely lost in the fourth, fifth, and sixth films, ''Film/BrideOfChucky'', ''Film/SeedOfChucky'', and ''Film/CurseOfChucky'', but even before that most people simply referred to the films as the "Chucky" movies rather than "Child's Play". [[note]]This one is partly due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers legal issues]]: the rights to the ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' franchise have been sold multiple times since the original film was released in 1988, but Creator/{{MGM}} were able to retain the rights to the basic concept and premise of the original film itself--which is why they were able to release [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 their own remake]] in 2019 without the involvement of star Creator/BradDourif or creator Don Mancini. Mancini may have chosen to drop the name ''Child's Play'' after [[Film/ChildsPlay3 the third movie]] to avoid confusion with a different ''Child's Play'' movie released by MGM.[[/note]]
77	* The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' and ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' movies are better known as the Jason and Freddy movies respectively. Especially since ''Film/FreddyVsJason'' came out. It doesn't help that several of the sequels don't have the words "[=13th=]" or "Elm Street" in their titles.
78	* Everyone knows Film/TheThreeStooges, but considerably fewer people can name any of their 190 films.
79	* The first film that featured Creator/SylvesterStallone's character John Rambo was called ''Film/FirstBlood''. The second was called ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII''. The third movie then became ''Film/RamboIII'', the fourth was simply called ''[[Film/RamboIV Rambo]]'' (or ''Rambo IV'' or ''John Rambo'' in some countries, aping ''Film/RockyBalboa''), and the fifth titled ''Film/RamboLastBlood''. For years, the first three were generally known as ''Rambo'', ''Rambo II'' and ''Rambo III'', with only the last one correct. The fourth film just being called ''Rambo'' messed things up for a lot of people.
80	* Coffin Joe. Arguably, that name's a ''lot'' more memorable than any of the [[GoryDeadlyOverkillTitleOfFatalDeath actual film titles]].
81	* The first ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movie was just called ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk.'' This changed with the sequels. Indeed, even ''Raiders'' gets [[FranchiseDrivenRetitling retrofitted with an "Indiana Jones and the..."]] in some places (including, notably, its DVD release.)
82	* The same thing happened with ''Film/PitchBlack'' and the subsequent ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' series.
83	* ''Film/JamesBond'':
84	** None of the ''James Bond'' films is actually ''called'' "James Bond" or "007", yet everyone calls the series that (although the codename, at least in some countries, is used in every title).
85	** The theme tune to ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' [[TitleDrop drops the film title in the lyrics]], but is actually titled "Nobody Does it Better".
86	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' was in fact the first Franchise/{{Batman}} film not to feature the word "Batman" in the title, but (rather understandably) it was often assumed that the title of the film was ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' (which was actually used in some countries) or something to that effect. Just as frustratingly, ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' has been called ''The Dark Knight'' by people who can't remember the full title. Adding to the confusion, at least among pinball fans, Creator/{{Stern}} made a pinball machine out of ''The Dark Knight'' and titled it simply as "Batman".
87	* A variant is ''Film/DirtyHarry'', as the sequels don't feature Harry Callahan's alias on the title, and a few countries had a CompletelyDifferentTitle for the original.
88	* Herbie the sentient car from ''Film/TheLoveBug''.
89	* Due to the iconic line "TheyCallMeMisterTibbs", the name of the character Virgil Tibbs is way better known than the name of the movie that introduced him, ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight''. The movie's first sequel just straight-up titled itself, ''[[Film/TheyCallMeMisterTibbs1970 They Call Me Mister Tibbs!]]''.
90	* Most people have seen at least one picture of Creator/TimCurry as [[https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_of_Darkness "The Lord of Darkness"]], one of the most iconic fantasy movie villains of the 1980s (although they may have mistaken him for {{Satan}}). Considerably fewer could tell you that he's from Creator/RidleyScott's 1985 film ''[[Film/Legend1985 Legend]]'', which was an infamous BoxOfficeBomb in its day.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Literature]]
94	* Svengali from ''Literature/{{Trilby}}''. Several film adaptations have been titled ''Svengali''.
95	* It is very common for remakes and reboots of ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' to fall victim to this trope, almost unilaterally being shortened to either ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' or the even shorter ''Jekyll and Hyde''.
96	* Literature/JamesBond in all his novels and films. None of the major titles, and nearly none in general, have included the words "James Bond". Averted in the countries that localize the titles as "[[CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase James Bond – 007Agent 00707 and X]]", X being translations of the English titles with varying degrees of accuracy.
97	* Willy Wonka from ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. This is probably thanks to [[Film/WIllyWOnkaAndTheChocolateFactory the 1971 movie]] and a candy brand being named after him. Also sometimes mistaken as The Candy Man, from the song of the same name featured in the film. Not to be confused with the other ''Film/{{Candyman}}''.
98	* Hannibal Lecter from ''Literature/RedDragon'' and ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''; the latter does tend to avert this thanks to the iconic film adaptation. The two books that followed were named after him.
99	* Literature/SherlockHolmes. Undoubtedly, nearly everyone has heard the character name, but only a significant minority could list the titles of any of the stories he appears in, with ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' being the most likely exception.
100	* More people recognize Literature/{{John Carter of Mars}} than any of the stories he was in (save, perhaps, the last one which had a CharacterTitle).
101	* In a curious case of promotional and marketing efforts gone awry, in the early 1930s Street and Smith had Radio/TheShadow serve as narrator for the Detective Story Hour in hopes of drawing attention to the Detective Story Magazine. Several listeners went to newsstands asking for the "Shadow Magazine". Street and Smith decided to roll with it and hired Walter Gibson to create the "[[Literature/TheShadow Kent Allard Shadow]]".
102	* If you can't remember ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'', most people will understand if you just refer to its HeadlessHorseman. And how many people know that "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle" are just two of the stories in ''The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.''? Most editions of that book feature an illustration of one of those two stories on the cover.
103	* OlderThanRadio: The Armenian folktale ''The Daredevils of Sassoun'' is commonly just called ''David of Sassoun'' after the main character, despite the real title sounding much cooler.
104	* Even the Wikipedia page starts with "''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe..." The actual title was:
105	--> ''The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates.''
106	* ''Literature/GulliversTravels''. While his name is still in the title, it's not just "Gulliver's Travels". The full title was: "Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World in Four Parts by Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then Captain of Several Ships". And many adaptations belie even the shortened title by having Gulliver visit only Lilliput. It's supposed to be ''Travels'' plural, not ''Travel''.
107	* Newcomers who want to start reading the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' books may have to dig around a bit before they learn that the first book in the series is titled, simply, ''On Basilisk Station''.
108	* Literature/DonQuixote (original title: ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' ("''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''" in the original Spanish)), as pictured above. OlderThanSteam.
109	* ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' is frequently referred to as ''Thomas the Tank Engine'', albeit as much due to the breakout television series named after him (the second book was in fact called "Thomas the Tank Engine" however, as does some of the novels' merchandise use the show's moniker). The television series itself has never actually been titled ''Thomas the Tank Engine''. It was originally titled ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'', before being shortened to ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends''.
110	* ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' is often known simply as ''Monkey'', in reference to its BreakoutCharacter Sun Wukong.
111	* Did you that there are stories without Mowgli in ''Literature/TheJungleBook''?
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
115	* Late night talk shows are often known by the name of the current host. For instance, for many years ''Series/TheTonightShow'' was referred to more often as "Johnny Carson" (and before Carson, it was known as ''The Jack Parr Show''). People are more likely to say, "John Smith is on ''[[Creator/DavidLetterman Letterman]]'' tonight" than "John Smith is on ''Late Show'' tonight." Granted, it could be argued that since the show titles are often appended with "with David Letterman" or "with Jay Leno" that they're still valid shortenings. Then again, people tend to omit/forget ''that'' part when referring to the show's title (e.g. "The Late Show" and not "The Late Show with David Letterman"). In the case of Letterman, it's a justified trope considering he moved between two similarly titled shows over his career in late night: ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and ''Late Show with David Letterman''.
116	* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' is much better known as "The [[BreakoutCharacter Urkel]] Show".
117	* ''Series/{{Conan}}'' may be a parody of this phenomenon, because that is in fact [[OneWordTitle the show's full name]]. Creator/ConanOBrien even joked that he named it that so that [[TakeThat nobody could replace him on the show]], likely a response to his short-lived tenure as host of ''Tonight''.
118	* The show is called ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'', not ''Ultraman Jack'' after its title hero. Most people call it by its eponymous hero though.
119	* What show did the character Sergeant Bilko appear in? No, not ''Sergeant Bilko'' (except [[SyndicationTitle in syndication]] and [[TheFilmOfTheSeries the film version]]) but ''Series/ThePhilSilversShow'' or ''You'll Never Get Rich''.
120	* Many people referred to ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' as ''Archie Bunker'' back in the day. Later on, the series was re-tooled, slightly re-set, and became ''Series/ArchieBunkersPlace''.
121	* UK crime series ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' features Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, Causton CID (and later, his cousin John) as the chief protagonist of every episode and apparent point of the whole show, causing some people to just call the show "Barnaby." Including the French dub, ''Inspecteur Barnaby''.
122	* This trope is almost certainly why Game Show Network named its revival of ''Series/PressYourLuck'' (AKA ''Whammy'' or ''The Whammy Show''), ''Whammy: The All-New Press Your Luck''.
123	* {{Cold Open}}ing into the ShowWithinAShow led many people to refer to ''Series/HomeImprovement'' as ''Tool Time''.
124	** Alternately, there are many people who just assume that the ShowWithinAShow that the main character is the host of is also called "Home Improvement."
125	* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'' is universally referred to as "Mrs. Hyacinth" in Denmark (even though it does have an offical translated name, and that, when you think about it, "Mrs. Hyacinth" is a case of IAmNotShazam)
126	* A lot of people seem to think that ''Series/SecretDiaryOfACallGirl'' is titled ''Belle du Jour'', which in actual fact is the pseudonym of its main character, played by Creator/BilliePiper. The confusion might also be because the blog the show was based on was called "Belle du Jour".[[note]]"Belle du Jour" is French for "girl of the day", and was the title of a famous French art movie about an upper-class hooker.[[/note]]
127	* When the popularity of the first incarnation of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' was at its peak, some people were just calling the show "Regis". Which was funny, considering that Creator/{{ABC}} already had another show featuring Regis Philbin that ''did'' have his name in the title.
128	* InUniverse example: In the movie ''Film/RainMan'', the titular character made it a point to watch ''Series/ThePeoplesCourt'' every day. At the time, the court was presided over by Judge Wapner. One of Rain Man's catchphrases was "10 minutes to Wapner".
129	* Young children often referred to ''Series/FullHouse'' as "The Baby Michelle Show", because that's who they watched it to see.
130	* This tends to happen a lot with HorrorHost[=s=], because the titles of the shows themselves tend to be fairly generic--there are dozens of ''Shock Theater''s and ''Creature Features''s, so it's far easier to specify what the name of the host is. Even the more creative ones can't seem to avoid this, though--plenty of people remember Series/{{Svengoolie}} from the seventies, but only a small handful of fans would be able to tell you his show was called ''Screaming Yellow Theater''.
131	* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' has two big examples: ''Series/KamenRiderSkyrider'' originated in a show simply called ''Kamen Rider'' because it was intended to be a ContinuityReboot (a plan which ultimately fell through), while ''Film/KamenRiderZX'' originated in a TV movie called ''Birth of the 10th! All Kamen Riders Assembled!''. Fans (and Website/ThisVeryWiki) tend to refer to the shows by their stars' names for simplicity's sake.
132	* For several years, reruns of ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' aired in prime time concurrently with new episodes. To avoid confusion, the repeats (which were popular in their own right) were retitled ''Marshall Dillon''. This resulted in the new title being used to refer to the original series.
133	* Averted with regards to ''Series/HappyDays''. Due to the popularity of The Fonz, the network considered retitling the series after the character. The idea was dropped when Creator/HenryWinkler and others protested. It doesn't appear that ''Happy Days'' was ever widely known as ''The Fonz Show'', however a cartoon spin-off series titled ''WesternAnimation/TheFonzAndTheHappyDaysGang'' was produced at one point.
134	* ''Series/TheJoyOfPainting'' is still to this day more known as ''Bob Ross'' than by its actual title.
135	* Fans of ''Series/ThisMorning'' tended to call it "Richard and Judy" after its hosts. They later went on to get their own chat show on Creator/Channel4 called ''Richard and Judy'' while fans referred to ''This Morning'' as "Philip and Fern" after the new hosts.
136	* The film review series starring Creator/GeneSiskel and Creator/RogerEbert went by various titles over the years, including ''Sneak Previews'' and ''At the Movies'', but from very early on it was always known just by their names, ''Series/SiskelAndEbert''.
137	* Most Danish people think that the {{Julekalender}} ''Series/TinkasJuleeventyr'' (''Tinka's Christmas Adventure'') is just named "Tinka". At the start, it was probably just because saying/writing "Tinka" was quicker than saying/writing "Tinkas Juleventyr", but it has led to most people being genuinely unaware that "Juleeventyr" is a part of the title.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
141	* A few books of Literature/{{the Bible}} fall under this category. Most people know that Samson, Delilah, David, Goliath, and Solomon are from the Old Testament (or the Tanakh, if you're [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish]]), but relatively few people could tell you the actual ''books'' of the Old Testament where they appear; [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]] and [[Literature/BookOfRevelation Revelation]] are usually the exceptions. For the record: Samson and Delilah are from the Literature/BookOfJudges, David and Goliath are from the Literature/BooksOfSamuel, and Solomon is from the Literature/BooksOfKings.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Theater]]
145	* Sadie Thompson from ''Rain''. This was due to the [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode Hays Office]], which wouldn't let the word "rain" be used anywhere in the 1932 film in the hopes of [[AdaptationDisplacement downplaying the connection to the notoriously salacious source material]]. However, "Miss Thompson" was the title of the short story the play was based on.
146	* Does anyone even remember the name of the play that gave us [[{{Malaproper}} Mrs. Malaprop]]? No? Okay, it was Joseph Brinsley Sheridan's ''Theatre/TheRivals''.
147	* Creator/WilliamShakespeare:
148	** Sir John Falstaff is one of the most iconic theatrical characters ever created, being widely known as '''''the''''' boisterous buffoon. But relatively few people could tell you that he was introduced as the PluckyComicRelief in ''Theatre/HenryIV'' Parts 1 and 2, which are otherwise fairly serious plays about the history of the English monarchy.
149	** Many people know Shylock the Jewish moneylender (if only as a slang term for "loan shark"), but not as many people know that he was the antagonist in ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''. Even fewer people know that [[IAmNotShazam the titular merchant is Antonio, not him]].
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Toys]]
153	* Some people refer to ''Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse'' as ''He-Man'' as in the name of the main character, though his name is added to the title in two tie-in cartoons. However, the toyline actually named ''He-Man'' is the one that is known as ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan'' after its tie-in cartoon.
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:Video Games]]
157	* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series is commonly referred as the "Phoenix Wright" series. This is sort of a justified case, as "Ace Attorney" was originally the subtitle of the first game in the series, ''[[CharacterTitle Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]''.[[note]] In the West, at least. The series has always been called ''Gyakuten Saiban'' ("Turnabout Courtroom") in its native Japan.[[/note]] When it became obvious that the fourth game in the series would have a new protagonist, the localization staff did the best they could in promoting ''Ace Attorney'' as the main title of the franchise, while keeping ''Phoenix Wright'' title for the first two sequels, resulting in the [[ColonCancer overly long titles]] of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'' and ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''. Even when the title of the fourth game was announced to be ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', people kept referring to the new installment as the "fourth Phoenix Wright game". Which is HilariousInHindsight, if you consider that Phoenix ended up as a One-Man SpotlightStealingSquad in said fourth game, despite losing his protagonist status, which he regained by the [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies fifth]].
158	* ''Franchise/TombRaider'''s Lara Croft is about halfway there. The Tomb Raider name is still well-known, but the character has become very recognizable to people who don't play games, which is probably why the movies were called ''Film/LaraCroftTombRaider''. The 2nd and 3rd games are also named ''Tomb Raider II Starring Lara Croft'' and ''Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft'' respectively.
159	* Nameko ([[DubNameChange AKA Funghi]]) has become such a popular mascot character in Japan that some can't recall the game it originated from: ''VideoGame/TouchDetective''.
160	* Everyone knows who [[TheTease Morrigan]] Aensland (and to a lesser extent, Felicia) is because of the numerous crossover games she appears. On the other hand, ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' fell off the gaming radar in the 90s and never really came back on.
161	* Okita Souji and Oda Nobunaga initially debuted in Type-Moon's ongoing gag manga ''Koha-Ace'' before being transplanted over into a promotional comic called ''Fate/GUDAGUDA Order''. However, they were also part of the fourth major event of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', said event introduced them to a much wider audience than the original gag series, and they turned out to [[PoesLaw fit in pretty well with the established cast]]. As a result, it's very common for fans to know Okita and Nobunaga on sight, but think them to be ''FGO''-originals, or have their only familiarity with ''GUDAGUDA'' be that it's the series Okita and Nobunaga are from.
162	* The obscure {{Doujinshi}} fighting game ''VideoGame/{{Monster}}'' is all but forgotten nowadays -- no thanks to it becoming {{Vaporware}} -- but one of the characters, Delga, has managed to rise above the game's obscurity thanks to his popularity on the internet, especially in a [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom certain demographic]]. It's more likely that anyone who's heard of Delga as a character doesn't even know he's ''from'' a video game in the first place.
163	* The Ice Climbers are much more known for their appearances in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series than of their own single game, ''VideoGame/IceClimber''. As a result, some people refer to the game as ''Ice Climbers'', plural.
164	** In cases where a ColbertBump does not occur, this is the other effect that occurs when a forgotten/[[NoExportForYou Japan only]] [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros character]] appears as a fighter in Smash. Characters like R.O.B., Ness, and Captain Falcon will be fondly remembered, but not necessarily their games ''[[VideoGame/RoboticOperatingBuddy Gyromite]]'', ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound\|1994}}'', and ''VideoGame/FZero''.[[labelnote:Of course...]]Characters whose franchise name is part of their character name, like [[VideoGame/DuckHunt Duck Hunt (Duo)]] or [[VideoGame/WiiFit Wii Fit Trainer]], don't count.[[/labelnote]]
165	* Thanks due to AdaptationDisplacement with ''WebAnimation/OmNomStories'', many people refer to the ''VideoGame/CutTheRope'' series as the ''Om Nom'' series. It doesn't help that most of the spin-offs are ''actually'' called Om Nom in order to avoid ArtifactTitle.
166	* Due to AdaptationDisplacement with ''VideoGame/EternalFighterZero'', its characters have managed to rise above the obscurity of their source visual novels ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', ''VisualNovel/OneKagayakuKisetsuE'', and ''MOON'' (the last of which doesn't even have an anime or TV Tropes page).
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Western Animation]]
170	* The ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder'' show is more commonly referred as "Blue Falcon & Dynomutt" or simply "Blue Falcon".
171	* A number of people mistake the name of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' as "Jem and the Holograms" because that's the actual name of the band she performs with in the show. Even [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/31375-jem-and-the-holograms The Nostalgia Chick]] did this when reviewing the show. In the 2010s, the name of the series was outright changed to "Jem and the Holograms". The LiveActionAdaptation, IDW comics, dvds, and reruns refer to it as such.
172	* Some people who haven't seen ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' in a while refer to it at times as "The Henry and June Show" (which was actually a proposed spin-off).
173	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' is sometimes mistakenly referred to simply as "Dethklok", the band the show is about. This is understandable considering that the titular Metalocalypse, an apocalypse of metal foretold by a prophecy in the story, is only brought up in the more plot heavy episodes. The theme song also doesn't have the title in the lyrics, but chants of the name Dethklok. The "Metalocalypse" title is also in small print on the albums and comics, while "Dethklok" is large and bold.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Real Life]]
177	* The actor Creator/SylvesterMcCoy (born Percy Kent-Smith) got his stage name this way. Some of his earlier work was as a sidekick/warm-up man to the stand-up comedian-cum-performance artist Ken Campbell, as a fictional character called "Sylveste [=McCoy=]". To further the joke, his character was credited in the playbill as "Sylveste [=McCoy=] as Sylveste [=McCoy=]". One reviewer didn't get the joke and used it in the review as if it was his real name, so he went with it and used it as his stage name from then on (though adding an "r" to the end -- no, those weren't typos earlier. [=McCoy=] added the 'r' so the the name would not have 13 letters).
178	* The Nehi Corporation used to make a line of popular fruit-flavored sodas (the one most commonly known today is the Grape Nehi, Radar's favorite soda in ''Series/{{MASH}}''). In 1955, as the soda market changed to favor colas over everything else, they changed their name to their new star brand, Royal Crown (although they kept the name for their fruit-flavored products; you can still find and purchase Nehi soda to this day). Currently, however, both Nehi and Royal Crown Cola (typically shortened to just RC nowadays, as seen on packaging) are owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, with the company also distributing 7-Up there, though RC is still quite popular in the South and Midwest.
179	[[/folder]]

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