Line #169 Main/TheTropeWithoutATitle


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4	[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/townwithnoname.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:300:"Do they welcome name suggestions?"]]
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10	->'''Artax:''' '''That Which Man Was Not Meant To Know''' was taken!\
11	'''Yeagar:''' By who?\
12	'''Artax:''' By a foe Lakressa knows only as '''She Who Must Be Obeyed'''!\
13	'''Nodwick:''' Dare I ask where "she who" went?\
14	'''Artax:''' To a place called '''The Lands That Know No Name'''!\
15	'''Nodwick:''' Uh-huh. Let me know if we stumble upon any ''proper nouns'' in all this mess.
16	-->-- ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}''
17
18	Occurs whenever a place, object, or person is described with, well, a description, rather than a name. Sometimes, because there is NoNameGiven, they may turn out to [[YouKnowTheOne have an actual name]]. Often subverted by using a [[MeaningfulName self-contradicting name]].
19
20	A common trait of {{MacGuffin}}s. May be related to TheScottishTrope or SpeakOfTheDevil in case of villains. May make use of TheNounWhoVerbed.
21
22	The name is inspired from Clint Eastwood's "[[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly The Man With No Name]]", but the trope is [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant unrelated]] to TheExpyWithNoName. Compare EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep, NoNameGiven, SpellMyNameWithAThe, CapitalLettersAreMagic, MyNameIsQuestionMarks, TheTropeFormerlyKnownAsX, and NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom. See UntitledTitle for works that similarly say they lack titles. And yes, we know this page actually having a title is a minor LogicBomb in and of itself.
23
24	----
25	!!Examples:
26
27	[[foldercontrol]]
28
29	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30	* Several characters in ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' were only given a description, such as "Takahiro's friend," "Yoshitake's older sister," "Yanagin's Sempai," and "overly self-conscious girl." Downplayed by "literature girl;" later in the series her classmates called her by her nickname "Yassan" despite continued to be known as the "literature girl" on the cast sheet.
31	* ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' has "That Man." He has five colleagues, named "That Man Over Here", "That Man Over There", "This Man", "This Man Over Here" and "This Man Over There". It's a subversion, though, as those are their actual names.
32	* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has Scar -- he had a name, [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname but no longer uses it]]. It boils down to him [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic no longer considering himself worthy of one]] after using [[FunctionalMagic alchemy]] to [[HeWhoFightsMonsters hunt down alchemists]].
33	* Most of the bijuu in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. Because humans don't consider them anything more than huge, destructive monsters, they don't bother learning their names. The only bijuu who is called by his actual name by humans is Shukaku. All the rest are called by the number of tails they have, though Naruto is happy calling the yonbi "Son" and probably will start calling the kyuubi "Kurama."
34	* ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'' has Guze no Tomogara, who are often referred by elaborate titles rather than names. Or maybe those titles ''are'' their real names. Flame Haze also get such titles, the titular heroine didn't have a normal name until the beginning of the story.
35	* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' has "The Lord of Nightmares", also known as "Mother of all Monsters". No name is ever given to this being, despite all its children having both names and titles, "Gaav, the Demon Dragon King" for example.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'': The Soft Place is a mysterious place that's disjointed from time.
40	* ''ComicBook/ShadeTheChangingMan'': Shade himself doesn't know what the Area of Madness is. When he asks about it, the most conclusive answer is "The ''Area of Madness'' is just one part of '''The Area'''."
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
44	* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': In the ''ComicBook/GarfieldHis9Lives'' short "the Garden", The Crystal Box, or, at length, The Crystal Box On A Checkered Toadstool.
45	* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': In one strip, Dave refuses to name his new character, instead referring to him as the 'Man With No Name'. The situation quickly devolves into TheTropeFormerlyKnownAsX.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Fan Works]]
49	* ''FanFic/DisneysRealmwalkers'' has the BigBad "Him", who is so feared by the inhabitants of the multiverse (namely the Council of Masters) that everybody just refers to him by male personal pronouns instead of his name.
50	** Speaking of the Council of the Masters, all the residents of the Citadel (except the Council themselves) have their names removed and are only referred to by their tile (The Agent, The Scholar, etc.), plus a 3-number, 1 letter identification code. Their names aren't entirely kept secret however, as [[NothingIsScarier whatever it is under the bridge]] easily identifies the Scholar's name as [[spoiler: Darius]].
51	* ''FanFic/KyonBigDamnHero'' plays this trope with "Haruhi's favorite website", as the fic usually refers to it with a that phrase or a variation of that. But, as the fic tells it's that website is a wiki and it inspired the JustForFun/TropeTan anime, it also doesn't try to hide [[Website/TVTropes which website it is]].
52	* The titular... whatever it is... in an Creator/HPLovecraft parody called "The Indescribable".
53	* The ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Game Theory\|LyricalNanoha}}'' has a girl in a wheelchair whose name is never given until the very end, but it's pretty clear that she's Hayate.
54	* In ''WebAnimation/HoloChronicles'', the city that Aloe and the Chinese branch had gone off to investigate is never called by a name when referring to it before its reduction to a crater, and afterwards, it is only referred to as "the Erased City" by Amelia in A-chan's notes. The same goes for the "Empty Universes" destroyed by Omegaα, further linking the two together.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
58	* In the interviews at the start of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Frozone says that he doesn't care about his girlfriend's secret identity. For the rest of the movie, she's only referred to as "Honey".
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
62	* The monsters who hold ''Film/TheVillage2004'' in fear are called "those we do not speak of".
63	* In ''Film/Armageddon1998'', character several times refer to "The Russian space station" instead of just calling it by its proper name "MIR" -- though it's technically MIR with bits stuck on to make it more impressive. Trevor Rabin's score for the movie includes a cues titled "Death of MIR."
64	* The narrator of ''Film/FightClub'' in the book and film. [[note]]In the script of the film, the narrator's name is Jack, as in, "I Am Jack's Complete Lack of Surprise."[[/note]]
65	* ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'', the play, never names the jurors, even in the script (they are referred to by juror number). The TV adaptation names a few of them in a tacked-on postscript, though there's no significance to the names.
66	* Lawrence Dimmick. [[TheMole Freddy Newandyke]]. [[AxCrazy Vic Vega]]. [[Film/ReservoirDogs And three other guys]].
67	* Kevin Costner's character in ''Film/{{Waterworld}}'' is known as "The Mariner".
68	* In ''Film/KillBill'' volume #1, they go through great lengths to hide the name of the Bride (even to the point of bleeping it out). Then in volume #2 it's [[spoiler: blurted out to be "Beatrix Kiddo"]].
69	** But when she buys a ticket at one point in Volume One, [[spoiler:her name is clearly visible on her ID.]]
70	* In ''Film/PaintYourWagon'', one of the two partners in a gold prospect is simply known as "Pardner" for the entire narrative, even by his wife, but at the end:
71	-->'''Ben Rumson:''' ''[the other partner]'' What the hell is your name, anyway?\
72	'''Pardner:''' It's Sylvester Newel. Yeah, just one 'l.'
73	* ''Film/ScaryMovie4'' skewers the example from ''Film/TheVillage2004'':
74	--> '''Elder''': But if you talk about those of whom we do not speak, have you not spoken of that about which we do not talk?\
75	'''Hale''': Do not speak of that of about which we talk of not speaking... about.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Literature]]
79	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has the Outsiders; beings hailing from beyond the known cosmos, even beyond the supernatural realms of Faerie, Heaven, and Hell. Two of the most prominent Outsiders in the series have names such as "He Who Walks Behind" and "He Who Walks Before". Any other name given to them (such as [[spoiler:the pejorative "Sharkface" used by the hero to refer to He Who Walks Before]]) are explicitly not their true names.
80	** Literature/BattleGround2020 finally introduces a third walker: [[spoiler:He Who Walks Beside]].
81	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'''s "He Who Must Not Be Named" (AKA "You-Know-Who"), who is not a NoNameGiven. Indeed, it's a plot point that Harry himself refuses to use the common euphemisms, and simply refers to him as Voldemort.
82	** The Death Eaters never use his name directly either, referring to him as "The Dark Lord". Snape uses that name as well, which Harry notices.
83	** This is subverted in the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows final book]], where Voldemort turns the superstition to his advantage: since the people who are brave enough to speak his name are precisely the ones he is after, Voldemort casts a spell which allows him to locate anyone who speaks his proper name, even through strong protections meant to prevent just that.
84	* The men of Gondor in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' (the book) refer to Sauron as "He whom we do not name" or "the Nameless (Evil)" for short. Elves (and other characters, including Gandalf and Aragorn, both of whom may have picked it up from the Elves) tend to refer to him as "the Enemy". He is also referred to as "the Dark Lord".
85	** Confusingly, these latter two names were also both previously used to describe Sauron's old master Morgoth, who by the time of ''The Lord of the Rings'' is instead referred to by names such as "the Prime Dark Lord" or "the Great Enemy" to distinguish him from Sauron.
86	** While they are mentioned routinely by name in ''The Silmarillion'', the Valar are rarely called that by name in ''The Lord of the Rings'', instead being known as "Those who dwell across the sea". Manwe, the greatest of the Valar, is referred to as "the Elder King".
87	*** Eru Iluvatar (a god) takes this a step further: not only is he never referred to by name, he is never explicitly referred to ''at all'', even by a title or other name; instead it appears only allowed (or respectful) to imply his existence and actions.
88	* "The King in Yellow", from the same-titled [[Literature/TheKingInYellow horror fiction collection]] of Robert W. Chambers. The King has been borrowed by a number of other authors:
89	** ''The Lords of Dûs'' by Creator/LawrenceWattEvans: the King is the high priest of the also-nameless god of Death.
90	** In the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, the Great Old One Hastur is sometimes called "Him Who Is Not To Be Named". This is due to the fact that [[SpeakOfTheDevil saying his name repeatedly is thought to summon him]]. In August Derleth's stories, he ''is'' The King in Yellow.
91	** Creator/HPLovecraft used this trope so much that he [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] it in ''The Unnameable'', which not only embodies the trope but discusses it at length.
92	* The humans in ''Literature/TheNightLand'' named most everything outside the Redoubts this way -- the Road Where The Silent Ones Walk, the Place of the Ab-humans, the Thing That Nods, the four Watching Things...
93	* In the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series, the antagonist is usually known as The Lone Power, sometimes as Starsnuffer, or formally as "Fairest and Fallen" (It has many other titles). The "deities" are The One and The Powers That Be.
94	* In ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'', knowing the {{True Name}}s of things is important for spellcasting, so things without names -- such as the Nameless Ones, the dark gods of the Kargs in ''Literature/TheTombsOfAtuan'' -- are super-bad juju magumbo.
95	* ''Literature/CuriousGeorge'' has The Man in The Yellow Hat.
96	* In ''Literature/YearOfTheGriffin'', there is a teacher who cannot remember his students' names and so calls them "you with the hat", "you with the hair", "you with the voice", etc. Arguably it's not that he can't remember their names, just that he's such a jerk he never bothers to use them.
97	* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''
98	** The two villains that lord over Olaf are referred to as the nonspecific "Man with a beard and no hair" and the even ''less'' specific "Woman with hair and no beard".
99	** Many of the members of Olaf's troupe, like the "White-faced women" and " the one who looks like neither a man nor a woman"
100	* ''Literature/TheWingfeatherSaga'' parodies this trope with its villain: "That evil was a nameless evil, and its name was Gnag the Nameless."
101	* For a book and a half of ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'', [[spoiler: Akasha and Enkil]] are known simply as "Those Who Must Be Kept".
102	* ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'' has the villainous "gentleman with thistledown hair." Thanks to his faerie powers, no one can ever describe him accurately, and nobody knows his actual name.
103	* The main character from Creator/HGWells' "Literature/TheTimeMachine" is known only as the Time Traveller.
104	* "The Place Which Is No More" from Creator/DavidEddings' ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Malloreon]]''. [[note]]Its name is "Korim", and much of the series is a quest to find just where it is.[[/note]]
105	* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/BattleCircle'' trilogy features a society of people who are named after their weapon of choice. On a bet, one of the main characters winds up losing his right to use a weapon, forcing him to go forever onwards as The Nameless One.
106	* In ''[[Literature/AlcatrazSeries Alcatraz Versus the Secret Librarians]]'', Alcatraz shrewdly guess that "She Who Cannot Be Named" must be so fearsome her name is taboo. Turns out people just can't pronounce it.
107	* Non-fiction example: this was a RunningGag in Raymond Smullyan's ''What Is The Name Of This Book?''
108	* Inverted in Creator/JohnMoore's ''Literature/HeroicsForBeginners''; the Big Bad, Lord Voltmeter, is referred to as "He Who Must Be Named," as Lord Voltmeter dislikes being referred to by personal pronouns.
109	* Presumably the HeadlessHorseman from ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' had a name, but no one calls him by it. Indeed, as he can't speak and has no face to recognize, it's doubtful anyone ''could'' call this ghostly figure by his name, even if they'd known him in life [[spoiler:and he wasn't a hoax]].
110	* Queen Ayesha in H. Rider Haggard's ''Literature/{{She}}'' is known to her subjects as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.
111	* The ''Literature/MediochreQSethSeries'' has The Organisation Which I Represent.
112	* In the ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' universe, the Ilsigi war god is referred to only as Him-whom-we-do-not-name, ostensibly because the Ilsig are a peaceful people.
113	* There is a book named ''The Name of This Book is a Secret''.
114	* In ''Literature/{{Portlandtown}}'', the chief villain is an outlaw known only as The Hanged Man.
115	* In ''Literature/TheSagaOfBilly'', [[GodOfEvil Vetherr]] is primarily the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo god of Necessity]], and using his name when you do not have to is considered to bring bad luck; instead, people use his many nicknames, among which [[EtTuBrute the Traitor]], [[CreatingLifeIsBad the Father of Monsters]], [[AntiVillain the Grey God]], [[GreaterScopeVillain the enemy Of Man]], or [[IGaveMyWord the bearer of the Burden]], the worst of all for him being [[BeingEvilSucks the Grieving man]].
116	* ''Literature/TheStand'': Randall Flagg is known as The Man Without A Face and The Walkin' Dude,among other things.
117	* Douglas Adams invented the character Slartibartfast to spoof this trope: a character refuses at first to give his name ("My name... is not important,") but it turns out it's just because he's embarrassed by it.
118	* A leader of the evil side in ''Literature/{{Grunts}}'' is only referred to as "the nameless necromancer". His [[HalfIdenticalTwins identical twin sister]], equal in power but on the side of good, is called "The Named".
119	* "She Who Must Be Obeyed" originally came from the novel ''Literature/{{She}}'' by Creator/HRiderHaggard.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
123	* ''Series/{{Alias}}'' gives us Suit And Glasses, a DepravedDentist with no equal.
124	* ''Series/{{Angel}}''. PlayedForLaughs when Angel is PerpSweating the High Priest to find out [[IKnowYourTrueName Jasmine's true name]].
125	-->'''High Priest''': ''(choking)'' Keeper!\
126	'''Angel:''' ''(lets the priest go)'' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint That's it? Caper?]]\
127	'''High Priest''': The true name is known only by the Keeper of the Name.\
128	'''Angel''': Right. ''(grabs the priest's neck again)'' That's you!\
129	'''High Priest''': No, I am the Guardian of the Word!\
130	'''Angel''': You said the word is the name.\
131	'''High Priest''': Yes, and I guard the Keeper of it.\
132	'''Angel''': So you're the Keeper's keeper?
133	* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Shadow minions think it is super-cool that the Shadows' name is a thousand pages long and cannot be pronounced by puny mortals. Then they get shirty because puny mortals continue to call the Shadows "the Shadows".
134	* The BigBad in the seventh season of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was known only as "The First", as in "the first evil".
135	* Jeff on ''Series/{{Community}}'' gave his female phone contacts names like "Car Wash Redhead" and "Tube Top Music/{{REM}} Concert". It wasn't until "Hot Blonde Spanish Class" taught him a lesson that he started using their real names.
136	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' gives us "The Doctor", "The Master", "The Rani", "The Monk", "The Corsair", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames The War Chief]]", "[[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse The Other]]"... Seems to be a popular theme with Time Lords who've left Gallifrey for whatever reason.
137	* Anyone on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' who doesn't know Mr. Bennet's name calls him The Man in the Horn-Rimmed Glasses, despite the fact that his glasses aren't actually horn-rimmed. And his first name, Noah, was never spoken by any character, even his own family, until the end of the first-season finale.
138	** The Haitian, as well. Though he too was eventually given a name, Rene, in the fourth season.
139	* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Ted (as the CharacterNarrator) cannot remember the name of the girl he was dating, so for the entire episode she is referred to as Blah Blah.
140	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' has The Man In Black (or [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulName Esau]] / Un-Locke / Smokey / [[{{Pun}} The Lockeness Monster]] / [[IHaveManyNames Whatever]]]]), [[NoNameGiven who may not actually have a name]].
141	* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' has the two lead characters often referred to as "The Man in the Suit" and "The Other Guy"
142	* A running gag on ''Series/PoliceSquad'' is that buildings and institutions have official names that are their titles. For instance, the local hospital is named The Hospital and the police station is named The Police Station.
143	* In ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', no one in The Village is referred to by name, only by the numbers they are assigned when they get there. Not to mention... well, the very fact that it's referred to as The Village. Not to mention that when Number Six finally gets a map of the place, the surrounding terrain is marked as "The Sea", "The Beach" and "The Mountains". And with the exception of Number Six, it's not clear that anyone else in The Village is assigned the same number consistently. Number Two is the most obvious example.
144	* ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'' refers to his wife as "She Who Must Be Obeyed."
145	* The Doctor from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' is only ever referred to as such. Justified as he was originally created to be an emergency-only medical program, and he just kept that as his name as he became an actual person.
146	* In ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', the blurry 28th-century humanoid who gave the Suliban Cabal their marching orders was never identified. In the scripts, he was simply "Humanoid Figure". Fandom knows him as "Future Guy".
147	** The ExpandedUniverse gives his name as [[spoiler: Jamran Harnoth.]]
148	* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Eve, for a time, was referred to as the "Mother of All Monsters", or "All-mother".
149	* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' has the [[EvilWearsBlack Man in Black]]. This appears to be a ShoutOut to The Man With No Name from the Westerns, but his name when revealed turns out to be an important plot point.
150	* ''Series/TheXFiles'' had The Cigarette-Smoking Man, and his allies in the Conspiracy, The Well-Manicured Man and The First Elder.
151	** The Cigarette-Smoking Man is eventually given a name, though everyone (both in and out of universe) still seems to prefer calling him by his soubriquet.
152	* One of the demons Chris tries to send the sisters after in season six of ''Series/Charmed1998'' is "The Demon with No Name," which is a sentient slime that grows in the presence of magic. Gram's ghost asks why, even into the future, no one bothered to come up with a name for it. Becomes moot, as they vanquish it by the end of the episode.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Music]]
156	* ''Music/{{America}}'': "A Horse with No Name".
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Podcasts]]
160	* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' likes this one a lot, with such memorable (but apparently nameless) characters as [[TheNondescript The Man In The Tan Jacket]], [[TheMenInBlack The Man Who Is Not Tall]], [[TheMenInBlack The Man Who Is Not Short]], and [[TheBlank The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home]].
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Print Media]]
164	* ''Magazine/TheOnion'' parodied this trope, by applying it to a ''[[http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nameless_hurricane_that_much_more hurricane]]''.
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
168	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', all Abyssal Exalted have sold away their names to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and taken up weird and evocative titles in exchange. So have the Deathlords they serve. Some examples of such titles include The Lover Clad in Rainment of Tears, Eye And Seven Despairs, the Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils, and the First and Forsaken Lion.
169	** This is parodied in ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' with "Secret", an Abyssal whose adopted name is so long she ''doesn't even have the proper Stamina score to say it in one breath.''
170	** It's also parodied in fandom by tagging the famous ones with much less pretentious versions of their adopted names. The First and Forsaken Lion, for instance, is more often referred by the pseudo-acronym "Falafel."
171	** The Alchemical Exalted also use titles instead of names; in their case, they instinctively know what their title is when they're created. Alchemical titles include such things as ''Stern Whip of Industry'', ''Lissome Avid Engineer'', and ''Excessively Righteous Blossom''.
172	** The Solar with No Name.
173	** Abyssals maintain their poetic names because they are prohibited from recognizing their old names - it is an act of clinging to their old life and the living in general, and their Neverborn masters find that unacceptable, and punish them with Resonance. This is also parodied in ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' with Resonance Ben, who is quite proud to admit that Ben is his name, and that when people speak of Ben, they speak of him, because Ben is his name. He actually has certain methods of using Resonance to his benefit (for instance, attacks) so he welcomes the extra ammo. By the way, try doing that in the real game [[{{Munchkin}} and the Storyteller would be justified in having you shot.]]
174	*** There's one circumstance in which an Abyssal can hear their real name without suffering Resonance: [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes from their Lunar mate]].
175	** Speaking of the Neverborn, they are also examples of this trope and for the same reason; all of them invariably having NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast, such as He Who Holds in Thrall [[spoiler:formerly known as Mardukth]].
176	** The names of the Yozis are [[AvertedTrope Malfeas, Adorjan, The Ebon Dragon]], and... ''She Who Lives in Her Name''.
177	** It is more that the Yozis are "Malfeas, the Demon City", "Adorjan, the Silent Wind", "Kimbery, the Sea who Marched against the Flame", while the other Yozi is known only by her title, "She who Lives in her Name", as speaking her actual name causes you to be a possessed drone.
178	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' had an entire block, "Champions of Kamigawa" based around Japanese mythology and the ThemeParkVersion of Shinto. The plot revolved around a human nobleman gaining immortality by stealing something from the godlike Kami, essentially igniting a war between humanity and the spirit world. In the second set, "Betrayers of Kamigawa," exactly what was taken was revealed as the Legendary Artifact..."[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74644 That Which Was Taken]]."
179	** The first set in that block gave us the legendary creature "[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=78602 He Who Hungers]]."
180	** Rise of the Eldrazi contains a card called "[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=198171 It That Betrays]]", with the cheerful FlavorText, "Your pleas for death shall go unheard."
181	* The RPG ''Witch Hunter'' has an antagonist simply called "The Adversary." He's implied to be the evil spirits (including the Devil) of pretty much every culture in the world, all rolled into one.
182	* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting ''TabletopGame/NentirVale'', all gods have names (Bahamut, Asmodeus, etc...) the notable exception is the neutral goddess of death, who is simply known as ''The Raven Queen''.
183	** In the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting we get "The Lady of Pain'', ruler of Sigil.
184	** ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' has this for the gods of the [[ReligionOfEvil Dark Six]], evil gods who were cast out of the "good" pantheon of gods called Sovereign Host: The Devourer, The Fury, The Mockery, The Shadow, The Keeper and [[TheTrickster The Traveler]].
185	** The ''Lord of Blades'', mysterious leader of the Warforged of the Mournlands. Here his namelessness is for a plot hook, so the DM can confer him whatever "true" identity they desire.
186	* In ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'', members of the Invisible Clergy are meant to abstract representations of ideas about what human beings can be. Consequently, each member is known by the title of what it is representing; for example, known members include TheFool, TheTrickster, and [[TheHecateSisters The Mother]]. The Clergy used to be real mortal people with real names, but it is implied that ascension causes them to shed their old identity to become a true AnthropomorphicPersonification, and at least one recent ascension actually erased the new member's name from every written record, replacing lost text with her new title: "[[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou The Naked Goddess]]".
187	* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' mythos, the Eldar do not refer to the Chaos God Slaanesh by name, instead using the referents "She Who Thirsts" or the "Prince of Pleasure", due to their race's [[CosmicHorrorStory connection to the demon-deity]] in question.
188	** The Emperor of Mankind's birth name is unknown (and it's implied he has had several throughout history before revealing himself) so he has [[IHaveManyNames many names]] given to him by the various people of the galaxy: "Holy Emperor" or simply "The Emperor" (The Imperium), "The Omnissiah" (Adeptus Mechanicus), "False Emperor" or "Corpse God" (Chaos Followers), "the Anathema" (Chaos Gods and Demons), among others.
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Video Games]]
192	* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' introduces "Those That Came Before", a race of godlike beings that may have been the inspiration for mythical gods. ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate Syndicate]]'' [[spoiler:eventually reveals that they are properly called the Isu]].
193	* The ''VideoGame/BackyardSoccer'' series has a DummiedOut field called A Nameless Field (also known as [[{{Area 51}} Area 51½]]).
194	* In ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'', the enemies that appear in the path to the fourth ending are called a myriad number of things, "the Grotesqueries" and "the Watchers" being two of them. In the game's sequel, they are called "the Nameless".
195	* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' features Princess What's-Her-Name, but this is a subversion in that her name actually is "What's-Her-Name".
196	* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', like ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', has a That Man.
197	* The Text Adventure version of ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1984'' involves a recurring item called [[BuffySpeak "The Thing Which Your Aunt Gave You Which You Don't Know What It Is"]].
198	* In the first ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', if you take up arena-fighting, you'll be given the nickname "The Mysterious Stranger"... This is so they only have to use the one audio track whichever name you choose for yourself at the beginning. ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', from the same folks, uses the same convention, though in that case you get your choice of a few stage names. The Arena promoter throws in a ShoutOut to Knights of the Old Republic, referring to you when you first meet him as a "mysterious stranger."
199	* In ''VideoGame/{{Mafia}}'', there is a cutscene in which the main character refers to his wife and daughter as "Sarah and the kid", despite the fact that the daughter is a couple of years old and thus should have a name, and that the character he talks to should know the name of the daughter already and thus understand who is being referred to when the name is mentioned.
200	* The name of the final boss of ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'''s Creator/DrSeuss homage zone is "The Thing with No Name".
201	* The ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series has "The G-Man", who is only named according to [[WordOfGod Word of God]]; within the games themselves he is unnamed. And even "The G-Man" is just a vague nickname; a colloquialism meaning "Government Man".
202	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando''. When Ratchet enters the first arena on the Maktar Nebula, he is introduced and referred to as "This!...Guy...". In the second arena on Joba, Ratchet's name is actually used, while Clank gets referred to as "(the) metal guy".
203	* The awakened Darkspawn in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' follow this trope, going only by titles, such as The Architect and The Mother.
204	* ''VideoGame/TheTownWithNoName'': [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It's right in the title]]. The game is a(n attempted) parody of the SpaghettiWestern genre, with the protagonist also being referred to as 'The Kid with no name'. Needless to say, there are multiple instances of this trope throughout the game.
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder:Web Comics]]
208	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
209	** Strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0226.html #226]] is a cornucopia of {{Deconstruction}}s of these, wrapped in a pastiche of [[WhosOnFirst "Who's on First?"]]
210	** Like any good trope, of course, Burlew can't resist giving it [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0254.html another drubbing]]:
211	--->'''Nale:''' Another one? Good gods, man, that's eleven so far who Must Not Be Named. Not to mention the four who Must Not Be Looked At, the two who Must Not Be Spoken To, and the one who Must Not Be Toilet-Trained.
212	** Also used several times among the villains, with the Creature in the Darkness, Redcloak, his brother Right-Eye, their deity "The Dark One"...
213	* In ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'', there are the Other Warriors, a rival group to the main characters, the Light Warriors. Sarda the Sage is also known as "The Wizard Who Did It." Not to mention the heroes themselves; The black mage, white mage, thief, fighter, red mage, and black belt are called Black Mage, White Mage, Thief, Fighter, Red Mage, and Black Belt respectively. Technically, these are actually their names.
214	** [[PlayingWithATrope Of course,]] as of their [[PrestigeClass Class Changes]], [[NonIndicativeName Black Mage]] is a [[PowerCopying Blue Mage]], [[NonIndicativeName Red Mage]] is a [[DittoFighter Mime]] [[{{Scrub}} who was]] [[DysfunctionJunction briefly convinced]] he was a [[PowerCopying Blue Mage]] (though he gets to keep his Red [[MagicKnight Mage]] spells), [[NonIndicativeName Thief]] is a HighlyVisibleNinja, and [[NonIndicativeName Fighter]] is a [[KnightInShiningArmor Knight]].
215	* ''Webcomic/ScaryGoRound'' has "The Boy" and his parents "The Mother" and "The Father". The Boy does have a name though.
216	* In ''Webcomic/InkTank'', Webmonkey is referred to only as such (he's a literal monkey) and none of the IT Ninjas are ever named either.
217	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
218	** Parodied in the ''Torg Potter'' parodies, where Torg Potter is known as "The Lastnameless One", his nemesis as "You Probably Don't Know Who", and the explanation for all this is found in the "The Story We Can't Tell".
219	** The demon K'Z'K gets called "The Vowelless" as well as simply "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End]]". Most people can't pronounce his name anyway...
220	* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', there is a girl (mainly used as filler art) known simply as "Sweet-Tits", much to her resentment, although it is implied she does have a real name.
221	** [[spoiler:It was eventually revealed to be [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2348 Harriet.]]]]
222	* In ''Webcomic/GetMedieval'' we have Edward [[BilingualBonus Sans-Nom]].
223	* ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower'' lampshaded this with [[http://www.angryflower.com/namele.html The Nameless Ones]].
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Web Original]]
227	* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' there was a thing known across galaxies as The Scourge, or The Stalker Among The Stars, or other encouraging names. It has since merged with a human, so it now has a name.
228	[[/folder]]
229
230	[[folder:Western Animation]]
231	* ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster''. Marion and Cassie are captured by a BountyHunter in the form of a talking horse [[Film/AFistfulOfDollars wearing a distinctive poncho]] who sounds like Creator/ClintEastwood.
232	-->'''Marion:''' It's the Mule with No Manners.\
233	'''Bounty Hunter:''' The Horse With No Name.\
234	'''Cassie:''' But if you're called "The Horse With No Name", surely that ''is'' your name.\
235	'''Bounty Hunter:''' Shuddup!\
236	'''Marion:''' She's got a point, you know.
237	* ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'', had a character called "The Red Guy"--at least in the credits; in the episodes he had various names that all seemed to refer to the fact that he wasn't wearing any pants. Once, during a brief, standalone scene where he [[BreakingTheFourthWall addresses the audience directly]], he actually refers to himself as "The Red Guy".
238	* The Nameless Beast from an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' cartoon turned out to be named [[FluffyTheTerrible Rosebud]]. And of course, there's Princess What's-Her-Name (which, as noted, is her ''actual name'').
239	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' had the one-shot 80's-guy character "That Guy".
240	** And of course "I am The Man With No Name... Zapp Brannigan at your service!"
241	** WordOfGod says "That Guy" is named Steve Castle, but it was never mentioned during the show.
242	* Parodied in the first episode of the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' finale, [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E18Weirdmageddon "Weirdmageddon"]], in which [[EldritchAbomination Bill Cipher]] initiates TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and introduces some of the interdimensional criminals and nightmares he likes to call his friends, such as The Being Whose Name Must Never Be Said.
243	-->'''Bill:''' Oh, what the heck. It's Zanthar.
244	* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''. No one wanted to say Lord Moldybutt's name ([[TooDumbToLive except for Billy]]), because every time you did something bad would happen.
245	* The TVSpecial ''Happily Ever After'', about a girl dealing with the divorce of her parents, had a character referred to as "Whats-His-Name with the Glasses."
246	* Many background characters in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' have NoNameGiven, but special mention needs to be made of a gray/blond pagasus mare noticed by fans in the series premiere. Her fan nickname was used in-dialog in one episode, but it proved to be so controversial that it was [[OrwellianRetcon removed from subsequent broadcasts]], along with a change in the voice acting. Her fan nickname became TheScottishTrope among Hasbro and DHX Media staff on social media; while they don't discourage fans from using it in Twitter feeds, the creators always speak of her in periphrasis. Official toys of her have always used drawings of [[TrademarkFavoriteFood muffins]] in place of a name, and she would eventually be named "Muffins" in one episode's end credits.
247	* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': In "The Good, The Bad, And The Tigger":
248	-->'''Tigger:''' I am the Tigger With No Name!\
249	'''Pooh:''' I am the Pooh ''With'' a Name! ...If only I could remember it.
250	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' had a villain known simply as [[BigBad "Him"]]--probably not mentioned by name because he was supposed to represent the devil.
251	** His name is actually [[FunWithAcronyms His Imperial Majesty.]]
252	* In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', there is Char Gar Gothikon: The Beast That Hath No Name.
253	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', many characters lived without names and were referred to in the scripts as "The comic book guy", "The squeaky-voiced teen", etc.
254	** Occasionally they would receive names later when they became more important; Comic Book Guy became Jeff Albertson, for instance.
255	** Whether or not these names stick is another story. Everyone calls Captain [=McAllister=] "the sea captain," even though he was named in his first appearance!
256	[[/folder]]
257
258	[[folder:Real Life]]
259	* It's considered bad luck among actors to speak the name of the play [[spoiler: ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'']] in the theater, so a popular euphemism is "[[TheScottishTrope The Scottish Play]]."
260	* Among some ProfessionalWrestling fans, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit is sometimes referred to as He Who Is Not Named, both in mimicry of Harry Potter and the fact that many would rather pretend [[FanonDiscontinuity he never existed.]]
261	* The inhabitant of a nation's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (or whatever it's called locally) is generally always chosen because... well, we don't know who they are.
262	* Creator/BillSimmons refers to the Oklahoma City Thunder as "The Team That Shall Not Be Named" in solidarity with the people of Seattle, who had the Supersonics stolen out from under them by the OKC ownership group. Simmons is also known to call them the [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Zombie Sonics]] or simply the Zombies. ([[http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8486795/the-harden-dilemma he changed his mind in October 2012]], considering that [[OverusedRunningGag it was too much trouble to keep it up]] and the Sonics might be resurrected.)
263	* Before their name change in 2020, some people referred to the Washington Redskins [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball NFL team]] as the "Racist Slurs", or just "the Washington football team." In 2020, their name was actually changed to "the Washington Football Team" pending an official rename, and they later became the Washington Commanders in 2022.
264	* More seriously, there's "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia": the name is a BerserkButton to Greeks for reasons explained on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_naming_dispute the Other Wiki]].
265	* It's common in some religious traditions to either not refer directly to TheDevil, or at least to not speak the name "Satan" or something similar. Instead demons are just collectively "The Enemy", or "evil spirits".
266	* Similarly, Jews are not supposed to say the name of God, substituting a word such as Adonai (my Lord) instead. The way in which this was ''written'' in antiquity (conflating the consonants YHWH with the vowels of ''Adonai'') has caused much [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah scholarly head-scratching]] as to what the name of God was actually supposed to ''be''.
267	** Also, Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya, who committed such atrocities in rebellion against God that everyone said, "That can't possibly be ben Abuya. It must be some other rabbi instead." So he's referred to instead as Acher, or "The Other One."
268	* In some regions of northern Europe (such as Scandinavia) it was once considered such bad luck to say a bear's true name that today, we aren't quite sure what the word in the language was; "bear" itself was such a euphemism.
269	** ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' is an example of such a euphemism: the name means "bee-wolf", i.e. a bear ([[TrademarkFavoriteFood since bears like honey]]).
270	** Similarly, the word for bear in Slavic languages (and Hungarian) - a local version of "medved" - descends from the phrase "honey-eater"
271	** Other examples from Hungarian are:
272	*** Wolf - "farkas" (literally: "[animal] with a tail")
273	*** Deer - "szarvas" (literally: "[animal] with horns")
274	* Ancient Greeks considered it so taboo to say or write the word "left" that we don't know what the word for "left" actually was (all we know is that it was the cognate to Latin "sinister"). Modern words descend from euphemisms like "better best hand". Words for this concept are all over the place in European languages because the left side was associated with evil spirits, bad luck and such for centuries. The French word "gauche" similarly descends from a euphemism: which is why it is so unique. These superstitions were finally squashed in the 19th Century, though many kids even at that time were forced to write using their right hand. Still, baseball has the term "southpaw", in part because it was considered bad luck to say "left-handed".
275	* Fans of ''The'' Ohio State University Buckeyes football team refer to arch rivals the University of Michigan Wolverines as "that team up north", a tradition started by legendary OSU coach Woody Hayes who hated the Wolverines with a passion after suffering a bitter loss to them early in his career.
276	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheTropeWithoutATitle