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[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgs2comic3_-_Copy.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty "Identify yourself!"]]]]

->'''Black Mage:''' The God of Undeath has a name of twenty-seven syllables spoken simultaneously by six ever-screaming mouths.\\
'''Cleric:''' Yeah. Or Jessie to his friends.
-->-- ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''

%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab. %%

An OverlyLongName is a [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude bane]] of PunyEarthlings, many of whom broke their tongues in the attempt to [[TheUnpronounceable pronounce it]], even if they somehow manage to memorize it.

Some beings with overly long names realize that it would quickly become frustrating if every second person they told their full name to struggled in vain to pronounce it correctly, and thus offer a shortened version. For comedy value, this shorter version may be a mundane human name, such as Bob or Max. Can overlap at times with TheyCallMeMisterTibbs.

The {{trope namer|s}} is ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', although it's not a confirmed example. While it was revealed by the Pythons that Tim the Enchanter was scripted with another name that Creator/JohnCleese could never remember, there is no evidence of it being long or unpronounceable. Also see TranslationYes. Not to be confused with TomTheDarkLord, where the Dark Lord's name ''actually is'' something normal.

TruthInTelevision, in fact, most people have at least one middle name that is omitted when referring to them for simplicity's sake, but keep RealLife examples for case where the person's full name is particularly long enough to contrast with the commonly used short form.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Art]]
* Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos was a Greek {{painter|s}}, {{sculptor|s}} and architect of the Spanish Renaissance --and so acquired El Greco ("that Greek dude") as a nickname. The artist went along with it: normally signing paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, and often adding the word Κρής (Krḗs), which means "from Crete" (the largest of the Greek islands). This is [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/El_Salvador_%28El_Greco%29.jpg/800px-El_Salvador_%28El_Greco%29.jpg a picture]] of Jesus by El Greco, the face of which is also a self-portrait.[[note]]Taking up a mirror and painting pictures as partial self-portraits when the subjects or rather models for them were either not available or not affordable to sit for pictures is actually not that uncommon among artists, particularily in times before you could just snap a photo and the model had to sit through all of the painting process (and be paid for it); so we know what a bunch of artists approximately looked like by their religious art. Jesus in particular not only had El Greco sitting in for him, but a bunch of other artists as well - most famously [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Dürer Dürer]], who was a case of LooksLikeJesus ''anyway''.[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, or "Ed" for short. [[spoiler:Real name: Francois. [[UnreliableExpositor Probably.]]]]
* Ren and Miu in ''Manga/DearS'' are called Ren and Miu because those are fragments of their [[OverlyLongName absurdly long full names]]. Interestingly, "Ren" means "nothing" in the [=DearS=] language, which confuses and angers Miu. Takeya gave Ren her name because it's the first number of her [[YouAreNumberSix ID number]]; this ends up being a plot point. Whereas Ren uses the first part of her ID number as her name, Miu uses the last part.
* ''Anime/DragonBallGT'': Due to [=DB4649T2006RS=] being too long to remember (especially for [[IdiotHero Goku]]), his friends simply call him Giru/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Gil]]. That doesn't stop the people of Planet M2 from saying his serial number all the time, to the point that the viewers can actually memorize it because it is said so often in the show.
* ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'': Scar and King Bradley[[spoiler:/Wrath]] do not go by their birth names (the latter [[IdentityAmnesia doesn't even remember it]]). One omake has them ''both'' claim their real names are really a long one based on a popular Japanese tale: Jugemu Jugemu Gokō-no surikire Kaijarisuigyo-no Suigyōmatsu Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu Kuunerutokoro-ni Sumutokoro Yaburakōji-no burakōji Paipopaipo Paipo-no-shūringan Shūringan-no Gūrindai Gūrindai-no Ponpokopī-no Ponpokonā-no Chōkyūmei-no Chōsuke. In the Englis dub Scar's "real" name is changed to Percival Ramtee Gregory Nicolai Jaques Scozer Leonardo Gabriel Socrates Ming Victor Nostradomus Alistair Predisha Vladimir Stiegler Rasputin Boromir Walla Walla Shadiga Alexander Oliver Abalard Arnesto Zippy Zappy Angel Eyes while Bradley's is Russel Daniel Paul Blake Joseph Alan Eri­c Fred Orsen Trevor Richard Charleton Christo­pher Benedict Garfield Polyuthane Nichol­as Robert Theodore Steve Michael Alvin Carter Bryc­e Jeffrey Maragold Peter Ethan Arin Papp­al William Nathanial Orville Chuck Slipp­y Slappy Zippy Zappy Angel Eye.
* Quetzalcoatl from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' normally just goes by the shortened name "Lucoa", presumably because her full name would be difficult for a Japanese speaker.
* In ''Manga/PsychicAcademy'', psychics are called by the names of their [[BattleAura psychic eminences]]. The average eminence name is four words long. Thus they're generally referred to by the first word in the name. The main character's brother has a ''six-word'' name - which gets shortened to [[MyHeroZero Zero]] ("Zerodyme" is the first word).
* The Instructor from ''Manga/SwansInSpace'' is really named "¥ø∆¨•¶§∞£¢§". He tells Corona to call him "Instructor", as his real name is TheUnpronounceable.
* Z's introduction in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo''. It's something along the lines of "Me? I'm Z-0001332536893. [[LampshadeHanging But that's too long]], so just call me 'Z.'"
* In the anime version of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', Vash The Stampede's full name may or may not be "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andre Charton-Haymoss Ivanovicci Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Fin Fang Foom'' is short for some very long alien phrase meaning "He Whose Back Scrapes the Sun.''
* The ComicBook/MartianManhunter, [[RepetitiveName J'onn J'onnz]], goes by John Jones.
* Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle from ''ComicBook/ResidentAlien'' tends to go by either "Harry" or "Doc" since either is easier to pronounce than "Dr. Vanderspeigle"
* ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'': Kal-El becomes Clark. Clark Joseph Kent.
* Starfire from the ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'' is officially "Princess Koriand'r", but is known as "Kory" for short. More specifically, the full name Kory Anders.
* In a Khundian dialect, Lobo means roughly "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast He-Who-Devours-Your-Entrails-And-Thoroughly-Enjoys-It]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has a very occasional mentor figure of Harry's who could be described as the embodiment of downplayed tropes[[note]]and [[GodInHumanForm other]] things[[/note]]. He's completely unassuming in every way - at first glance. Pretty much anything about him in the narration or descriptions is either implied, hinted at, downplayed, maybe magic maybe mundane, rewatch bonus, or [[NoodleIncident offscreen]]. That he's notoriously elusive and tends to keep himself to himself just adds to this. Of course this includes IHaveManyNames: when asked who he is, he tells Harry to [[FriendlyAddressPrivileges call him]] Joshua - not even bothering with any of the more well-known of the forty-seven or so names he has, let alone all of them.[[note]]Although this is also a case of ExactWords to both neatly avoid saying a name a jumpy Harry (who's ''already'' near panic, which flooring him with the reveal of Joshua's full identity wouldn't exactly help) would recognise until Harry's calmed down a bit; and saying his actual (and virtually unknown) birth name in a different way (as Joshua is the most common way of translating it into English).[[/note]]
* ''Fanfic/EbottsWake'': Almost word-for-word from the Riverperson, but {{Inverted|Trope}}; rather than substituting a really long name, they imply that it's filling in for the lack of one entirely, as an alternative to EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep.
--> '''The Riverperson:''' “Tra la la. Names are the sounds that others give us to match what they feel when they think of us. But, there are some who call me Tim.”
* In ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', Tapper's real name is Naomhán Críostóir Smurf. He prefers using Tapper because Naomhán is difficult for his fellow Smurfs to say.
* ''Fanfic/KingdomHeartsPsiTheSeekerOfDarkness'': From ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293129/chapters/52263811 Adjustments: Final Mix]]'':
-->'''Yen Sid''': This being is, in a sense, the anthropomorphization of the concept of time itself.\\
'''The being''': Not ''strictly'' true, but close enough. Call me Tim.\\
'''Vanitas''': 'Tim'?\\
'''Tim''': (''shrugs'') Technically my name is ‘Time’s Champion’. Or. Well. That’s not actually my name, but that’s the title. Got cut off while saying it once and people started calling me ‘Tim’.\\
'''Vanitas''': But that doesn’t match the–\\
'''Tim''': My real name, of course, is a secret.\\
'''Sora''': It’s unpronounceable, right?\\
'''Tim''': Huh? No, no, it’s just a secret.
* In Creator/AAPessimal's ''Fanfic/TheManyWorldsInterpretation'', Assassin Ruth N'Kweze, who is a proud Princess in [[DarkestAfrica Howondaland]], explains the thing about names and lineages to a group of visitors from Earth:
-->"Formally." Ruth said. "But naming conventions are tricky. My full name goes something like ''Igama Sibongo ''[=Isithakazelo=]'' Ubuzwe Inkosazana umNtwana Umntanenkosi Ruth Sisiwayo N'Kweze kaCeteshwayo''. And that's just a short version. If you take the ''Isithakazelo'' part, that's a one-word shorthand for my family lineage, great deeds, and accomplishments of my illustrious ancestors - and maybe even one or two of my own. And so on and so on. It runs on for about three pages when it's all written down.(4) So it got shortened to Miss Ruth N'Kweze for convenience."
* In ''[[Fanfic/ASongOfIceAndFiresThatWerentAllMyFault A Song of Ice and Fires That Weren't All My fault]]'', [[spoiler:the parasite/spirit of intellect born of Harry and Lash]] has a name [[TheUnpronounceable that defies human pronunciation]], but her mother also gave her the name Lydia.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Animated]]
* Princess Kidagakash from ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''. Milo Thatch stumbles on pronouncing it (although probably just because he was [[DistractedByTheSexy distracted]]; he is a linguist), and she says he can call her Kida.
* From ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'':
-->'''Stella the Skunk:''' So, you got a name?\\
'''Tiger the Persian Cat:''' Yes. It is a Persian name, for I am Persian. I was born Prince Tigeriess Mahmood Shabaz.\\
'''Stella:''' Ooh, that's a mouthful. Can I just call you Tiger?
* In the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' franchise, Lumpy's full name is Heffridge Trumpeter Bumpet Heffalump the Fourth, but he (usually) can't remember it, so everyone calls him Lumpy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* Inverted, then subverted in ''Film/BlazingSaddles''.
-->'''Bart:''' What's your name?\\
'''Jim:''' Well, my name is Jim, but most people call me... Jim.
* In Walt Disney's ''Film/TheCatFromOuterSpace'', the titular cat's name is Zunar-J-5/9 Doric-4-7, but the human that the cat stays with decides to call him Jake.
* In ''Film/{{District 9}}'', the only one of the StarfishAliens referred to by name is called "Christopher Johnson"; according to [[CharacterBlog Christopher's blog]], this is because humans assign human names to aliens. In the context of the movie's rather obvious allegory, this reflects some nasty history: the practice of white Europeans forcing "Christian" names on the natives wherever they went, as a form of cultural imperialism.
* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', the Fifth Element's name is "Leeloominaï Lekatariba Lamina-Tchaï Ekbat De Sebat". Also known as Leeloo.
* In ''Film/GosfordPark'', Lady Trentham should call her maid "[=MacCreachern=]" as she's a lady's maid, but she can't pronounce it, so she just calls her Mary.
* In ''Film/Paddington2014'', Paddington's original bear name is a deep, throaty growl that humans can't pronounce. When Mr. Brown tries, Paddington thinks that whatever he said was very rude. He gratefully accepts Mrs. Brown's suggestion of having a human name, "Paddington".
* In ''Film/PulpFiction'', Creator/SamuelLJackson and Creator/JohnTravolta discuss a fellow gangster whose real name is Antwan Rockamora but whose colleagues call him "Tony Rocky Horror."
* A variant is in the Tom Hanks rom-com ''Film/{{Splash}}'': when he asks his new friend (Daryl Hannah) for her name, she tells him. Unfortunately, she's a mermaid, and her name consists of several syllables at a pitch that breaks glass. [[FinaglesLaw And they're in a television store.]] She suggests he call her "Madison" (after [[LineOfSightName seeing a Madison Avenue street sign]]) and he agrees ("''Good thing we weren't on 132nd Street''").
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/ANewHope'' plays with this trope when Luke discovers a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi and correctly deduces that the name refers to a local hermit who currently goes by ''Ben'' Kenobi.
** Jabba's full name is Jabba Desilijic Tiure, which goes a long way toward explaining why most of the characters just refer to him as "Jabba the Hutt."
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'': Resistance pilot Poe Dameron meets a defecting First Order Stormtrooper who helps him escape capture. When Poe asks him his name, the Stormtrooper tells him his designation is FN-2187. Poe decides to call him "Finn" instead. Finn likes it and keeps the name for the rest of the trilogy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' the Jan are tentacled StarfishAliens whose language is completely unpronounceable to humans. When dealing with humans, they adopt Earth-style names -- sometimes names from mythology like Ishtar or Heimdal, other times simple names like Dwight or Tommy. The main character goes by "Paul." It turns out that there's a [[MeaningfulName reason he chose that name]], but it isn't revealed till halfway through the story.
* Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. They call him Ax or Ax-man. And the governor called him Aximili.
** Andalite names aren't entirely analogous to Western humans' first, middle, and last names: Ax's brother is Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, and when Ax mentions his parents' names, it's the middle sections that are the same - one parent has "-Sirinial-" and the other "-Esgarrouth-".
** The original full name of the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien godlike]] [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended being]] called [[EnergyBeings the Ellimist]] was Azure Level, Seven Spar, Extension Two, Down-Messenger, Forty-One. He went by "Toomin" in casual conversation - "Ellimist" was originally his online gaming screenname. His given name is, in fact, a job designation and an address.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': In ''The Horse and His Boy'', the talking horse Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah is more commonly referred to as Bree, though he himself finds his companion's name, Shasta, quite a mouthful.
* In ''Literature/TheCobraTrilogy'', the alien Trofts have complex names relying heavily on PunctuationShaker; recognising that humans find them hard to pronounce, they usually go by a descriptive alias such as "Speaker One" or "Warrior". They are particularly impressed when some humans do manage to pronounce their proper names.
* Naming conventions in ''Literature/TheCulture'' range from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_(The_Culture) rather eccentric names the Minds (particularly ship Minds)]] give themselves (generally, they are referred to by their passengers as Ship, and by others when being spoken of by a diminutive or initialism after first being introduced, although there are some which have more conventionally named avatars) to the more structured system(s) used by the drone and pan-human population ("planetary system of origin"-"object or planet within the system" "Given name" "chosen name" "surname" dam "childhood home". The [[WordOfGod author's name under this system]] would be Sol-Terrasa Iain El-Bonko Banks dam South Queensferry), which is usually shortened to one or two elements in conversation.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', Constable Salacia von Humpeding, like most vampires, has several pages of names... but she prefers to go by "Sally".
* ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'':
** In the ''Literature/PastDoctorAdventures'' novel ''World Game'', Lady Serena's full name is Lady Serenadellatrovella.
** ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresLungbarrow Lungbarrow]]'' had Quencessetianobayolocaturgrathadeyyilungbarrowmas, the 422nd Kithriarch of the House of Lungbarrow. The other Time Lords call him Quences. Also, Leela's given Time Lord name is Lady Leelandredloomsagwinaechegesmia.
* The tinker gnomes of ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' have names that fill several volumes in the great library of Mount Nevermind, which include their full family tree and any notable accomplishments from their lives. When talking amongst each other, they use a shortened version which "only" takes about a minute to say. The other races have a tendency to only use the first 2-3 syllables of a gnome's name, a practice they find demeaning.
** Even the name of the Tinker Gnomes' ''mountain'' falls under this trope -- it's only called Mount Nevermind because the first human explorers made the serious mistake of asking their gnome guide where he was from. After the first six or seven seconds of rapid pronunciation, they interrupted with 'Nevermind', which the gnomes then adopted as the official name of the mountain for reasons of aesthetics.
** Not to mention the names of some of the elves - although those are [[TheUnpronounceable easier on the tongue...]]
* ''Literature/EarthsChildren'': In ''Clan of the Cave Bear'', the name a five-year-old foundling gives to her adopted people is impossible for them to pronounce, so she lets them call her Ayla (which some still have trouble pronouncing, with variations like Aargha.)
** "Ayla" is actually her name, but instead of pronouncing it with the emphasis on the first syllable like we would, the closest any of the Clan can come is "[=AyLA=]", with emphasis on the last syllable. It's explained that the Clan have very limited vocal range, so even Ayla's simple name is too hard for most of them to pronounce. It's possible she introduced herself the same way Jondolar does in later novels - with her mother's name and cave number after her name, then decided her first name would be enough.
* One of the main characters in ''Literature/EmpireOfTheAnts'' trilogy by Bernard Werber is an ant called 103 683. In the third book, the other ants decide to just refer to her as 103 since they find it is a bit too long.
* Two centaurs from the ''Literature/{{Fablehaven}}'' series go by the names Cloudwing and Broadhoof instead of their hard-to-pronounce real names.
* Juliet [[spoiler:(Ajulutsikael)]] in the ''Literature/FelixCastor'' books by Creator/MikeCarey.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationsEdge'': The inhabitants of Gaia have long names ([[MeaningfulRename due to adding a new syllable for each major achievement]]), but are usually referred to by a single syllable from that name. For example, Blissenobiarella is called "Bliss", and this is not even a very long name by Gaian standards (nor would a "Bliss Nobiarella" be long by Western standards). Since the use of a single syllable is a cultural thing, she feels uncomfortable using the full names of other people even if they have short names, so she often calls Trevize "Trev" and Pelorat "Pel".
* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': In ''Azure Bonds'', the [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience evil red dragon]] Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco harasses our heroes. She goes by Mist.
* Averted in ''Literature/TheGriffinMageTrilogy'' by Rachel Neumeier. Each Griffon has three names, each being at least three syllables long, and is addressed using all of them as often as possible. When only one name is used it is used in full, Griffons do not have nicknames and feel that short names are unsuitable. For instance, female protagonist Kes is dubbed Kereskiita by them.
* Lynn Reid Banks' book ''Harry the Poisonous Centipede'' first introduces the main characters by their centipede names, which are both unintelligible strings of consonants. The narrator goes on to say that they will just call the two "Harry" and "George".
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/TheHermeticMillennia'', Mickey's full name (Melechemoshemyazanagual) is much longer. Soon after he gives Menelaus permission to use it, he tries to tell something is as sure as that his name is Mickey, and Menelaus points out that it's not.
* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1''.
** Slartibartfast, but his name isn't important.
** Ford Prefect's birth name was apparently so complicated that Ford ''himself'' never learned to pronounce it - his father was the LastOfHisKind and Ford never picked up the language (Dad died of shame). His childhood friends nicknamed him Ix, which in the language of Betelgeuse Five translates into English as "boy who is not able satisfactorily to explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven".
* In ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', the true names of werecats are strange spitting, hissing, growling noises, though humans know them by names such as Solembum and Shadowhunter.
* ''Literature/LandOfOz'': Zeb in ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'', the fourth book. He's a normal human child, mind you. The Wizard himself is an example, being called "the Wizard" because his full name is nine words long and calling him "Oz" (the first two initials) would just be confusing.
** And be [[FunWithAcronyms rather rude]]... Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. (O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D.) But one wonders why he didn't just suggest "Oscar Diggs" or "Oz Diggs".
* The ''Literature/LiadenUniverse'' series features the Clutch Turtles, a very long-lived race whose names double as lists of their accomplishments. A newly-hatched turtle will have a name only a few words long, but a mature turtle's name might take several ''hours'' to say. One of the main characters in the series is... (deep breath), "Eleventh Shell Fifth Hatched Knife Clan of Middle River's Spring Spawn of Farmer Greentrees of the Spearmakers Den: The Edger". And that's the ''short'' form of his name, "used by the Clans of Men on those things called visas." His human and Liaden friends just call him "Edger".
* The Ents in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Treebeard's full name might take days or weeks to tell - even if he were willing to share something so personal. Of course, this is also because they talk ''really'' slowly. Entish is an untranslatably slow language, and Ent names are very descriptive.
* At the beginning of ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'', Tip's full name is revealed to be Tippetarius, but it is such a long name that "Tip" will do just as well.
* ''Literature/MyTeacherIsAnAlien'' (by Creator/BruceCoville): In book 4 (''My Teacher Flunked the Planet''), the main characters meet a giant weird alien whose name is [[TheUnpronounceable unpronounceable]] by a human and is something like "Uhuurbeegdjyuli". They hear this as "You're Big Julie" and henceforth decide to refer to it as "Big Julie" (which is also the name of a character in the musical ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'').
* In M. M. Kaye's ''Literature/TheOrdinaryPrincess'', Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne of Phantasmorania is generally known as Amy. It suits her better.
* Creator/KarlMay's ''Literature/OrientCycle'': Hadschi Halef Omar Ben Hadschi Abul Abbas Ibn Hadschi Dawuhd al Gossarah, aka Halef.
* ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' a.k.a. Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump.
** Or, for Americans, Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking, or some variation thereof depending on the adaptation.
* ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'': Tsagaglalal (also known as [[spoiler:"Aunt Agnes"]]) and Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak (also known as "[[HistoricalDomainCharacter Black Hawk]]").
* The Kurshken in ''Literature/TheSeventhTower'' all have names like this, and offer shorter names when they introduce themselves to be polite. This also applies to some of their words ("roro" = "roroqquolleckechahen").
* This also occurs in Diane Duane's ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'' novels.
** ''Literature/{{Rihannsu}}'': The central character, the Romulan Commander Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu. "Call me Ael."
** ''Dark Mirror'': The [[SapientCetaceans Delphine]] scientist Hwiii ie'ee u-Ulak! ha'. It's pronounced "Wheee!"
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': The Chiss have long names, but may allow others to address them by their "[[FirstNameBasis core names]]". The most famous one is Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, otherwise known as [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Thrawn]]. Chiss who haven't given permission are irritated when non-Chiss use them. It's more or less stated in ''Literature/OutboundFlight'' that sharing the core name is a little personal, but Thrawn disregarded this to the point that as of the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, not a lot of people [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname knew he had more name]].
-->"Perhaps my core name would be easier for the average fleet officer. Call me Thrawn."
** Thrawn was, among his own people, somewhat infamous for being non-traditional. He, however, regarded it simply as being pragmatic. Not using his somewhat tongue-twisting full name among outsiders was the least of his defiance of not so logical traditions. [[spoiler:He eventually went too far for his people to accept, and was exiled for it. But [[MagnificentBastard Thrawn being Thrawn]], [[XanatosGambit this was his preferred outcome. If they didn't, it would be a license to go further]].]]
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', "Rock" goes by his nickname rather than weather the constant mispronunciations of his proper name, Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor. Non-Unkalaki speakers fail to appreciate that it's actually a poetic NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom... about a rock.
* In another of Pratchett's works, ''Literature/{{Strata}}'', an alien character says "My name is sixty-three syllables long, but you may call me Silver".
* From ''Literature/TalesOfMU'': "I am Delia Daella d'Wyr, daughter of Daella Degra d'Wyr, daughter of Degra Daura d'Wyr..." and on, through a whole score of generations of matriarchs. She concluded with, "Those who style themselves as my friends call me Dee."
* Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo in ''Tikki Tikki Tembo'' changed how an entire society named children because of his long name.
* In ''Literature/WildCards'', Doctor Tachyon's actual name is Prince Tisianne brant Ts'ara sek Halima sek Ragnar sek Omian of House Ilkazam (and that's just his first name; his full name would list his genealogy for the last thousand generations). The American scientists and military men he makes first contact with are endlessly corrected on how it's said, and mispronouncing it is quite the insult. So he is given the much-simpler nickname Dr. Tachyon.
* Creator/DianeDuane's ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series has a lot of this.
** Fred the sentient [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hole white hole]] from ''So You Want to Be a Wizard''. His name ''starts'' with "Khairelikoblepharehglukumeilichephreidosd'enagouni", and his ''full'' name is probably a lot longer than that. This is justified because the name is probably in the speech, so it fully describes it. Given how large he is, there are so many features that lead to a long name.
** Ed the shark (full name Ed'Rastekeresket t'k Gh'shestaesteh) in ''Deep Wizardry''.
** Filif (Filifermanhathrhumneits'elhhessaifnth) the tree-like alien.
** S'reee (S'reee a!hruuniAoul-mmeiihnhwiii!r) the humpback whale, again in ''Deep Wizardry''.
** Roshaun almost completely inverts this trope; his full name consists of a laundry list of fancy alien titles and honorifics (The longest we see is Roshaun ke Nelaid am Seriv am Teliuyve am Meseph am Veliz am Teriaunst am det Wellakhit). He insists on reciting the full version whenever introduced and attempts to get everyone else to call him by this too, mostly because of his royalty complex, rather than offering a shortened name. Naturally, Dairine ignores this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AlienNation'':
** When the Tenctonese were let out of quarantine into the Los Angeles area, they were all given thoroughly mundane names to assimilate better into society.
** Though ''someone'' in the naming department had a dry sense of humor, considering that George was originally named [[UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco Sam Francisco]], and the mentally addled janitor was dubbed UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein.
** In one of the TV movies, a recently-arrived Newcomer was named [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Norman Conquest]]. Cathy comments that the immigration people must be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** The Host has a name – Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan. But you can call him Lorne.
** An ancient goddess manipulated events to bring about a body for her to use in the world. When she was asked by her followers (basically everyone who saw her due to her {{Main/Glamour}} charm), she declined to use her actual name, since that would render her powerless. When they insisted on something to call her, she had smelled a flower she liked and asked what it was called. Thereafter, she was referred to as "Jasmine".
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': The true name of the Shadow species was 10000 sounds long and completely unpronounceable.
* In ''Series/LeCoeurASesRaisons'', Brett and Criquette's son full name is Doug Doug Skippy Bob Dracula Perceval Trevor Ricky Jack Lancelot Baby Bat Benny Benny Bo Benny Bananana Bo Benny Benny Bo Benny Montgomery-Rockwell. They usually go with Doug Doug Skippy Bob Dracula Perceval. Hopefully, one can call him simply Doug Doug.
* Dr. Mahesh Vijayaraghavensatanaryanamurthy from ''Series/CrossingJordan''. "Bug" for short.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor's true name has been described as only being audible to children, [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom if their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too.]] They had other reasons for changing it, but at least "the Doctor" is something we can all pronounce.
** One of the Doctor's companions was named "Romanadvoratrelundar". The Doctor told her she could either shorten it to "Romana" or else he would just call her "Fred". He then went on to call her "Romana", even though she said she would prefer "Fred". At an earlier stage in the script's development, he was going to shorten it even further to "Romy".
** The Raxacoricofallapatorians, commonly referred to as the "Slitheen" (the name of one specific Raxacoricofallapatorian clan) by characters and fans alike.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame "The Long Game"]], the Editor introduces "Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max." Although he's referred to as the Jagrafess afterwards. There was only one successful take of that line: Creator/SimonPegg simply could ''not'' get it right.
** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWho2007CSVoyageOfTheDamned "Voyage of the Damned"]], where we have Bannakaffalatta, whom the Doctor asks if he can call Banna. Bannakaffalatta refuses.
* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', when John Crichton meets Joolushko Tunay Fento Hovalis, she asks her "what her friends call her". Her answer is: "My whole name". John, however, starts calling her ''Jool'', and he's promptly imitated by the rest of the Moya crew.
** However, when Crichton meets the soon-to-be SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Jool, Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu, she doesn't object to being called only ''Sikozu''.
*** Or "Sputnik".
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': giants. Their leader's name is Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg, but Mance Rayder refers to him as "Mag the Mighty" (in the Old Tongue, "mag" means "great"). The first giant Jon encounters in season 3 is called "Dongo", but we can assume it's [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname a shortened nickname]] and his full name is hard to remember. In season 5 we meet another giant, Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun - human wildlings call him "Wun-Wun".
* Inverted in ''Series/GoodnessGraciousMe'' (itself inverting the real-life experiences of Indians in the West): An Englishman working in an Indian business finds the Indians are ''incapable'' of pronouncing his monosyllabic name. The Indians honestly try at first, then become testy at his inability to fit it, whereupon the Englishman gives in and adopts a complex Indian name that most Englishmen would have difficulty pronouncing.
* Parodied and exaggerated on ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'', when Vince meets a mysterious man in the forest with a door in his gigantic afro hair. The man starts listing off various pseudonyms that he has gone by. After the show cuts to another scene and back again, he's still going. (He gets his own episode in Series 2, incidentally, and his face adorns that DVD...)
-->"Some call me... Cillit Bang."
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': Why does nobody remember the name [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDPqB9i1ScY Johann Gambolputty… of Ulm?]]
* A Swedish Chef sketch on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' has the Chef's uncle (played by Creator/DannyKaye) reveal the Chef's actual name, which is a long string of gibberish. The uncle then adds, "We call him Tom."
* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the Goa'uld System Lord Yu-huang Shang Ti. Most people shortened it to "Yu", [[WhosOnFirst with predictable results]].
*** And once again when SG-1 is trying to rescue an alien that they had [[ItMakesSenseInContext previously thought was a member of their team]]:
---->'''Col. O'Neill:''' What is your name anyway?\\
'''Kaiael:''' Kaiael.\\
'''Col. O'Neill:''' Right. Carter, you go with... Tyler.
** A variation occurs in ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. The Wraiths are all NoNameGiven to humans, so Sheppard has taken to naming individual wraiths with common mortal names. So far we've had Bob, Steve, Michael, Todd, and Kenny. [=McKay=] wants to pick the name of the next Wraith.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In "This Side of Paradise", Spock tells Leila that he indeed has another name, but that "You couldn't pronounce it."
** When Spock's parents arrive on the Enterprise in the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'', Dr. [=McCoy=] is at a loss as to what to call his mother. He asks if she can pronounce her husband's family name, and she replies, "After a fashion, and with much practice." [=McCoy=] is relieved when she says to just call her Amanda. From then on, she is referred to as "the Lady Amanda", or "Amanda Grayson" (her maiden name).
** In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One tends to go by the name "Seven of Nine" or just "Seven". When Janeway suggested the shortened form, she found it 'imprecise, but acceptable'.
* In ''Series/That70sShow'', we have Fez, whose entire name took the entirety of a school bell to pronounce, and of which we only know the group said they would never remember. This leads to Foreign Exchange Student being his name as an acronym, changed to a z for sound. Fun fact, when he was stating his name that we never hear during the bell, and you only see his mouth moving, he was reciting the cast's names.
* ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' gives us (Boudicea) Geraldine Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Chim Chiminey Chim Chiminey Chim Chim Cher-ee Granger. Mostly just known as 'Vicar'.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Played with in a ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' strip, where the owners of dogs gave them the typical names (Muffy, Rex, etc.), but "The names dogs give themselves" are quite elaborate, including "Princess Sheewana, [[MisterMuffykins barker of great annoyance]], and daughter of Queen La, Stainer of Persian rugs"
* In ''ComicStrip/PreTeena'', it is revealed that the sisters Jeri and Teena Keene were actually christened Geraldine and Christina. [[TheDitz Jeri]], having just heard the names of her four great-grandmothers [[note]]Merle, Harriet, Christina, and Geraldine[[/note]] and learning she and her sister were named after two of them, asks "Oh. So which ones were we named for?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Podcast/HeroClub: Skillet from ''Adversary''. His actual name is Erasmus Jessop Lindsey Stillman, but Skillet is easier for people to say and references his amazing cooking abilities.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* Averted then comically upheld in ''Radio/BleakExpectations'' by Mr. Wickham Post Forberton Fenugreek Chasby Twistleton Montmorency Aurelius Pargordon Jezthisby Cumquatly Pobbleton Tendling... [text omitted] ... Beasty Fenelham Jones, the family's lawyer, a man so distinguished that his name took fully twenty minutes to say. Being a lawyer the length of his name is his greatest asset as he charges his clients for the full 20 minutes to say it, sometimes 40 if he must repeat it. Once he interrupts the protagonist Pip Bin informing him they do not have time to say his full name, but he will charge him for the full time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Vilhjalmur "Will" Sigurbjornsson from ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''.
** Also Yelizaveta Volkova, also known as "Bounce".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has several dragons in the officially-released modules with in-universe nicknames. This is due to the locals either not knowing the dragons' names, or finding them too long to remember.
** The "Storm Lord's Wrath" campaign has LawfulGood Lhammaruntosz known as "the Claws of the Coast", LawfulEvil Claugiyliamatar known as "Old Gnawbone", and ChaoticEvil Chardansearavitriol known as "Ebondeath".
** The ''TabletopGame/TyrannyOfDragons'' module has ChaoticEvil Arauthator live in the Sea of Moving Ice, and he's known "Old White Death". On the other end of the spectrum, the LawfulGood ancient gold dragon Protanther is known as "The King of Justice".
* Gnomes in ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' are said to collect names like friends, and usually choose the kookiest or [[AwesomeMcCoolName coolest-sounding]] ones to be addressed by ([[MoodWhiplash sometimes both]]).
** This tendency to collect names is from the Tinker gnomes of TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}. It's usually a hodgepodge of their deeds, nicknames and family history.
* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' has some dark elven Houses with official and shorter common names. Try to say three times, for example, "[[Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy Drizzt]] Daermon N'a'shezbaernon", and you'll see why "Do'Urden" was used more often. For that matter, archaic High Drow as a whole is reserved mainly for ritual or official use and so different from the everyday dialect that few drow but priestesses can understand it.
* Habitual among Tau in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', whose names tend to grow longer with age and achievements, but usually go by their abbreviated rank and one of their name parts. Shas'O Vior'la Shovah Kais Mont'yr, for example, is better known as simply Commander Farsight.
** This is, however, nothing in comparison to the accumulated names of senior Adeptus Custodes (the Emperor's personal guard), whose names are inscribed onto the insides of their armour starting at the collar and wind around the inside. Some are so long that they fill all the available space on the inside of the armour and wind round onto the outside - Constantin Valdor, Captain of the Custodes and personal acquaintance of the Emperor and several Primarchs, had a name over ''1900'' elements long.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', Achilles isn't even going to try and pronounce ''"Ratohnhaké;ton"'', so he just calls him "Connor".
* The Druidic Knight of ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers'' has a lot of confusion regarding his name. According to the leaderboard, his name is Snakey.
* In ''VideoGame/DarkenedSkye'', the female Tikniki befriended by Skye and Draak has a overly long and nigh-unpronounceable name (at least Draak didn't have trouble pronouncing it) ending with the syllables "nee-noo", such that Draak remarks: "What's say we call her 'Neenu.'"
* The Invoker in ''VideoGame/Dota2'' is arguably the most powerful wizard to ever exist, being immortal, [[IHaveManyNames he has many names,]] [[AscendedMeme but his true name of power... Is Carl]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Everquest}}'' features an efreeti lord by the name of Lord Doljonijiarnimorinar, who is usually just called "Lord Bob." Or, on at least one server, "Lord Poofy-Pants."
* Tka-Rik in ''VideoGame/EvilIslands''.
-->'''Tka Rik (Tka-Lithan Richti-Nik):''' My name would sound to you like Tka-a-Litan Rich-ty-a-Nik. An impatient person like you would probably find it somewhat long, so you may call me simply Tka-Rik.
* Used twice in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', by the hanar Delan (Full name: Delanynder) and the turian Lilihierax, who prefers to be called Li since nobody bothers to get his name right.
** In the case of Delanynder, that isn't even his true name; hanar only use their "soul name" with people they are close to, adopting a "face name" for regular interaction. That is, EVERY hanar uses this trope.
** Salarians seem like this at first, with each one's full name including their home city, planet, cluster, etc. But they are actually [[SubvertedTrope a subversion]] since the last two names on that list ''are'' their family name and personal name. Think of it as an extended introduction, telling someone what province/state and city you live in.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' does this with the alien Omega-Xis, who tells Geo to just call him "Mega" since humans never get his name right.
* Nolaloth (short for Nolalothcaragasint) in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''.
* Andre Laurent Jean Geraux, the foreign exchange student in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', adds immediately after his introduction, "Zey call me Bebe!" The game uses this exclusively afterwards (though in the epilogue, a teacher notes his confusion when giving you Bebe's letter, since his real name was on it).
* In ''VideoGame/PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords'', the protagonist encounters a wolf who introduces himself as "Winter" after telling the player that his wolf name is impossible for a human mouth to pronounce.
* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': Apparently, Schezo's name means "The Gorgeous Man Who Defiles The Gods" in his ancient language. He's almost always referred to as just "Schezo", though.
* In ''VideoGame/StarControl3'', the [[MechanicalLifeforms Daktaklakpak]] are very proud of their racial name, claiming that it is actually a complex mathematical equation completely descriptive of their race. If the player asks for a "short form", they reply that Daktaklakpak ''is'' the short form. [[BerserkButton Just don't call them Daks]].
* The Star Warrior ♡♪!? in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' went by Geno, the name of the doll he's possessing. His name wasn't long but consisted of [[TheUnpronounceable unpronounceable]] symbols.
* ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' has FHTNG TH§ ¿NSP§KBL?. Since his name is practically impossible to pronounce, Oleander just calls her demon sidekick "Fred".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Nrvnqsr Chaos in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. That bundle of consonants is supposed to be read as "Neron Kaisar" (aka "Emperor Nero"). It's the Greek spelling of Nero's title, transliterated into Hebrew (ancient Hebrew did not include vowels when written), then transliterated again into English letters.
** Played with in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' EX Season where Nero is asked by a shop assistant what his name is for a receipt and then asked how to spell it. After thinking about it for a while he gives up and writes Nero, saying "This will do."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', as quoted above.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has an [[SupernaturalAid Immortal]] who chose as the "full name" for herself Pandora Chaos Raven. The "Chaos" part was given by her last minion when she didn't give him any other and her appearance to him fit the name accordingly. According to one of the other Immortals (who goes by Jerry), they usually take random mythological names anyway (HilarityEnsues when [[OneSteveLimit two "Zeus"es meet]]).
* One of the villains from T. Campbell's ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' was a succubus-like creature named Casseopia, a being who fed off of music. When interrogated by two members of Rikk's team, one of whom calls her Cassie, she answers, "My name is not yours to shorten!"
-->'''Meighen:''' God, did we sound this bad when we were into new age?\\
'''Kath:''' All two weeks? Probably.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
** Gilgamesh Wulfenbach has a rather unusual first name, but he mostly goes by "Gil".
** Zola, known as Zola La Sirène Dorée, whose full name is [[spoiler:Zola Anya Talinka Venia Zeblinkya Malfeazium]].
* In the webcomic ''Good Ship Chronicles'', alien crewmember Mike's real name supposedly requires two tongues to pronounce. Then again, he's from Glidden, Wisconsin, so maybe not.
** WordOfGod (via author commentary) is that he was purely pulling the interviewer's (the comic is presented as a documentary) leg. He does that kind of thing all the time. Also, Mike's species possesses only one tongue.
* ''Webcomic/TheHeroesOfMiddlecenter'':
-->'''Old crone''': Some call him a demon. Others call him a monster. I? I call him... Steve.
* In ''Webcomic/LifeAndDeath'' Sally's full name is [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Life_and_Death/4918897/ Salyana Elathna'fury.]]
* In ''Webcomic/Nicky510'', Nicky calls his alien friend [[FunWithAcronyms ELF]]. His real name is Zeelistarpquietzlystermugonnealtröphyremenlelltrepidoorzynqilbroomnelpéleôzmeñofopadotacrañiolysanodriameliaströphelglûterongsaurosynemerclingtipkliölf. After he heard that, he called him [[spoiler:[[PunnyName Ö]][[InSeriesNickname lf]]]].
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Vaarsuvius is addressed by [[AmbiguousGender his/her]] full name roughly as often as simply "V".
** In the prequel book ''Start of Darkness'', Redcloak and his brother tell Xykon their names are Redcloak and Right-Eye after seeing him kill a potential ally for having too long of a name.
* ''Webcomic/ParallelDementia'' has a fire demon...called Tim (although he used to be called Marchosias).
* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' sprite webcomic ''Webcomic/PlanetZebeth'' has the hilarious Trabnagian tribe, the members of which all have ridiculously long names. The first one to appear introduces himself shortly as Syracuse, and his real name is Syracuse von Alfredo Jacobson Smith de Sanguine the Eighth of the Trabnagian tribe. And that's shorter than average.
* ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'': The [[{{Hipster}} hipster]] vampire siblings have names so old and complicated, you'd never be able to pronounce them using ''mainstream'' phonetics. Mimic elects to call them [[Music/VampireWeekend Ezra and Koenig]] instead.
* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', Leelagaleenileeleenoleela goes by "Legs", primarily for the convenience of her fellow Toughs. It's not because [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2002-05-07 she's female.]]
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
** In "That Which Redeems", Torg's [[EmpathicWeapon talking sword]] finds the idea of being given a name rather stupid, but of the possible names it lists, Torg later uses "Chaz" instead of "Weeping God" or "Unholy Evil Death Bringer."
** In "Oceans Unmoving", TheGrays stranded in Timeless Space go by human-sounding names like [[Series/TheATeam "Face" and "Murdock"]]. It's later revealed Face's unpronounceable real name is "Steeeeeeve". In contrast, when Murdock pronounces his actual name, it's so alien as to cause the record being made of him to break down for a moment.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'', Mr. Jinx's name is unpronounceable in our language. As well as in ''his'' language.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', Piccolo's ultimate attack is
-->''"Makkansapakka... Makansappasapap... Masappaka... oh to hell with it - Special Beam Cannon!!"''
* The WebVideo/{{Honest Trailer|s}} for ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' starts out by attempting to pronounce "Creator/RoaldDahl", then gives up and simply calls him "Creepy Creator/DrSeuss".
* The Captain-General in ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', like all [[PraetorianGuard Custodes]], has an OverlyLongName and is called [[EmbarrassingNickname Kitten]] instead. All of the other Custodes simply use the first or first and second names instead.
* From Adamwestlapdog's WebVideo/TheLegendOfZeldaTheAbridgedSeries:
-->'''Odolwa''': So, you have discovered where we were hiding the princess... But that is now irrelevant. Because you will never defeat me- [[BossSubtitles Masked Jungle Warrior]] Odolowa... Odolwerrr... Odol... Odballer... '''Bill'''.
* ''WebVideo/SomecallmeJohnny'': It's in his username, for crying out loud.
-->'''Johnny:''' Hi, my name is Juan Ortiz of the LetsPlay/SuperGamingBros, but some call me Johnny.
* From ''Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG'':
-->1054. I will call the elf druid by his real impossibly long elf name, and not just Llanowar Leafblower.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': Dot's full name is "Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third". But call her Dotty [[BerserkButton and you die]].
* WesternAnimation/DangerMouse and Penfold come across a figure in "The Clock Strikes Back" (the follow-up episode to "The Hickory Dickory Dock Dilemma") who claims to be King Arthur's original wizard. He is formally Hooter [=LaBec=] Longsnout, but he goes by Nozzle.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "Con Heiress", Brian tries to woo a elderly heiress who has an OverlyLongName (perhaps ''the'' longest in all fiction), but often goes by "Pip".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': "In the time it would take to pronounce one letter of my true name, a trillion cosmoses would burst into existence, and wane into eternal night." [[spoiler:...and that's why they call him Nibbler.]]
* In the old MTV cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheHead'', a young man wakes up one day to find that his head is grossly enlarged. Turns out a mostly-benevolent alien purple goblin is hiding inside and can pop out at will. The goblin introduces himself like this: "My name is [string of odd noises], but you can call me Roy.".
* ''WesternAnimation/IvorTheEngine'': Ivor's official title is The locomotive of The Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company Limited.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', where an alien girl tells Jimmy her comically convoluted real name (including a high-pitched wail in the middle), then offers to let him call her "April." He goes through her real name himself to make sure he has it right, at which point she ''insists'' on the nickname.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Princess Celestia's niece has the full name of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. This rather fancy name is adapted as Cadance for the general public. She also seems to personally prefer Cadence over her full name, and "cadenza" is simply the Italian root word for "cadence" anyway.
* In "Come Back, Little Monster" on ''[[WesternAnimation/PBAndJOtter PB&J Otter]]'', when Jelly finally meets the manatee properly, he tells her that his name is (''makes screechy manatee noises'') but says she can call him "Kevin."
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' has Larry from "Fractured." His real name is [[SdrawkcabName nosyarG kciD]]. But Beast Boy had trouble pronouncing it, so he suggested the alternate name, which Larry liked.
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', like her uncle the Martian Manhunter, M'gann M'orze takes on the human name Megan Morse. [[spoiler: "Megan" also just happens to be her favourite TV character.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Blaine_Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfe­schlegelstein­hausenberger­dorffvoraltern­waren­gewissenhaft­schaferswessen­schafewaren­wohlgepflege­und­sorgfaltigkeit­beschutzen­von­angreifen­durch­ihrraubgierigfeinde­welche­voraltern­zwolftausend­jahres­vorandieerscheinen­wander­ersteer­dem­enschderraumschiff­gebrauchlicht­als­sein­ursprung­von­kraftgestart­sein­lange­fahrt­hinzwischen­sternartigraum­auf­der­suchenach­diestern­welche­gehabt­bewohnbar­planeten­kreise­drehen­sich­und­wohin­der­neurasse­von­verstandigmen­schlichkeit­konnte­fortplanzen­und­sicher­freuen­anlebens­langlich­freude­und­ruhe­mit­nicht­ein­furcht­vor­angreifen­von­anderer­intelligent­geschopfs­von­hinzwischen­sternartigraum, Senior, who typically styled himself "Hubert Wolfe+585 Sr."]]
* Creator/JackieChan got what would eventually be his stage name while working as a construction worker in Australia, as the foreman had trouble pronouncing his birth name (Chan Kong-Sang). He's not the only Chinese person to do so, many Chinese people (and some other Asian nationalities as well) have both Chinese and Western names -- for example, Lee Jun-fan, better known as Creator/BruceLee. This is especially true of those working in jobs where they are in regular contact with foreign co-workers.
* On the topic of celebrities with anglicized names, there's [[Music/FreddieMercury Farrokh Bulsara]], [[Creator/BenKingsley Krishna Bhanji]], [[Creator/JoanRivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky]], [[Creator/GeneWilder Jerome Silberman]], [[Creator/AynRand Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum]], [[Creator/HedyLamarr Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler]], [[Creator/WoodyAllen Allan Stewart Konigsberg]], [[Music/BobDylan Robert Allen Zimmerman]], [[Creator/PeterLorre ‎László Löwenstein]], [[Creator/NataliePortman Neta-Lee Hershlag]], [[Creator/KirkDouglas Issur Danielovitch Demsky]], [[Creator/EdwardGRobinson Emanuel Goldenberg]], [[Creator/TomStoppard Tomáš Straussler]], [[Creator/DorisDay Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff]], [[Creator/SophiaLoren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone]], [[Creator/AnneBancroft Anna Maria Louisa Italiano]], [[Music/LadyGaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta]], [[Music/{{Lorde}} Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor]], [[Creator/MishaCollins Dmitri Tippens Krushnic]], [[Creator/MartinSheen Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez]] and his son [[Creator/CharlieSheen Carlos Irwin Estevez]], [[Music/CardiB Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar]], [[Creator/RitaHayworth Margarita Carmen Cansino]], [[Music/TheWeeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye]], [[Music/NipseyHussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom]], [[Music/DojaCat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini]], [[Creator/TomOfFinland Touko Valio Laaksonen]] …
* The final presidential election debate in 2008 introduced the entire United States to S. Joseph Wurzelbacher, more easily remembered as Joe the Plumber.
* Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig El Abderahman El Mohammed Ahmed El Abdel Karim El Mahdi, who first shortened his name to Siddig El Fadil when he became an actor, and later simplified it further to Alexander Siddig. He has appeared in works such as ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', ''Film/VerticalLimit'', ''Film/{{Syriana}}'' and ''Series/TwentyFour''.
* Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y [[Creator/PabloPicasso Picasso]].
* Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim, A.K.A. Pedro I, first Emperor of Brazil.
* Edison Arantes do Nascimento, also known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9 Pelé.]]
* Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Ducas Komnenos Gagliardi de Curtis of Byzantium, His Imperial Highness, Palatine Count, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, Exarch of Ravenna, Duke of Macedonia and Illyria, Prince of Constantinople, Cilicia, Thessaly, Ponthus, Moldavia, Dardania, Peloponnesus, Count of Cyprus and Epirus, Count and Duke of Drivasto and Durazzo, actor, poet, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZnOmjj_Suw composer]]... better known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tot%C3%B2 Totò.]]
* More a matter of having an [[TheUnpronounceable unpronounceable]] first name than an overly long set of names (although the surname is pretty unwieldy by itself), but Alabama State basketballer Grlenntys Chief Kickingstallionsims Jr. uses his middle name. The last name is still there.
* Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette... better known to Americans simply as Lafayette.
* Common when dealing with the ancient Romans. For example, dealing with one particular family:
** First, there is Gaius '''[[UsefulNotes/GaiusJuliusCaesar Julius Caesar]]''', more commonly known by only his last two names.
** Next was his adopted son, Gaius Julius Caesar '''UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}}''', the first Roman emperor. ("Augustus" is not a name, but rather a title bestowed upon him by the Senate.)
** Then there was '''Tiberius''' Claudius Nero, later known as Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus.
** ...Who is not to be confused with Tiberius '''Claudius''' Drusus Nero Germanicus (later Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Caesar Augustus Germanicus Brittanicus).
** There is also, of course, '''UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}''' Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, whose birth name was Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.
** And finally, we have Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, who is known not by any of these names, but by his childhood nickname '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}} Caligula]]'''.
* Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg -- a little lake in Massachusetts with a very long name. It more or less means "fishing place at the boundary/neutral meeting grounds", which New England humor has translated to "You fish on your side, we fish on our side, nobody fish in the middle". The lake is most often called Webster Lake, after the town it's located in.
* There's the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales in the UK, which is rendered on road signs as "Llanfair P.G.".
* Greek was the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean in antiquity. Hebrew has some sounds and naming conventions that give Greek speakers fits (in particular, Greek doesn't have a "sh" sound). So many biblical Jewish figures are now known by Hellenized versions of their names--"Moshe" became "Moses", "Shlomo" became "Solomon", and most notably, "Yeshua" became "Jesus". A Jew who did any traveling would be pretty likely to also have a Greek name just to make it easier on other folks--so Sha'ul ("Saul") of Tarsus went by the handle "Paulus" ("Paul").
* German Politician Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp [[http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/10/2211220 Wilhelm]] Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. Generally known as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, or more recently, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl-Theodor_zu_Guttenberg#Doctorate_plagiarism The Man Who Would Have Been Chancellor (If He Hadn't Cheated On His Exams).]]
* Many Catholics have many more names than their public persona admits to. German composers Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus ("Wolfgang") Theophilus ("Amadeus") Mozart and Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian ("Max") Reger, for example.
* [[Franchise/StarWars Kenny Baker]] recalls that when his kids were younger and met Creator/HarrisonFord they had trouble pronouncing his name. Harrison's response was to say "Call me Peaches."
* Examples in UsefulNotes/{{Soviet|RussiaUkraineAndSoOn}} history:
** Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili had a perfectly normal name in his homeland of UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope, but the Georgian language belongs to a very small and distinctive family unrelated to larger linguistic groups, so some difficulty was inevitable at a time when Georgia was part of the massive multi-ethnic empire of UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia. Thus, during his early years of revolutionary activity, he went by the code name of Koba (after a bandit in the novel ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patricide The Patricide]]'' by Georgian author [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kazbegi Alexander Kazbegi]]). Later, after UsefulNotes/RedOctober, he officially changed his name to the one by which most people know him: UsefulNotes/JosefStalin.
** Stalin's rival was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein but went by UsefulNotes/LeonTrotsky, likely because his birth name indicated Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, and emphasising that wouldn't have done him many favours in a highly antisemitic society.
** UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev was often called "K" in the Anglophone press. Never mind that the correct pronunciation of the first letter in Russian would be more like "H"...
* D.C. rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin likes to go by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wale_(rapper) a shortened version of his first name]]. Similarly, the English actor John Adedayo B. Adegboyega (born to UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}}n parents in UsefulNotes/{{London}}) is better known by his {{stage name|s}} of Creator/JohnBoyega, Mathangi Arulpragasam goes by Music/{{MIA}}, Cherilyn Sarkisian goes by Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JohnKricfalusi is more often referred to as John K., and UsefulNotes/BarackObama went by the name "Barry" from his childhood all the way through college because he got tired of people pronouncing his first name wrong.
* Karangahape Road, one of UsefulNotes/{{Auckland}}'s main streets, is usually called "K Road" for short.
* The famous UsefulNotes/{{Northern Ir|eland}}ish Anglican writer [[Creator/CSLewis Clive Staples Lewis]] went by "Jack" among his friends. An unusual example in that he actually insisted on that himself since he never liked his name to begin with.
* François Marie Arouet -- you might know him as Creator/{{Voltaire}}.
* New Zealand has a place named "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu", which happens to be one of the longest in the world. It means "the summit where Tamatea, the man with big knees, who climbed mountains, ate his way through mountains, and explored the earth, played a flute to mourn his dead brother". And the mouthful above is the ''short version''.[[note]]The long version is "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaurehaeahaumaitawhitituripukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu".[[/note]]
* Ever heard of a certain Margaretha Geertruida [=MacLeod=]? No? Well then, how about UsefulNotes/MataHari?
* Mahershalalhashbaz Ali realized the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher-shalal-hash-baz Biblical name]] is too hard and shortened it to just Creator/MahershalaAli, and people still have trouble with that.
* The controversial pickup artist Daryush Valizadeh is better known under the moniker of Roosh V.
* Pharaoh UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}, or "King Tut" for short.
* In the ''Mensa Puzzle Book'', the late Mensa chairman Victor Serebriakoff claimed that when he was in the British Army, his superior officer decided "From now on, in this man's army, your name is Smith!"
* Creator/EliezerYudkowsky has been nicknamed "Big Yud" ([[https://twitter.com/esyudkowsky/status/1219327143949111296 and has since complained]] on Website/{{Twitter}} that the nickname should be "Medium Yud" now that he's lost weight).
* In Ontario, Canada several small townships merged together to save on overhead, creating the municipality of United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde. Even in official records it's generally shortened to 'Dysart et al'.
* UsefulNotes/{{Bangkok}}'s ceremonial name: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok#Name Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit]]. The shortened form of this in UsefulNotes/{{Thai|land}} is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, or more colloquially just Krung Thep (while the name "Bangkok" is used mainly by foreigners).
* Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, better known as Music/DustySpringfield.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] is colloquially known, especially to outsiders, as the Mormon Church after [[Literature/TheBookOfMormon their best-known holy text]]. Interestingly, "UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}}" also encompasses a number of other churches: the largest being the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Christ Community of Christ]], but the most notorious being the {{cult colon|y}}ies (such as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints]]) that still practice polygamy. But the main LDS Church tends to be thought of as ''the'' "Mormon Church," since it comprises about 98 percent of the Latter Day Saint movement. Ironically, in recent decades the LDS Church has been ''less'' amenable than some other such churches to the "Mormon" label--partly to distinguish themselves from the infamous splinter sects like the FLDS Church, who wholeheartedly embrace the term, and partly to draw ''less'' of a distinction from non-LDS Christians, who often [[NoTrueScotsman regard "Mormonism" as separate]] from UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} (as do many non-Christians, for that matter).
* Likewise, members of the Religious Society of Friends are colloquially called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quakers Quakers]].
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