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So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, — but always me. — George S. Patton, Through a Glass, Darkly
Verence: Are you Death, fellow? Death: I have many names. Verence: Which one are you using at present? — Wyrd Sisters
The opposite of No Name Given: characters with so many names, aliases, and/or titles that it's hard to keep track of them. An attempt to do so ends up with an Overly Long Name.
Gods and whatnot tend to have hundreds of names.
Bonus points if the character lists these names in the form of a Badass Boast, in which case some of them are probably Awesome McCoolnames.
In a comedy, expect one of the names to be noticeably different from the others, and/or somewhat less than impressive.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Yugi's alter-ego recites this line in the Yu-Gi-Oh! dub (which shouldn't technically count); but he's been referred to as Pharaoh (sometimes Nameless Pharaoh), Yami (for a few dub episodes, this is more often a Fanon name), Spirit (also for a few episodes), Mou Hitori no Boku (what Yugi calls him in the Japanese version, "the other me"), and his true name, Atem.
- Both Kenshiro and Raoh have at least two titles on Fist Of The North Star: Raoh is known as both Ken-Oh (Fist King) and The Conqueror of the Century's End, and Kenshiro is called The Man With the Seven Scars and The Savior of the Century's End.
- Van from Gun X Sword has a large amount of nicknames, and is referred to by a different one in each episode. The two most frequently used are "Van of the Dawn" and "Van the Nice Guy", although others that people known him by are downright insulting (i.e. "Garbage Can Van").
- Evangeline Athanasia Katherina McDowell from Mahou Sensei Negima seems to get more and more of these as time goes by. The Dark Evangel, the Magus Nosferatu, the Doll Master, the Queen of the Night. Usually uttered by other mages to emphasize how casual the main group has gotten with her — and just how much of a figure of terrifying darkness she is to everyone else.
- Subverted shortly after Anya arrives. When she expresses disbelief born of terror that Negi and his girls are training under Evangeline, Yue recites Eva's full roster of aliases in a bored tone to emphasize that yes, this Evangeline is indeed that Evangeline, and yeah, they know all about her reputation.
- To quote a full list from The Other Wiki: Evangelina Athanasia Ecatherina MacDovell (on her anime-only pactio card), Dark Evangel/Gospel, Maga Nosferatu, The Queen of The Night, Eva, The Doll Master, The Apostle of Destruction, The Tidings of Evil, Puppet Master, Dreaded Vampire, The High Daylight Walker Evangeline, The Girl Queen of Darkness, The Visitation of Woe, Evil Sound, The Disciple of Dark Tones, Disciple of Catastrophic Noise, and The Gospel of Darkness. Her classmates call her Eva-chan, Negi usually calls her Evangeline-san when not in training, and Albireo Imma calls her Kitty.
- This is parodied by Jack Rakan, who has names like "The Thousand Blades" and "Legendary Hero" among the common people. He is also known as "The Invincible Idiot" and "That Damn Guy You Can Stab With Swords All You Like and It Won't Do a Thing, Damnit" among those who actually know him.
- L from Death Note definitely counts. L isn't his real name (It's L Lawliet). His aliases include Hideki Ryuga (for when he goes to Light's college), Ryuzaki (how the Kira Investigation force refers to him), Eraldo Coil (the second greatest detective in the world), and Deneuve (the third-greatest detective in the world).
- And of course Lina Inverse, who has among her titles: the Bandit Killer, the Enemy Of All Who Live, Lina The Pink, and the Dragon Spooker (in the dub).
- Possibly subverted by Coyote Ragtime Show by Mister, who has so many aliases and false identities that "Mister" is the only thing he can reliably be called.
- Baccano's Claire Stanfield a.k.a Vino, Rail Tracer, and a number of aliases that he changes about every week or so before finally sticking with Felix Walken for legal reasons like getting married. His stepbrothers are more than a little annoyed with this practice.
- Hei (a name which in itself is an alias) from Darker than Black has a number of them, including Li Shenshun, BK201, the Black Reaper, and (thanks to one of his slashfic-writing Loony Fans) "the masked man with delicious collarbones"...Hey, he had no control over that last one, okay?
- Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHoLiC has gained quite the long list of names over the course of her career, including the Time-Space Witch, the Dimensional Witch, the Far East Witch, and the Girl Witch, and that's just for starters. Even the name she gives Watanuki is just another pseudonym.
Comics
- Dream from The Sandman is a prime example of this trope since he "collects names as others collect friends" (To wit, Morpheus, Dreamlord, The Sandman, Oneiros, Kai'ckul, Lord L'zoril, Shaper of Forms, and many more).
- Another Neil Gaiman example: Mr. Wednesday (Odin — yes, the Norse god) introduces himself like this in American Gods, and later claims to have as many names as there are ways for a human to die.
- Galactus is said by the Silver Surfer to have many names. We just used his.
- In Marvel's Thor, when faced up against the Midgard Serpent when it does not know him, Thor identifies himself with an authentic reeling off of his names from mythology.
- Marvel's Hank Pym has had at least four superhero names, usually with slight variation in powers associated with each. The first two times were plot-based, but on occasion he's apparently just decided "I'm going to be Yellowjacket today".
- He is now using his dead wife's codename... The man has serious issues.
- Not completly. Sure, Hank's not exactly the poster boy for sanity, but this troper took Hank taking "Wasp" as a codename to be quite sweet, kind of a variation on Dead Guy Junior.
- As immortals, the Eternals have all used numerous names over the millenia, but The Forgotten One, aka Hero, aka Dragon-Slayer, aka Gilgamesh, is the grand champion; he has a ton and can't decide which one to use. Hercules even got into a spat with him for using his name. Meanwhile his real name is still unknown, making him No Name Given as well.
- Hero Hotline strongman Sturgis Butterfield has been Mister Muscle, Muscle Man, Brother Bicep, Mister Mighty, and Flex.
- "Some know him as Nester 13, others know him simply as N 13, or Count Onme, or Scooter, but no one really knows his true name."
- Superman kind of fits. Although he has two real names: "Kal-El" (or "Kal-L") and "Clark Kent", and one main codename "Superman" he has gone by other names, such as "Nightwing". Then you add all the nicknames, such as "The Man of Steel", "The Big Blue Boy Scout", "The Big Blue Cheese" (a Shout Out to Captain Marvel), "The Last Son of Krypton", "the Red-Blue Blur" (in Smallville) and probably more I can't remember.
- Nicknames shouldn't really count, as almost all established superheroes accumulate a passel of them. Spider-Man has "wall-crawler," "web-slinger," "webhead," and "Spidey"; Batman has "the caped crusader," "Bats," "Dark Knight," "the Goddamn Batman;" etc.
- A better example would be Captain America/Steve Rogers. At various times in his career, Cap has also gone by "The Captain" and "Nomad" (among others), while his civilian aliases have included "Grant Rogers", "Buck Jones", "Roger Stevens", and "Brett Hendrick".
- Outside of the original Captain Mar-Vell, various Marvel Universe characters that take on the title of 'Marvel' in their superhero title at some point wind up changing their alias multiple times.
- Monica Rambeau: Captain Marvel, Photon, Pulsar, Daystar, Sceptre, Lady of Light, Monica Marvel
- Genis-Vell: Legacy, Captain Marvel, Photon
- Phyla-Vell: Captain Marvel, Quasar, Martyr
- Robert 'Bob' Grayson: Marvel Boy, The Crusader, the Uranian.
- Carol Danvers: Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird and back to Ms Marvel again.
- Noh-Varr: Marvel Boy and Captain Marvel
- Vasquez parodies this with Senor Juan Diablo complaining about all the foolish names humans keep inventing for him, and insisting on his real name. He then compromises and lets Johnny The Homicidal Maniac call him Mister Satan.
- The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen does this with a few people, combining several characters from established fiction into a single person
- Orlando is Virginia Woolf's Orlando as well as Roland, the Mona Lisa, Orlando the Marmalade Cat and "O" from The Story of O
- Robert Kim Cherry is Bob Cherry from the Billy Bunter stories, Harry Lime, "M", and "Mother" from The Avengers
- Oliver Haddo, an Aleister Crowley analogue, is known as Simon Iff, Dr. Carswell Trelawney, Adrian Marcato, and Hjalmar Poelzig, all names of fictional counterparts to the real Crowley
Fan Works
Films — Live Action
- The Devil's Advocate has that immortal exchange:
Kevin Lomax: What are you? John Milton: Oh, I have so many names! Kevin Lomax: Satan. John Milton: Call me Dad.
- Or from Constantine:
Gabriel: Son of Perdition. Little Horn! Most Unclean! Satan: [nostalgic] I do miss the old names.
- In Ghostbusters, the Big Bad Sumerian deity Gozer was also known as "The Traveler", "The Destructor", "Volguus Zildrohar" and "Gozer the Gozerian". (And the Master System game calls him "Gorza", but that's probably just a bad translation.)
- The sequel, Ghostbusters II, had Vigo the Carpathian. Who also went by "Vigo the Cruel", "Vigo the Torturer", "Vigo the Despised", and "Vigo the Unholy", but not "Vigo the Butch". He claims himself as the "Scourge of Carpathia" and the "Sorrow of Moldavia".
- In Pans Labyrinth, the faun tells us that he has had many names, "names that only the trees and the mountains can remember," but he doesn't tell us any of them. The film's English title implies that "Pan" is one of them though the original Spanish title, El Laberinto del Fauno, would be more accurately be translated "The Faun's Labyrinth".
- Although the Faun's description of himself would indeed seem to suggest that he is Pan, the director, Guillermo del Toro, has stated that Pan would have been far too dangerous and fickle for the role. Seeing what the Faun was like, it does bring the question of how del Toro would have depicted Pan, himself.
- David Ryder from the So Bad Its Good film Space Mutiny had many cheesy names bestowed upon him by Mike and the 'Bots. "Flint Ironstag!" "Bolt Vanderhuge!" ... "Bob Johnson! Wait..."
- The TV movie Monster Maker, which was shown on the Jim Henson Hour, has a scene with the following quote: "I have many names. I have many faces. Yours too, Matthew Banting."
- The Big Lebowski: "I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. Or, you know, Duder, or His Dudeness, or El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing."
- Cary Grant's character in Charade has a ton of aliases. At the end of the film, he proposes to Audrey Hepburn:
Hepburn: Oh, I love you, Adam, Alex, Peter, Brian, whatever your name is, oh, I love you! I hope we have a lot of boys, and we can name them all after you!
- Phantom Of The Paradise:
- Heavenly Creatures is the Real Life story about a girl named Pauline Reiper, Paul to her girl-friend Juliet and Yvonne (her middle name) to her parents. She also calls herself Gina, and writes role-playing letters as the fictional King Charles. On top of all that when she's arrested for murdering her mother it's revealed that her parents never married so she's tried under her mom's name, Parker. As for Juliet, she's also known as Deborah and both obviously used pseudonyms once they were released from prison. Also, Pauline renames Bill — her lovesick suitor — "Nicholas" because it sounds better.
- The demon who took Alessa's form in the film of Silent Hill claims this.
- Irwin Fletcher, of Fletch, uses an extremely large number of aliases, including Ted Nugent, Gordon Liddy, Don Corleone, and Harry S. Truman.
- ...the Desolate One! The First of the Fallen, the Spoiler of Virgins, the Master of Abortions! Let me help you out of your chair, grandma!!!
- In 200 Motels, Rance Muhammitz is just one of the M.C.'s names. Apparently, he also goes by Opal You Hot Little Bitch...
- Michael J. Fox's character in The Secretof My Success only had two: his real name, Brantley Foster, and his alias for faking his way into a position of prominence at his uncle's company, Carlton Whitfield. However, the nature of the business world leads to people referring to him casually as only a first or last name. When, at a party, he's addressed by all four names by various partygoers, he explains to his date that his parents weren't satisfied with just one name. "My monogram looks like an eyechart."
Literature
- Milady from Three Musketeers. She uses or is referred to by the following names throughout the novel:
- Charlotte Backson (the name Milady's brother-in-law, Lord de Winter, attempts to bestow upon her in his plan to banish her to the colonies)
- Anne de Breuil (the name Athos knew Milady by when he met her)
- Comtesse de La Fère (the title and name Milady assumed when she married Athos, who was Comte de La Fère a the time)
- Milady de Winter, Baroness of Sheffield (the general name Milady is referred to throughout the story)
- Lady Clarick (a variation on the previous name; in some English translations, this is translated as Clarisse or Clarice)
- Athos even makes a sober gibe at that (at least he did in the Russian film): "So many of you and so few of me..."
- Les Miserables: Jean Valjean, being a fugitive, refers to himself as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent, Monsieur Leblanc and Urbain Fabre over the course of the work. Javert becomes Monsieur DeMasi, Les Gremlin and Hano'n. Not to mention Euphrasie/Cosette/The Lark.
- Most characters in Russian novels fit this trope, having a first name, patronymic, surname, Russian nickname, and English nickname(s). So in Anna Karenina, Darya, Darya Alexandrovna, Princess Oblonskaya and Dolly are all the same person, and she may be referred to by all these names in a single conversation. This troper was halfway through One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich before realising that Ivan Denisovich and Shukhov were the same man...
- Randall Flagg in the works of Stephen King has been known as Walter Padick, Walter O'Dim, Richard Fry, Russell Faraday, Robert Franq, Marten Broadclaok, The Man In Black, The Walkin' Dude, Maerlyn, and a few others.
- The Dark Tower reveals Walter Paddick is his real name.
- Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings: "Many are my names in many countries: Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkun to the Dwarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incanus, in the North Gandalf, to the east I go not."
- Don't forget Gandalf Greyhame, Gandalf the Grey, The Grey Pilgrim (a translation of Mithrandir), The White Rider and Gandalf the White. Also Greybeard, Stormcrow and Lathspell (Ill-news) as insults.
- 'Aragorn son of Arathorn, chieftain of the Dunedain of Arnor, Captain of the Host of the West, bearer of the Star of the North, wielder of the Sword Reforged, victorious in battle, whose hands bring healing, the Elfstone, Elessar of the line of Valandil, Isildur's son, Elendil's son of Numenor. And that's before he added the royal titles...
- In the Affectionate Parody Bored of the Rings', Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt, True Son of Araplane — the Aragorn-analogue — drops the Trope name while parodying the above scene. His allies heave a long-suffering sigh as they confirm it to be true while at the same time keeping him from actually reciting the names.
- Tom Bombadil is called "Forn" by the dwarves, also known by the Men as Orald. And by the Elves as Iarwain Ben-Adar ("the eldest and fatherless").
- Sauron has many, many names (and titles), the most amusing of which is probably The Nameless One. Depending on how you count, he can easily beat even Aragorn and Gandalf.
- And Nazgul/Black Riders/Ringwraiths/The Nine. Ringwraiths is a translation of Nazgul.
- Even Frodo and Sam got elvish nicknames in the drafts (which translate as Endurance Beyond Hope and Hope Unquenchable).
- Tolkien liked this in general, which is understandable — it's extremely common in mythology, and he was a mythological scholar.
- It might also be attributable to the fact that he was a linguist first and foremost. It's generally only in fiction that very old things, places, races, etc., have only one name. In real life, these things accumulate many names from different peoples, languages, and contexts. Tolkien always wrote with the different linguistic contexts in mind.
- Túrin son of Húrin from The Silmarillion is also called the Mormegil, the son of Morwen, Adanedhel, Neithan, Gorthol, Agarwaen son of Umarth, Mormegil, Thurin, and Turambar. Played with in that he deliberately chose all but his birth name for himself as part of an attempt to avoid his destiny. It didn't work.
- They look petty after Turin, but one shouldn't forget Galadriel/Galadhriel/Alatáriel (same name with mistaken etymology and therefore spelling or in a different if related language), also called Artanis, also called Nerwen; her brother Finrod, Findarato, Felagund (Lord of Caves), Nom the Wise, Lord of Nargothrond; or her cousin Nelyafinwë, also called Maitimo, Russandol and Doegred Winstrehand, but more commonly known as Maedhros the Tall. All the sons of Fëanor have a fair share of names for that matter (father name + mother name + Sindarin name + Old English name...not to mention a standard epithet, ie, Curufin the Dark or Celegorm the Fair)
- Entish names are the full and long winded description of the named object, so, if they could be translated, they would most likely be this trope taken Up To Eleven.
- Last of the Mohicans is full of this, as most characters have an English name, a French name, and an Indian name. And sometimes a nickname for good measure. Cora and Alice are exceptions.
- The protagonist (Natty Bumpoo) has gone by many names over his lifetime, but in this particular novel is most often called Hawkeye. The French call him La Longue Carabine.
- Magua is called The Sly Fox, or in French, Le Renard Subtil.
- Dirk Gently from Douglas Adams's "Holistic Detective" series of books apparently changes his name on a periodic basis for reasons that he rarely explains. He started life (apparently) as Svlad Cjelli, but by the time of the first book, he is doing business as Dirk Gently.
- Reasons which might be related to the way he will look at you as if trying to figure out whether he owes you money, and if not, whether you might lend him some.
- Terry Pratchett's Death, as mentioned in the quote. In the Discworld book Mort, a list of his titles includes "The Stealer of Souls, Defeater of Empires, Swallower of Oceans, Thief of Years, The Ultimate Reality, Harvester of Mankind" before Death himself gets fed up and interrupts the herald announcing him.
- Pteppic, new pharaoh of Djelibeybi in Pyramids, is referred to by his stubbornly traditional high priest Dios when meeting foreign diplomats as "His Greatness the King Pteppicymon XXVIII, Lord of the Heavens, Charioteer of the Wagon of the Sun, Steersman of the Barque of the Sun, Guardian of the Secret Knowledge, Lord of the Horizon, Keeper of the Way, the Flail of Mercy, the High-Born One, the Never-dying King" every time he opens his mouth.
- It is mentioned in Thud! and possibly The Fifth Elephant that a vampire, having plenty of free time because of their long life, tends to spend much of it making up the longest possible names. In Thud!, we're introduced to a new vampire on the Watch, and her name is told to Vimes as, "Salacia...the names go on for a few pages, but they end in 'von Humpding'."
- Or Moist von Lipwig, conman extraordinaire. He was hung under the name Albert Spangler, but he used lots of others, including (apparently) "Ethel Snake".
- Granny Weatherwax is known to the dwarfs as "She Who Is To Be Avoided" and to the trolls as "Go Around the Other Side of the Mountain," titles about which she has mixed feelings.
- Paul Atreides from Dune has been called "Muad'Dib", "Usul", "the Emperor", "Kwisatz Haderach", "Mahdi", and "the Preacher".
- Many of the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods in H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos have many names. Examples include Azathoth ("The Blind Idiot God", "The Nuclear Chaos" or "The Daemon Sultan"), Nyarlathotep ("The Crawling Chaos" or "The Messager and Soul of the Outer Gods"), Shub Niggurath ("The Black Goat in the Woods with a Thousand Young"), and of course Cthulhu ("The Sleeping God", "Master of R'lyeh" or "The Great Priest") himself.
- When it comes to the number of names, Nyarlathotep is pretty much the undisputed champ: he has a thousand different forms, each with its own name. Examples include "The Haunter in the Dark", "The Black Man", "The Dark Pharaoh" and 997 more.
- This tendency is oft-parodied in the Discworld 'verse. In Discworld Noir, for example, the Cosmic Horror summoned up is called Nylonathotep, the Laddering Horror. Who can be contacted using the Necrotelecomnicon.
- Moorcock's Eternal Champion often does the actual "I have many names" line, especially John Daker, who got so confused by all the lifetimes he could remember that he often just used Erekosë (the first of the alternate lives he was pulled into) rather than trying to keep track of who he was at the moment.
- Unsurprisingly in a work steeped in myth, lore, and legend, Rand al'Thor suffers from this in The Wheel of Time: he is known as the Dragon Reborn, He Who Comes with the Dawn, the Car'a'carn, and the Coramoor, not to mention all the lands he has become king or lord of, and he's also the reincarnation of Lews Therin Telamon who has own set of lengthy titles: Lord of the Morning (which may overlap with another title - prince of the dawn), the Dragon, Kinslayer, Ruler of the Nine Rods of Dominion, Wearer of the Ring of Tamyrlin...
- Also, the Dark One, who is known by a different name virtually everywhere, and the Forsaken, who all have at least two names- their birth names, of which we only know a few, and the ones the Dark One gave them, plus all of the aliases they have taken, and the rebirths. For example, we have Elan Morin/Ishamael/Moridin/Ba'alzamon/Destroyer Of Hope/Nae'blis, Mieren/Lanfear/Silvie/Selene/Keille and (True Name Unknown)/Balthamel/Aran'gar/Halima.
- Parodied, like many other tropes, in David Eddings' Malloreon, in the form of another Overly Long Gag:
King Belgarion of Riva, Overlord of the West, Lord of the Western Sea, Godslayer, and general all-around hero, had an extended argument with his co-ruler, Queen Ce'Nedra of Riva, Imperial Princess of the Tolnedran Empire and Jewel of the House of Borune. The subject of their discussion hinged on the question of just who should have the privilege of carrying Crown Prince Geran, Heir to the Throne of Riva, hereditary Keeper of the Orb, and, until recently, the Child of Dark.
- Lord Foul from ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: "I have many names. To the Lords of Revelstone I am Lord Foul the Despiser; to the Giants of Seareach, Satansheart and Soulcrusher. The Ramen name me Fangthane. In the dreams of the Bloodguard, I am Corruption. But the people of the Land call me the Gray Slayer." He is also called the Master and the Maker. Later he picks up another — A'Jeroth, Lord of the Seven Hells.
- John C. Wright's Chaos trilogy (The Orphans of Chaos, The Fugitives of Chaos, and The Titans of Chaos) makes full use of the many names of the Greek gods who appear as characters in the book. Normally, they are referred to by legitimate but obscure variants, but they can engage in a Badass Boast that rattles them off. The title characters have two sets of names that they know of, and additional ones when they escape their Laser Guided Amnesia; in a I Know Your True Name situation, a villain tries to invoke all three sets of names to use magic on them, and is foiled because one of them hid one of his names.
- The titular character of The Bartimaeus Trilogy does this a lot. However, only the main one seems to have power over him. Additionally none of them are his true name, but Bartimaeus is forced onto his nameless essence to summon him.
- In the John Brunner fantasy novel The Traveler in Black, the title character is described as "having many names, but only one nature".
- In Robert A Heinlein's novel Glory Road, the female lead actually uses this phrase when she tells narrator/main character Oscar Gordon:
" I have many names... Would you like to call me 'Etarre'? ... Or it could be 'Esther' just as closely. Or 'Aster.' Or even 'Estrellita.'"
- Sam, the protagonist of Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, lists some of his many names in the opening of the book. Of course, he is the self-styled Buddha of his world, and the Buddha also had many names. It's never revealed whether Sam is also his original given name, or just something English-sounding that he fashioned from the title Mahasamatman.
- Well, given that "Mahasamatman" is supposed to translate as "Great-souled Sam", this troper suspects that "Sam" is his real name, given that "maha" is Sanskrit for "great" and "atman" is Sanskrit for "soul".
- Or Conrad Nomikos, in Roger Zelazny's "This Immortal", who has tons of names, all starting with Konstantin, because he's been creating a new identity for himself every twenty years or so for centuries.
- The Lone Power of Young Wizards seems to have at least one name from every type of being It's ever involved Itself with. And since Its role in the universe is to run around trying to corrupt everyone...
- Machu Picchu (Peach), the helpful parrot, also turns out to have had *cough* a few previous names.
- Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Nine Billion Names of God".
- Sovereigns in Fiona Patton's Tales of the Branion Realm, patterned after medieval Britain, are styled: "Aristok of Branion, Heathland, Kormandeux, Aquilliard and Roland, Gracious Sovereign of the Triarchy, Most High Patron of the Knights of the Sword, Hereditary Earl of the Columbas Islands, and Vessel of the Living Flame." Not only do these titles increase (since the series spans several centuries), the Aristok is required to repeat them all during her coronation ceremony.
- In The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold, after uncovering a third alias Victor Rotha / Lord Vorkosigan / Admiral Naismith has been using, Cavilo asks "How many people are you, anyway?"
- Almost every freaking major character in The Acts Of Caine.
- No one's put He Who Must Not Be Named yet?
- In P.C. Hodgell's Chronicles of the Kencyrath, heroine Jame picks up many names. Her real name is Jamethiel, but that's an ill-fated name to give anyone because of the infamy of its last bearer, so she's Jame — but many people try and back-form the nickname to Jameth, since it's the only name in her culture except for the bad one that would have that abbreviation. She is called Talisman in the thieves' guild, the B'Tyrr (which also means Talisman) as a tavern dancer, and Jamie by her old tutor. Her epithets include Priest's Bane and Lordan of Ivory.
- Jack Shaftoe of Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle is known as Half-Cocked Jack (for two reasons), L'Emmerdeur, the King of the Vagabonds, Ali Zaybak, Quicksilver, Sword of Divine Fire, and Jack the Coiner.
- Lovecraft sometimes plays this straight (especially with passages from The Necronomicon) but often subverts it by having any given story be internally consistant with the name, but using a variation of the name or title in other stories.
- Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness
- The Shadow had numerous alternate identities such as John Haverson, Henry Arnaud, Lamont Cranston, George Clarendon, Fritz, Clifford Gage, etc. Of course, anonymity was much more his MO than it usually is with masked heroes. The Gray Seal had the alternate identity of Larry the Bat. The Spider had the alternate identity of Blinky McQuade.
- In the X Wing Series, Gara Petothal/Lara Nostil/Kirney Slane once says in the narration that she can't clearly remember all the names she's had, or what she's done in each identity. She's a form of Deep Cover Agent, and deeply messed up.
- From Altered Carbon, Takeshi Lev Kovacs, variously known as Mamba Lev, The Icepick, One Hand Rending.
- In Incarnations Of Immortality Peirs Anthony's character Satan is also known as the lord of lies, master of evil, lord of the flies, Belezebub, Luficer, and Parry.
Live Action TV
- The Doctor from Doctor Who is a more unusual version of the trope. He has many nicknames, aliases, and titles, but his real and/or original name is unknown to most people, including the viewers.
- Anyone else remember the Spy-Comedy Spy Game? (Heck, it's been so long, that may not even be the title.) I think it was on CBS. The two main characters — a bickering spy Odd Couple — needled one another about their names from time to time. Then, the male half of the duo is called by five different and dirt-common male names in the space of five minutes by different people. It became a Running Gag for that episode, as I recall.
- Parodied in The Mighty Boosh, where one of the minor characters has so many names it becomes an Overly Long Gag. In the stage version, most of the names are Ad Lib.
Rudi: Some call me... Mystery Man. Others know me as the Shadow Dweller. Some call me Secret Peter — where is he hiding, in a shoe, in a bush, in a rock, in a side cupboard, in a lane? No! He is inside your self. Some call me Miraculous Mark, diviner of mysteries. Others call me Hreeerereereeerereereeeereeereeereereer Smith. Some call me Hammer-ah-ooooooooooooooh Eep... it's my surname. Other know me as Domino.... the bounty hunter. Some call me Titty Titty Bramen, but others know me as Clive. I... am sometimes called Peppercorn... by the Dutch. (to Vince) You could step in here at any point, you know. You don't have to leave me dangling like a tit in the breeze.
Vince: Go on, do one more.
Rudi: Some call me Cillit Bang. (audience cheers) But you may call me... Rudi.
- Sweet, the dancing demon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Musical Episode, claims to have had a hundred names, though he doesn't tell us any of them — even "Sweet" we only get from the credits.
- Star Trek The Next Generation has Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed. She is also Deanna Troi's mother, a chief ambassador for Betazed, and a great thorn in Captain Picard's side. In one episode, Deanna exasperatedly points out that at least some of those titles are obsolete, and "The Sacred Chalice of Rixx is an old
cup clay pot with mold growing in it." The first series of her titles eventually became a Badass Creed in an Expanded Universe novel when Lwaxana beat the snot out of Q
- Punctuating each title with a kick or a smack, no less.
- TNG also had an alien who claimed to be a plethora of devils of various worlds, including Fek'lhr ('Fek-lar' to those who need vowels to pronounce words), the being who torments dishonored warriors in Klingon hell — Worf comments "You are not Fek'lhr." The alien, a woman, then proceeds to turn into a big red man and then Fek'lhr.
- Star Trek had Flint, whose aliases from Earth history included Methuselah, Solomon, Alexander the Great, Lazarus, Merlin, and Leonardo da Vinci, just to name a few.
- Star Trek also had the episode "Wolf in the Fold", which included an entity whose names included Beratis, Kesla, Redjac, and Jack the Ripper.
- From Lost:
Cooper: A conman goes by many names, friend. I've been Adam Seward, Anthony Cooper, Ted MacLaren, Tom Sawyer, Louis Jackson, and Paul...
- The Farscape villain Maldis has many seperate identities and names; these include Igg (a street-corner jester), Haloth (a benevolent old wizard) and Kyvan (a dealer in trinkets).
Maldis: By the way... my name is Maldis. (in Haloth's reedy old voice) But you can address me as Haloth if you like. (in Igg's broad Cockney accent) I got a lotta names, Johnboy; call me whatever pops your cork.
Crichton: Yeah, right. You're a regular Lawrence Olivier.
Music
Mythology
- Pick a mythological figure. This gets especially bad in, say, the Greek pantheon, where each deity has a wide range of different varieties based on region. When this intersects with Spell My Name With An S, it gets even worse. So this is Older Than Dirt.
- A variant of this, used especially in Norse Mythology, is the "kenning", a descriptive or metaphorical phrase used instead of a regular noun or name.
- In Hindu Mythology, some major gods have 108 or 1008 names, depending on who you ask, and reciting all of these names is a religious ritual for some.
- This page lists and explains the 99 names of Allah known to man. It's said that only the camel knows the 100th one.
- "Allah" is actually not one of his names unless you are speaking Arabic. "Allah" is just the Arabic word for "God". He's called God in whatever language you happen to be speaking when you mention him.
- There are posters in Christian bookstores listing the many titles of the Christian God.
- The Bible on Jesus: "And he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace..."
- Not to mention that He has a name "that no-one knows but Himself."
- Christians also consider him synonymous with Emmanuel. Jews, not so much.
Video Games
- The first terminal on "Kill Your Television" in the game Marathon displays what appears to be a critical piece of text, although who it identifies is still subject to debate:
"I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh. I have been called a hundred names and will be called a thousand more before the world goes dim and cold. I am hero."
- Then there is its hybrid descendant, found in the Mega Crossover Fan Fic Neon Exodus Evangelion by Eyrie Productions Unlimited, which starts off as a set of Arc Words at first, and then eventually evolves into a Badass Boast:
"Know you that I am he who was once Longinus, centurion of the Tenth Legion. I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh. I have been called a hundred names and will be called a thousand more before the world goes dim and cold. I have been killed a thousand times and every time I return. I fight for truth. I fight for glory. I fight for love. I fight for beauty. I am Hero. I will return."
- R-Type's iconic xenomorph-like repeating boss is officially called Dobkeratops, but has also previously gone by Subtom, Subkeratom, Krill, Doppleganger and Gladiator.
- Some Video Games — particularly those released in multiple regions — tend to hold several names. For example, the European arcade release of Contra is known as Gryzor, and the European NES release is known as Probotector.
- The obscure top-down shooter RayForce is one of the bigger offenders. The Japanese and American arcade versions are called RayForce, the European arcade version is called Gunlock, the Japanese console version is called Layer Section, and the American console version is called Galactic Attack. Whew!
- M. Bison also says this in Street Fighter Alpha 3 when you face him with Guy.
- Which is partly true, because he isknown as "M. Bison" in America was Vega in Japan and "Ditactor" in fan circles.
- At one point in Planescape: Torment, you can find a list of titles the Nameless One has gone by at some point: "Lost One, Immortal One, Incarnation's End, Man Of A Thousand Deaths, The One Doomed To Life, Restless One, One Of Many, The One Whom Life Holds Prisoner, The Bringer Of Shadows, The Wounded One, Misery-Bringer, Yemeth, Adahn, And you thought I was going to say the real one!".
- It's pretty vague in Star Craft, but Samir Duran claims to have had many names over the millennia. Then again, the only name we know for sure is Samir Duran.
- Bowser's cohort in the Mario Party series was known as Baby Bowser in the first three games, then subsequently Koopa Kid.
- Tchernobog, The One That Binds, The Dreaming God, The Sleeping God, The Devourer of Souls. This troper really needs to stop putting Blood references everywhere.
- April Ryan, of The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, accumulates these as her story goes on, one for each culture she encounters. By the end of Dreamfall her names include: April Ryan; Venar Kan-ang-la; April Bandu-embata of the Banda; Waterstiller; Windbringer; (a) Wave; The Raven; and The Scorpion.
- Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII, princess and later queen of the kingdom of Alexandria and the female lead of Final Fantasy IX. After being kidnapped (under her request), her "captor" suggests that she drop her royal bearing and adopt an alias, which she chose Dagger. Lastly, it turns out that Garnet is not her real name, nor is she the real Alexandrian princess. She is in fact one of the last remaining summoners in the world, and her original name was Sarah.
- Frank Jaeger from the Metal Gear series has more aliases than any other character in the series (which is saying something considering the number of aliases Solid Snake and Revolver Ocelot has): he has went by "Gray Fox", "Frank Hunter", the "Cyborg Ninja", "Deepthroat", and "Null".
- Ocelot's real name is Adamska (alias Adam), his Russian allies also know him as
Sharashka Shalashaska, his FOXHOUND codename is "Revolver Ocelot", and when he's supposedly possessed by Liquid Snake's spirit, he changes it to Liquid Ocelot.
- Solid Snake's real name is David (or Dave), but he also goes by the alias of Iroquois Pliskin during the events of MGS2 and is given the codename of Old Snake in MGS4
- Big Boss also has a few names as well. His real name is John, his nickname is Jack, and his former codename is Naked Snake.
- Saga Frontier features "Charm Lord, Merciless King, Protector of Rose, Ruler of Darkness, Pursuer of Beauty, Supreme Judge, Ruler of Facinaturu, Lord of the Castle, Mystic Lord Orlouge."
Web Comics
- From The Crossoverlord:
Stranger: Thank you for answering my call for aid. I am the last of a race that tended to the Multiverse. Mindmistress: What do we call you? Stranger: I am known by infinite names. Webmaster, the Centurion, Omenlord... Dasien: Anyone ever call you Ringo? Stranger: ... There is a dimension in which I am called Ringo, yes. The indigenous Kukuchaku of Revolution #9 refer to me in this way. Although they pronounce it... Dasien: Fine! Then you're Ringo!
- Meet Richard, Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Lord of the Undead, and mayor of a little village up the coast. It's very scenic in springtime.
- Don't forget Lord of The Dance.
- And now Mistress of Magma.
- Dan of Dan and Mabs Furry Adventures, has earned his own list as an adventurer:
"My name is Daniel Ti'Fiona: Warrior for Hire, Slayer of the DoomKnights, Bringer of Peace, Friend to Beer Wenches!"
Web Original
- Whateley Universe example: Billie Wilson has the codename Tennyo, and has picked up the nickname 'Disaster Dame', but she's also known by some less amusing names, such as 'The Scourge' and 'The Stalker of the Stars', to name two.
Western Animation
- Parodied in The Simpsons; in an episode where Marge has amnesia, Homer attempts to reeducate her, saying "This is the Sun. It goes by many names — Apollo's lantern, Daymoon, Ol' Blazey — but the important thing is never to touch it." On another occasion, Homer prays to the god of the sea for mercy, proclaiming "The Greeks call you Poseidon; the Romans... Aquaman."
- In Code Lyoko, Aelita is first called "Maya" when awakened as an amnesiac AI, before finding her true first name. Once materialized on Earth, she went by the name "Aelita Lyoko" at first, then "Aelita Stones". It is finally found that her name is "Aelita Hopper", although her birth name was "Aelita Schaeffer". Not counting her nickname of "Princess" (or "Mrs. Einstein" for Sissi).
- So all in all, her name is Aelita (Maya) Lyoko/Stones/Schaeffer-Hopper.
- "I've had many names during my life, but my favorite... is Tombstone."
- Phineas and Ferb, The Chronicles of Meap: "I am known by many names. Well, two really: Mitch, and some of the guys call me Big Mitch!"
- After the Shredder is put on trial in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles we learn that Oroku Saki is only one of several aliases, which include Torrinon, Kako Naso, and Duke Acureds. His real name? Ch'rell.
Real Life
- Truth In Television: for one, Sun Yat-sen, leader of Nationalist China, with as many as thirty names.
- Naoki Maeda, of Dance Dance Revolution fame. He has produced songs for Konami's Bemani franchise under many, many pseudonyms, most of which he only uses once or twice. It's been rumored that "Naoki Maeda" is not his real name, and is just yet another pseudonym; "Naoki M" is an anagram of "Konami," and some argue that it's too much of a coincidence that his real name would be an unintentional Shout Out to Konami.
- Just to list a few: Naoki, Naoki Underground, De-Sire, Reven G, Z, ZZ, Omega, Crystal Aliens, d-Complex, Factor-X, NM...
- Custom stepfile maker Chuck Enck, a.k.a. Family Farce, takes this trope and runs it into the ground. Here we go: Family Farce, Hypernov8, dj foreshanks, F+F, Nullify, K Li NK, Sidewinder, ASSIMILATION, Yawaraka, The Grind, Tidal Da Wave, Sun Buddha, radiograph, Rampage Superstars, Hulisi-Ska, Nadeshiko feat. H8!, PIPN, PIPN UNDERGROUND, PIPN SPEEDVIBE, Kurio, Side FX, DJ Analytic Hum, E519, 375U, APT.204, Gunhat, Snatcher, Pointy, Radical Minds, Avin, Reigun Overdose, Eversedative, Omega Phlegm, DJ Rezolution, Tri-Umvirate, Ni-MH, Chaarusu, NOMA VAE VICTIS, H.S.M Recovery Team, Miasma, Culture-Slum, Project Anilox, Riksmaal, Agnostix, FL@_line, Devonshire, Nessus, MC Turista, Digital Chaos, Okui Hun, e.n.d, Rick Victims, Magway, DJ Nedved, Victor-E, Mr. Pill, Sound Pressure, Jimmy Presto, Cetro, XY-Cycle, ROBO MOJO vs. EE 330, A.B.O.F.A, C&E, EZKL, Final Gasp, Retsu Group, Automatic Allisto feat. Angela, DJ Torq, S.Hazard, Two Faced Trio, Sevensleuth, Tune Out.
- Kyle Ward of In The Groove fame also goes by Inspector K, KaW, Smiley (actually just a happy face), KeeL, K-Bit...
- Dance musicians LIVE off this trope.
- Max Coveri, famous for the song Running in the 90s (used in the LOL, Internet YTMND), also used the names Casanova, David Essex (and similarly, D-Essex and D. Essex), Niko, 7th Heaven, Kevin Johnson, Mad Max, Marko Polo, Morris, Oda, and last but not least, his real name, Maurizio de Jorio
- Similarly, the vocalist known as "Cherry" also goes by Leslie Parrish (not to be confused by this person), Suzy Lazy, and previously Vanessa and Linda Ross. Her real name is Clara Moroni.
- Ferry Corsten. Besides his real name, he has used the names System F, Moonman, Albion, Gouryella (collaborating with Tiesto), Veracocha (collaborating with Vincent de Moor), and a few others.
- Paul Oakenfold. Sometimes he's credited by his full name, sometimes by his last name, and sometimes he goes by Grace, Virus, or Perfecto Allstarz.
- Armin van Buuren has released tracks as Rising Star, Gig, Gaia, Major League, Alibi, and Perpetuous Dreamer.
- In The Groove and Pump It Up Pro staff composer Kyle Ward. Ka W, K Bit, Inspector K, :) (Smiley), Banzai, Symphonious.
- Japanese happy hardcore artist DJ Shimamura has used 2B4U.D-157, Asian Dugem Foundation, エロティシズム, キャプテンSK-2, DJ Eterni-T, DJ Sin, DJ Unicorn, DJ Wiz-R-D, Dog Styles, Extremist, Fantazista, Far-East Hakke Crew, Geraid, Geriben Ha 2 Densho, Inful-8, Lauryn Hell, Orange Hair, Ravers Anthem, The result of Raverz Project!, SFX, Speed Junky, Twintale and 殺人ビューロランド
- Rappers are quite fond of this as well; most have at least a few nicknames they like to drop.
- Richard D. James (more commonly known as Aphex Twin) has used several different aliases such as AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, DJ Smojphace, GAK, Martin Tressider, Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Prichard D. Jams, Q-Chastic, Tahnaiya Russell, The Dice Man, and Soit P.P.
- Not to forget the Tsars: "We, ——— by the grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauric Chersonesos, Tsar of Georgia, Lord of Pskov, and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Belostok, Karelia, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Sovereign of Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislavl, and all northern territories; Sovereign of Iveria, Kartalinia, and the Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories — hereditary Lord and Ruler of the Circassians and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."
- So that's why they got rid of the Romanovs...
- "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith". And that's the short version. The long version lists all of Her other Realms and Territories, the Commander-in-Chief of about a dozen armies, Duke of Lancaster, Lord of Mann, Duke of Normandy, and about a hundred others...
- Rumor has it that if the Queen is late to an appearance, the person announcing her will continue to recite her names and titles until she arrives.
- Can take up to half an hour.
- This list has actually shortened over time, since the British monarchs also claimed to be: Emperor/Empress of India, King/Queen of South Africa, numerous former colonies, and France. Many of these have been dropped over the years as many former colonies (India, Pakistan, South Africa, etc.) chose to become republics.
- No list of bombastic royal titles would be complete without the Hapsburgs! Take Franz Joseph I, for example:
- His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Franz Joseph I, By the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy-Venetia,[5] of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator and Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and Zara (Zadar); Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent (Trento) and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro (Kotor), and in the Windic march; Grand Voivode of the Voivodeship of Serbia etc.
- Mind you the titles above are after the family split between the Spanish and Austrian Lines and after the fall of the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles the 1st would of had several more pages between German, Italian, and Spanish titles, before starting on the colonial titles...
- The cougar is also known as a puma, catamount, panther, mountain lion, and mountain screamer.
- Don't forget hot older woman.
- Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Rome, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God, and last, but not least, Joseph Ratzinger. The scary thing is, that's missing some of the old titles — "Patriarch of the West", "Vicar of the Apostolic See", and "Vicar of Peter" were all used in the past, for example. Really, all the ancient heads of state did this, to some greater or lesser extent. See Queen Elizabeth II and the Tsars above, for example.
- How about Suleiman? Although this is more of Badass Boast.
- "Slave of God, powerful with the power of God, deputy of God on earth, obeying the commands of the Qur'an and enforcing them throughout the world, master of all lands, the shadow of God over all nations, Sultan of Sultans in all the lands of Persians and Arabs, the propagator of Sultanic laws (Nashiru kawanin al-Sultaniyye ), the tenth Sultan of the Ottoman Khans, Sultan, son of Sultan, Suleyman Khan. Slave of God, master of the world, I am Suleyman and my name is read in all the prayers in all the cities of Islam. I am the Shah of Baghdad and Iraq, Caesar of all the lands of Rome, and the Sultan of Egypt. I seized the Hungarian crown and gave it to the least of my slaves."
- Some college sports teams have more than nickname. Army is known as the Cadets and the Black Knights. North Texas is the Eagles and the Mean Green. Virginia Tech can be the Hokies or the Gobblers, although Gobblers isn't used much anymore. The LSU Tigers are often called the Bayou Bengals. Sometimes the womens teams will have different nicknames than the men: USC's men teams are the Trojans, while the women are the Women of Troy.
- Rudy Ray Moore. The King of the Party Records. The Human Tornado. The Avenging Disco Godfather. Petey Wheatstraw. The Devil's Son-In-Law. Dolemite, muthafucka!
- This guy. When you have one first name starting with each of the 26 letters of the alphabet, I guess you just pick your two favorites to use as a first and middle name. Then there were all of the various misspellings of his last name...
- The city of Jerusalem has seventy names.
- Voice Actor Kirk Thornton has been credited as Ronald Allen, Ron Allen, Sparky Allen, Todd Crump, Donald Lee, Robert Lloyd, Sean Roberts, Spanky Roberts, Sparky Roberts, Kurt Thornton, Sean Thornton, Sparky Thornton, Sparly Thornton, Starky Thornton, Kirk Thorton, Sean Thorton and Sparky Thorton.
- Babe Ruth was known as Babe Ruth, George Herman Ruth, Jr. (his real name), "The Babe", "The Bambino", "The Sultan of Swat", "Caliph of Clout", "The King of Swing", "Rajah of Rap", "The Terrible Titan", "The Home Run King", "The Colossus of Clout", "The Wazir of Wham", the "Maharajah of Mash", the "Blunderbuss", "the Monarch of Maul" and "Behemoth of Bust". And those are just some of them.
- The Godfather of Soul, Mr. Please Please, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, Soul Brother Number One... Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. James Brown.
- You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay...That got old fast...
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