Unnamed Parent

"Could it be that my name really is Tamaki's Father?"

— Tamaki's Father, Bamboo Blade

The remarkably common practice in kids' shows of not giving a character's parents actual names even if they're around, instead being addressed as Mom and Dad, or occasionally by their last names. While this is probably to insert the feel of a story being shown by a child's perspective, as children don't usually use their parents' first names, it can make for really odd dialogue when another adult has to talk to them. Or even when they have to talk to each other, assuming they don't constantly use generic endearing nicknames like "darling" and "sweetheart", which would make them Happily Married by default. In some cases, they will refer to each other as some variation of Mom and Dad.

Some shows can even make this official. For reasons left fittingly unexplained, a person's grandfather might actually be called Granddad, and anyone asking for him want to talk to Granddad. This can become problematic at times, however, when someone outside of the immediate family who would normally be on a first name basis with the parent is involved.

This is a subtrope of No Name Given. If their surname is known (usually because the child's full name is stated), overlaps with No Full Name Given. Compare Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep".

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Mikan's and Yuzuhiko's parents in Atashin'chi.
• Some of the parents in Attack on Titan (if they actually appear, that is) are unnamed, such as Mikasa's parents, Armin's parents (although they're only ever talked about and don't actually appear), Erwin's father, Sasha's father, Grisha's parents, Annie's father, Bertolt's father, Reiner's father (although his mother is named), Rod Reiss's father (the mother of the Reiss children other than Historia is never given a name either), Connie's parents, Petra's father and Jean's mother.
• Bakuman。:
  • Akito Takagi's parents, who briefly appear in a flashback, are not named, nor are Moritaka Mashiro's mother or grandfather (His father's name is revealed in passing to be Masahiro).
  • Moritaka's mother's given name is revealed to be Kayoko in the anime.
  • Miho and her younger sister Mina's mother's name is revealed (Miyuki Haruno/Azuki), but their father's name is not given.
• Lampshaded in Bamboo Blade, where during one of the Super-Deformed next-episode trailers, Tamaki's father points out that he's never been given a name other than "Tamaki's Father" in either the anime or the original manga. He goes on to speculate about whether "Tamaki's Father" is his actual given name because it was predestined that he would be Tamaki's Father before he was born himself.
• Chi's Sweet Home does this too, with the characters referring to each other as Mom and Dad.
• In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the series goes back and forth with it, specifically seen with the deceased parents of certain characters, humans and demons alike, who only serve their role as backstory elements and not much more than that; some examples include both of Rui's parents, Kanao's abusive parents, Shinobu's parents, Muichiro's parents, etc; however, there's the odd averted case where the deceased parent is also an extremely minor backstory character but is still named, like the mother of Genya and Sanemi: Shizu Shinazugawa. Lastly there are a few cases where the previously unnamed parent was named in spin-off publications and databooks, such as Shizu's abusive husband, Kyogo Shinazugawa.
• Almost none of the Digidestined's parents from Digimon Adventure were given names unless you find other external sources and even then, the parents of Joe (his parents never even appear until Tri). The only exceptions are Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji, Ken's parents, despite having a mildly important role in the plot.
• Bulma's mother in Dragon Ball is not called by her given name. As it's unclear if her husband, Dr. Brief, goes by his given or family name, we can't be sure what her family name is either. Word of God says her name would be "Panchy" if Akira Toriyama ever gave her one, while Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot instead calls her "Bikini".
• Aside from Tohru's and Akito's parents, none of the biological parents are given names in Fruits Basket. Justified with Rin, at least, since her parents only show up in her flashbacks, but it's a bit conspicuous with characters like Yuki's mom and Kyo's dad, who are alive and sometimes get involved with the story.
• As a matter of convention, no parent from Gourmet Girl Graffiti is named.
• Hayate's parents in Hayate the Combat Butler. They call each other "mama" and "papa". His father is given the name 'Shun' by one of his debtors in the manga, but it may be simply a pseudonym he used for that shop.
• Originally played straight in Inside Mari however a note revealed Mari's mother's name to be "Eriko". Her father's name is unknown, though.
• Inuyasha:
  • Kagome's mother and grandfather are often referred to as that.
  • The names of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's parents are never revealed in canon. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father, and Sesshoumaru's mother, are only ever referred to by respectful titles.
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All over the place, although various fanart, fanfiction, and roleplay have tried to non-canonically flesh out many of these characters to some extent. Some were also Named by the Adaptation.
  • In Phantom Blood, Dio's mother is briefly mentioned as having passed away, but not even the Over Heaven light novel (which is written from Dio's POV) gave her a name.
  • In Battle Tendency, Caesar's father is named (Mario), but his mother is neither seen nor named.
  • In Stardust Crusaders, there's a brief glimpse of Kakyoin's mother (with her face framed in shadow), and his father is stated to be alive, but is never seen. Neither of them received names.
  • In Diamond is Unbreakable, Okuyasu and Keicho's parents aren't named, and neither are Koichi's parents. The live action movie gives Okuyasu and Keicho's father the name Mansaku Nijimura.
  • In Golden Wind, the parents of several various Passione members (Giorno's mother and the respective parents of Bucciarati, Narancia, and Fugo) are briefly shown, but never named. The anime adaptation gives Bucciarati's father and Narancia's mother the names Paolo Bucciarati and Mela Ghirga, respectively.
  • In Stone Ocean, Jolyne's mom (Jotaro's ex-wife) is never named in canon. Jolyne only refers to her as "my mom".
• Kaguya-sama: Love Is War: Shirogane's father is unnamed even though he is a recurring member of the supporting cast. Averted with most other parents, who actually are given names despite appearing far less frequently.
• In The Kindaichi Case Files, the names of Hajime Kindaichi's parents are not revealed beyond their surname.
• So far, the only named parents in Kotoura-san are Haruka's mother Kumiko, her grandfather Zenzou (who took a parental role), and Yuriko's late mother Chizuru. Other parents are not named, even they may have a speaking role.
• Naruto:
  • Sasori's parents, who were killed by Kakashi's father Sakumo and later had puppets made in their image, are never named, and Chiyo only refers to his father as her son. The series generally otherwise averts this; if the parents appear for any length of time, they're usually named, even if only in a databook.
  • Interestingly enough, Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, isn't named at all in the manga, while his mother Karura is, despite him being the living one (at least before he was killed by Orochimaru) and her the dead one. In fact, his name was only revealed in a databook released right before the final chapter was released, over a decade after his first appearance in the manga. It's Rasa.
• In Neko-de Gomen!, we never learn Kuroda (that his family name) or Yayori's father's first name.
• Oh! Edo Rocket: Despite the fact that nobody can remember who Genzo is, everyone calls his mother Genzo's Mom. Some characters question why they call her this, but they just assume that she must have a son named Genzo they've never met.
• Pokémon: The Series:
  • According to the DVD Commentary on the movie Pokémon 3, everyone in the anime had usually just referred to Ash's mother as just that, including her former teacher. The name "Delia" was introduced in the second film. Ironically, the original Japanese dub has the reverse problem: It's actually more expected to refer to someone by just their surname in Japanese, but neither Satoshi nor his mother Hanako actually have one. Conveniently, anyone referring directly to his mother is on familiar enough terms to do so and anyone else just calls her "Satoshi's mom".
  • Ridiculously enough, this is presented during the Sun & Moon season of the anime. It is completely averted with Kiawe's parents as they all have names, but Sophocles' parents have no names whatsoever. This is way more exemplified by this line:
    Sophocles' Dad: Sophocles' Mom's cooking is very good!
  • Giovanni's mother in Pokémon: The Birth of Mewtwo is simply called "Madame Boss".
• Rei's grandfather in at least the original manga^note Both the original and "perfect" editions. and in both anime versions of Sailor Moon.
• This is subverted with Cream's mother Vanilla in Sonic X. Despite that, the sign at the front of their house says "Home of Cream's Mom".
• Soul Eater: Maka refers to her unseen mother as 'Mama'. Her 'Papa' (much as Maka likes to deny it) Spirit doesn't even mention his ex-wife's name while talking about her, and nor has anyone else in the woman's few mentions.
• Speed Racer's parents are unnamed and only referred to as "Mom" and "Pops", but only in the dub (and the English version of the manga). In Mach Go Go Go (the original Japanese version), Go^note What the "G" on his shirt stands for Mifune's parents are named Daisuke and Aya.
• In Tensai Bakabon, Bakabon's mother and father are both unnamed, despite many adaptations where Bakabon's Papa is the main character.
• In Tokyo Mew Mew, Aoyama's parents are not named, and Ichigo receives a call from his mother near the end of the series, addressing the caller as "Aoyama-kun's mother."
• None of the parents in Urusei Yatsura have names. This is the only work of any kind by Rumiko Takahashi where this is the case. In one of the OAVs, the first person to speak introduces herself as "Ataru Moroboshi's mother" (in a tone of voice clearly indicating that she doesn't find this the least bit unusual).
• Most of the parents in Wandering Son. Though, the Nitori siblings dad is revealed to be named "Hiroyuki" and their mom is named "Satomi".
• Yotsuba&!:
  • Yotsuba's father was originally this. His best friend Jumbo always calls him by his last name "Koiwai". In chapter 87, his first name "Yousuke" is finally revealed when his mother comes to visit him. But now we don't know the name of his mother.
  • The parents of the Ayase sisters have also unknown first names. So are the names of Jumbo's father and Miura's mother.
• In Your Name:
  • Taki's father and Tessie's parents are never named, with even the credits only calling them "Taki's father" and so on.
  • Downplayed with Mitsuha's father, Toshiki; although he is named in supplementary material; in the film proper his name is only given onscreen once as hiragana on a banner in the background and is never spoken aloud.
• Toward the end of the YuYu Hakusho manga, someone who appears to be Yusuke's father appears but is not named.

Asian Animation

• Adit & Sopo Jarwo: Adit's mom and dad are referred to as "(Adit's) Mom" and "(Adit's) Dad" by everyone, even in public events.

Comic Books

• Cinema Purgatorio: Despite being the main character of the film, the mother in One Hell of a Girl goes nameless unlike her daughter Geraldine. This is also true of her real-world counterpart — the protagonist of Cinema Purgatorio remains unnamed throughout the narrative, yet Geraldine is always mentioned by name by her.
• Robin (1993): While Sebastian Ives' mother shows up on multiple occasions she's never given a name, Tim addresses her as Mrs. Ives once which makes sense as she's known to be married but her personal name remains a secret.
• Sunny Series: Sunny's parents names are never said. Avoided with Sunny's grandpa; his full name is Patrick Hearn.
• Wonder Woman (1987): Diana's father, from her mortal life which she never got a chance to experience, is never named and given no characterization beyond being a brutal thug who murdered her pregnant mother. He is sometimes speculated to be Hercules since he's the only man her mother is known to have slept with, though Diana is supposed to have been from a consensual relationship.

Comic Strips

• British comics have a habit of doing this:
  • For example, the official names of the parents of Dennis the Menace are "Dennis's mum" and "Dennis's dad". They will be referred to and addressed as such by everyone. Although they have on occasion been referred to as Mr & Mrs "The Menace" instead, implying that "The Menace" is their surname, or maybe that Menace is their surname and "The" is their middle name..
  • A letter to The Beano once asked Dennis what his dad's name really was. Dennis explained that he was christened "Dennis's Dad". One day he met a girl named Dennis's Mum, and knew she was the one for him... Also true for most other strips in The Beano, although on occasion, some parents have been given names, e.g. the Beano Book 1957 refers to Roger the Dodger's dad as Bill but that name is never used again and Minnie the Minx's dad has been called two different names on two separate occasions (Victor in a 1985 issue and George in the Beano video). The trope was averted in Les Pretend with Les's dad being called Des.
  • Following the 2010s Soft Reboot that made present-day Dennis the son of 80s Dennis, his dad's name is (obviously) Dennis, and his mum is named on the Beano website as Sandra.
  • Oor Wullie^note that is, "Our William", which has been running in the Sunday Post since 1936, fits this trope exactly. Wullie's parents are known simply as Wullie's Ma and Pa. They don't have a surname either.
  • The companion strip, The Broons^note in standard English, The Browns, goes further. Here we have a family of ten: Maw, Paw, Joe, Hen (for Henry), Daphne, Maggie, Horace, The Twins and The Bairn - only five names between them. There's also Gran'paw, though we know that his name begins with a 'J' (thanks to a romantic tree-carving) so there's a school of thought which holds that he and Paw are also called Joe.
• Calvin's parents in Calvin and Hobbes, who called each other "honey" and "dear." Word of God says that he didn't want to give them real names to reinforce the fact that we're seeing them from Calvin's perspective. This is actually one of the reasons why Calvin's uncle was never seen after his initial story arc—how was he supposed to address his brother and sister-in-law without using their names?
• Denise's parents in FoxTrot are unnamed and never shown on panel.
• Heathcliff has Iggy Nutmeg's grandparents, who are only ever referred to as "Grandpa" and "Grandma".
• In Garfield, the first names of Jon's parents are never revealed. Garfield's mother also remains unnamed.
• Not just the parents, but the majority of the adults in Peanuts - Ms. Othmar being the notable exception - are referred to merely by "sir" or "ma'am." In the animated cartoons, this is carried a step further in that they have muted trombones for voices. Taken even further in that adults are never even seen in the comic, and appear onscreen in only a handful of the animated specials.
• Most parents in Mafalda go unnamed, except for Manolito's father (Manolo, since his store is named after himself), and Mafalda's mother, Raquel, after Mafalda refuses to call her "mom" as punishment for serving her soup.

Fan Works

• The Bolt Chronicles: These stories continue the canon no-name practice regarding Penny’s mom.
• Henry Freeman's mother in Half-Life: Full Life Consequences is only known as "Henry Freeman's Mom,". Her husband, John Freeman refers to her "Wife". Even the Combines call her "Henry Freeman's Mom"
• Sachiko Yagami in Light and Dark The Adventures of Dark Yagami is referred to as Light's Mom by the author, who doesn't know her name.
• Suzaku's mother is only referred as "Mother" in Suzaku's narration in My Mirror, Sword and Shield.
• Savu0211:
  • Ahadi's father is named Hata but his mother is unnamed.
  • Zira's mother is Bianka but her father is an unnamed lion.
• In Her Max, Max and Ruby's parents are just referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Bunny.
• In I've Got Your Back, the names of Pearl's father and mother are unknown.

Films — Animation

• In Aladdin, in an overlap with Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep", the Sultan of Agrabah has no name—Jasmine calls him Father or Papa, while everyone else addresses him with various honorifics. Three movies and a cartoon series later, we still don't know what his name is.
• In Bambi, the titular character's mother isn't named in the film nor other sources.
• Elsa and Anna's parents in Frozen die within fifteen minutes of the film. Their names are not given in-story, but fans have translated their gravestones as 'Idunn' and 'Agdar'. Official books later confirmed those names.
• Weirdly, this is both played straight and averted in Help! I'm a Fish. In the credits, Fly and Stella's Mum and Dad are just listed as "The Mother" and "The Father", while in the actual film they're at one point referred to as 'Lisa' and 'Bill'. Averted with Chuck's mother Anna though.
• How to Catch a Cold:
  • In the original version, the man and his wife are the unnamed parents of a boy (who's also unnamed). He is called "Junior" by Common Sense, so possibly the father is called "[X] Sr.", but we don't know his name.
  • In the live-action version, Jeff has a mother, but she is unnamed.
• Riley Andersen's parents in Inside Out are only named in supplementary material. In the movie proper, unless you're willing to examine the credit card Riley takes in more detail, they're simply Mom and Dad, even in the credits.
• In The Land Before Time: Littlefoot's deceased mother's real name is never mentioned, nor are his grandparents'. In the first movie, Cera's dad is credited as "Daddy Topps", but in the direct-to-video sequels and the TV series, Cera's stepmother Tria refers to him as "Topsy", likely as an Affectionate Nickname.
• In Leafie, a Hen into the Wild the name of Greenie's father is Wanderer, however his biological mother is unnamed and doesn't speak.
• In the The Sissy Duckling, Elmer's parents call each other "Mama" and "Father". They're even called "Mama Duck" and "Father Duck" in the credits. Despite this, Elmer's dad is clearly called "Jack" several times in the last several minutes.
• In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Mario Bros.' mom and dad are among the unnamed members of their family.
• The names of Rapunzel's parents are left unknown in Tangled. According to Tangled: The Series they are 'Arianna' and 'Frederic'.
• Andy's mother in the Toy Story films. Even Woody refers to her as "Mom". Early character sheets apparently had her named 'Jennifer', so that's what a large portion of the fandom calls her.
• In Turning Red, Tyler's parents are never named despite being seen and having lines unlike the parents of Mei's friends who are not seen or heard.

Films — Live-Action

• A Christmas Story: The names of Ralphie's parents are not revealed. In the narration, he calls his them "mother" and "the Old Man".
• Forrest Gump: The first name of Forrest's mother is never mentioned. She's identified as "Mrs. Gump" in the credits.
• Bill Paxton's character in Frailty is only ever referred to as "Dad" or "Mr. Meiks", even in the credits.
• The Hunger Games: We never find out Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen's first names.
• L'eclisse where the mother of the main heroine, Vittoria, is only referred to as "Vittoria's mother",
• In the Eloise films, Eloise's nanny is called Nanny. By EVERYONE. It's lampshaded in one of them when Nanny's love interest says he'll have to find out her real name because he can't keep calling her Nanny.
• In A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, Claire's mom has no name of her own. All the Muppets refer to and address her as "Claire's Mom."
• The Neverending Story: By way of lightning, we no longer hear Bastian name the Child Empress Moon Child. Later on, Bastian says he yelled out the name of his dead mother. And then in the 2nd movie, we find out that his not-so-dead father is named Barney. It's another instance of one named parent and one Unnamed Parent.
• Every parent from The Return Of Hanuman, even in the credits where they are referred as "'s Mother/Father". In the movie's company's synopsis though, Maruti's mother's name is Sheila.
• Return To Seoul: Neither of Freddie's bio parents are named in the movie, highlighting her detachment from them.
• Owen's mother in Throw Momma from the Train is referred to as either "Momma" or "Mrs. Lift". Her first name is never spoken. What makes this weirder is that Owen's father, who's deceased and never appears in the film, is said to have been named "Ned".

Literature

• American Girl:
  • Zigzagged; most of the time the characters will not state their parents' name (only referring to them using standard parent terms), but other characters will use their given names at some point, revealing them to the reader. For example, Felicity doesn't call her mother anything but "Mother," but other including her husband and family friends call her by her first name, Martha.
  • Caroline's mother is never named in the series, and neither is her grandmother.
  • Also Zigzagged with Josefina's late Mama. It can be assumed that her first name is Maria (as Spanish Catholic girls were often all given the first name Maria after the Virgin Mary and then distinguished by their middle or extended names), but her middle name is never given.
• Initially, all the parents from Animorphs are like this. As the series goes on, we gradually learn their names, and thanks to the Broken Masquerade in the last ten books, we ultimately end up learning the names of most of them. The notable exception is Sixth Ranger (later Sixth Ranger Traitor) David, whose parents are never named in his trilogy and never appear again after it.
• Grendel's mother from Beowulf, despite the character being just as important as Grendel.
• The Berenstain Bears takes this trope farther than usual, since even the kids are named Brother and Sister Bear.
  • In the very first book The Big Honey Hunt (which didn't feature Sister), Brother is called Small Bear. This lasted until The New Baby, in which Sister was born.
  • Papa and Mama Bear fit the trope to a T. Apparently, their names really are Papa and Mama (moreover, Papa's "full" name is later revealed to be "Papa Q. Bear"), which suggests that they must have both had very strange childhoods.
  • Papa's parents are only referred to as Grizzly Gramps and Gran, though The Berenstain Bear Scouts Save That Backscratcher reveals Gramps's real name as Ernest.
  • This trope is averted for the baby the family has in some of the later books, which they named her "Honey".
• The name of Leslie's parents in Bridge to Terabithia are known because she calls them it. Jess' parents however are unnamed since he calls them by the more traditional "Mom" and "Dad".
• We only learn the name of Jerin's father - or which of his mothers gave birth to him - in A Brother's Price because Jerin takes the time to look at his birth certificate. We learn neither about Princess Ren.
• Variation in Polish children's book "Cat Stories". Owner of the cats, who narrates the stories, is called "Big One" by all the cats, and it seems to be pets' title for their owner in that universe. However, when second book in series came and main Big One gained a wife and child, he is called "Dad" by his child, generic "Sir" by his neighbor... and Big One by his cats and wife.
• In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, all of the kids' parents are only referred to as Mr. or Mrs. [Last Name] with the exception of Angina Salt (Veruca's mother). Some of the brats' parents are Named by the Adaptation in the two films and 2013 stage musical, but Charlie Bucket's parents never are.
• The name of the titular dad in Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy? isn't mentioned.
• Darcy And Gran Dont Like Babies: Darcy's parents and grandmother are only referred to as "Darcy's mother", "Darcy's father", and "Gran".
• The Day Santa Stopped Believing In Harold: Harold's parents are unnamed.
• Zigzagged in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg, Rodrick and Manny's parents (Frank and Susan) are actually named and so are Rowley's (Robert and Linda). However, the grandparents are always "Grandpa", "Grampa", "Grandma" and the deceased "Nana". Holly and Chirag's dads are seen but they are just "Mr Hills" and "Mr Gupta" respectively. Greg also seems to have a habit of nicknaming people he doesn't know, like when he met a five-year-old bully who is known only as "Nasty Pants", he called Nasty Pants's mother "Mrs Pants" and when the Heffleys were having trouble with a family that consisted of a mother, father and three young boys, he called the man "Mr Beardo" because of his beard and referred to the entire family as "The Beardos". Greg also lampshades this in Hard Luck when he talks about his great-grandparents Meemaw (deceased) and Peepaw (still alive) who are Known Only by Their Nickname's and he says that if he ever becomes a great-grandparent, he won't allow himself to have a goofy nickname.
  Greg: "If I ever become a great-grandparent, I'M going to be the one who decides what my grandchildren and great-grandchildren call me, not THEM. I'm gonna go for something basic like "Grandpa" or "Grandad" because I don't wanna be stuck with some dumb nickname for the rest of my life."
• A Dog's Purpose:
  • None of the protagonist's parents are named. They're only ever referred to as "mother", with Toby (his first incarnations) mother being referred to as capital "Mother".
  • Bailey hears Ethan refer to his parents as "Mom" and "Dad", so he assumes those are their names. The same applies to Ethan's grandparents and later to Maya's mother "Mama" as well (though he later learns that "Mama" is a general term).
• In the Dragaera novels, Vlad Taltos's grandfather is always called "Noish-Pa", which is simply Fenarian (i.e. Hungarian) for "Grandfather". Note that, although a supporting character, he's not a minor one.
• Eleanor's father in Eleanorand Park is the only character in the entire book without any name. Even his fiancé and stepson are given names, but he’s only called “her/your father” or Dad. Although this could be a deliberate example to show how little of a presence he has in his family’s life.
• Forrest Gump: The first name of Forrest's mother is never mentioned.
• Gangsta Granny: The parents and the granny are never referred to by name.
• Both of Jonas' parents from The Giver are unnamed; they're simply referred to as Mother and Father.
  • It seems to be common in the Community for children to not know their parents' names, as Claire's parents go unnamed in Son as well.
  • Son also notably still refuses to give Jonas's father a name, despite the fact that he's a fairly important character in the first third of the book. Claire spends a lot of time at the nursery center where he works, and she realizes eventually that she never bothered to ask his name.
• Hermione's parents in Harry Potter are never named. This is due to the Law of Conservation of Detail, as they, unlike Harry's or Ron's parents, only have extremely minor roles in the series.
• The mother in How to Be Comfortable in Your Own Feathers isn't named, but neither is her son or daughter.
• The Hunger Games:
  • Katniss's parents are never identified by name. It seems to skip a generation, as we never find out the names of Katniss and Peeta's children either.
  • Same with Peeta and Madge's parents. The only named parent in the trilogy is Gale's mom, Hazelle.
• In In the Time of the Butterflies, the parents of the Mirabal sisters are rarely called by their first names. They are referred to as Mama and Papa.
• Isaac Asimov:
  • "A Boy's Best Friend": The main character is Jimmy, and his parents, Mr and Mrs Anderson, act as antagonists (in that they want to replace his Robot Dog with a flesh-and-blood dog).
  • "It's Such a Beautiful Day": Mrs Hanshaw isn't given a first name. She's there to be Richard Jr's mother, although other adults in the work (such as Joe Bloom, the mechanic, Miss Elizabeth Robbins, the schoolteacher, and Doctor Hamilton Sloane, The Shrink) all have first and last names given by the narration.
  • "My Son, the Physicist": The viewpoint character doesn't give her name when introducing herself, instead calling herself the mother of Senior Physicist Gerard Cremona, and she is addressed as Mrs Cremona purely as a deduction from the fact that they should share the same last name.
• A Lion in the Meadow: The mother isn't named... but then again, neither is anyone else.
• The title character's parents in the children's book Nuddy Ned are never given actual names.
• In Peanut's Emergency, Peanut's parents are never called anything but "Mommy" and "Daddy", however, we do know the father's last name is "Nwanda". Lampshaded when Peanut says she'd like to call Grandpa but it doesn't say "Grandpa" in the phone book and she doesn't know Grandpa's real name.
• Peek-a-Boo Poo: Alfie's parents are known only as Mummy and Daddy, and his grandparents are only known as Grandma and Grandpa.
• Ratburger: Zoe and Tina's dads are never named.
• Happens all the time in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps or Fear Street series.
• Roys Bedoys: None of the parents have known first names, Mr. and Mrs. Bedoys and Mr. Chan are the only ones with known last names.
• In Room, Jack always calls his mother "Ma" and for a long time, he genuinely believes that is her name. He eventually finds out she has another name but never uses it. The 2015 film reveals her name to be Joy.
• In Sam, Bangs & Moonshine, Sam's father isn't named.
• The Shivers (M. D. Spenser) novella, Your Momma's A Werewolf have the titular character who doesn't have a name for the entire story. Everyone just calls her Miss Rockwell.
• Skate's parents in Skate the Thief are never named. They lived in obscurity in the slums of Caribol and died when she was very young. If Skate ever knew their names, she's forgotten them.
• Y.T.'s mom in Snow Crash is always referred to as such. Of course, she's a fairly minor character.
• In Survivor Dogs, Lucky and Bella's long-deceased mother is simply referred to as their "Mother-Dog" or "mother".
• This trope is all over the place in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, particularly in regards to mothers. To name a few unnamed mothers: Richard's mother, Kahlan's mother, Zedd's mother, Darken Rahl's mother, Rachel's mother, Drefan's mother, Oba Rahl's mother, Jennsen's mother, Shota's mother, Chad Rencliff's mother, Prince Fyren's mother, and Six's mother. There is even a point in Phantom where TG goes out of his way to avoid naming a single person's mother; Richard is told his mother's name, and we aren't; we only get something like "Richard heard his mother's name." Those are nearly all Posthumous Characters though. Oba kills his in the chapter the two are introduced.
• In the Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note franchise, the Tachibana siblings' parents are only known as "Mama" and "Papa."
• Lissa's deceased mother is never given a name in the Vampire Academy series. She was named "Rhea Daniels" in the short story "Sunshine".
• In Warrior Cats, Leafstar's mother. This is notable because the characters who give a leader their nine lives have impacted the new leader's life in some significant way, and since the leader is almost always a main character, the cats who give them their nine lives are pretty important characters too.
• In When You Reach Me, Miranda's mother is not named. This is odd as her two close friends (boyfriend and downstairs neighbor) are named and interact with her frequently, though to be fair, it was written in her daughter Miranda's voice.

Live-Action TV

• The Addams Family had 'Grandmama', who is called that by everyone to the point that various versions of the series aren't consistent about whose ancestor she actually is: she's Gomez's mother in the original TV series, Morticia's in the movies, and Gomez's again in The New Addams Family TV series from the 90s. In the movies, her name is established as "Esmerelda Frump", and in The New Addams Family it's "Eudora Addams", but in either case it's rare to hear anyone address her as such.
• The Adventures of Pete & Pete did this in the opening, although likewise every other character is only addressed by first name. It was especially annoying when Pete's grandfather visits and, after being somewhat of a pest, agrees to not use a nickname for Pete's father — instead using dad. However, both parents were eventually given names — Joyce and Don.
• In Black Books, when Bernard Black had to fill in his mother's name on a form, he honestly didn't know, claiming he just called her, 'Ma'. And that was what he put down. Followed by, 'possibly deceased'.
• iCarly: The name of Spencer and Carly's mother is never revealed.
• Ryuusuke and Urara's parents in Kankyou Choujin Ecogainder.
• In Kim's Convenience, Mr. and Mrs. Kim are mostly only referred to as either Appa and Umma (Korean for "Dad" and "Mom" respectively) or as Mr. and Mrs. Kim, to the point where they even call each other Appa and Umma when no one else is around. In the episode "Handyman", their names are revealed to be Sang-il and Yung-mi.
• The Munsters had everyone referring to 'Grandpa'; Grandpa Munster was actually Count Dracula but only a few jokes revealed this and no one in the show regularly called him that. The first series gave his full name as "Sam Dracula", while the 80s series (The Munsters Today) called him "Vladimir Dracula".
• In The Pretender, Miss Parker's father never gets a forename even after he becomes a major supporting character, perhaps to emphasise how much she's still in his shadow even though she's an adult (she calls him "Daddy"). In the final season, when he marries again, the show pointedly goes out of its way to avoid revealing his full name in the wedding scene.
• The Twilight Zone (1985):
  • In "The Uncle Devil Show", Joey's parents are not named.
  • In "The Leprechaun-Artist", Buddy, J.P. and Richie's parents aren't named.
  • In "A Saucer of Loneliness", Margaret's mother is not named.
  • In "There Was an Old Woman", Brian Harris' father is not named.
  • In "Stranger in Possum Meadows", Danny Wilkins' mother isn't named.

Music

• Preschool Popstars:
  • The blonde girl's mother is seen in "Wait Until I Cook It" but isn't given a name.
  • The Hispanic-looking girl's mother is seen in "Hair Cut Strut", her father is mentioned in that song, and her mother is mentioned in "Before I Go to Sleep", but they don't have names.
  • The Asian girl's mother is mentioned in "Before I Go to Sleep", but she doesn't have a name either.
• Tommy: Both of Tommy's parents are unnamed in both the album and the 1993 musical, though in the 1975 film version his mother has a name: Nora Walker.

Myths & Religion

• Quite a few unnamed women in The Bible were parents. Perhaps the most noticeable one is the wife of Noah, since according to Genesis every single living human being is descended from her.
• Also applies to many mothers in The Qur'an, as well, because the only woman named in the scripture is Maryam, mother of Isa. Names for other women came from contemporary biographies or traditions borrowed from the Bible (especially if the figures are shared).

Puppet Shows

• The grandmother in Yo Soy Taíno is unnamed.

Theater

• In Albert Herring, Albert's mother is only called "Mum," "Albert's Mum," "Mrs. Herring" etc. His deceased father is likewise unnamed.
• Averted in Bye Bye Birdie: though the Dramatis Personae only names "Mr. MacAfee" and "Mrs. MacAfee", Kim calls her parents by First-Name Basis in an early scene, so their first names (Harry and Doris) are revealed before long.
• In The Consul, John's mother isn't even called by a surname. (Presumably it would also be Sorel, but "Mrs. Sorel" always refers to John's wife Magda.)
• In the opera Hänsel und Gretel, the title characters' parents are named "Peter" and "Gertrud" in the Dramatis Personae only; in the libretto, they are always just "Vater" and "Mutter", which they even call each other by.
• The prologue chapter of Wicked involving Elphaba's birth and childhood is condensed into a portion of "No One Mourns The Wicked" in the musical. This means her parents, Melena and Frexspar, were heavily Demoted to Extra. They're only referred to as "Witch's Mother" and "Witch's Father" in the script. Fans of the musical who are aware of the book (and some of the actors who have played the roles) refer to them by their book names.

Video Games

• In Backyard Sports, the kids' parents are mentioned many times, but they are nameless and faceless. Except Jorge was named after his father, who also was named after his father.
• Chrono Trigger: Crono's mother is called simply "Mom" in the American version (but "Gina" in Japan).
• Disgaea
  • Laharl's late mother in Disgaea 1 goes unnamed throughout the entire game despite her importance to the narritive. The light novels on the other hand gave her the name Gwen, or as you'd more likely recognize her, Guinevere.
  • Adell's parents in Disgaea 2 are only referred to as Mom and Dad. But according to external sources, those really are their names.
• In Doki Doki Panic, Imajin's parents are only called "Mama" and "Papa".
• Every parent who properly appears in Double Homework:
  • Rachel’s mom is only ever called this or “Mrs. Bowers.”
  • Dennis’s dad isn’t known as anything else; we do, however, have a surname for him (Bletcher).
  • Amy’s mom is just known as "the Queen.”
• Ness' parents in EarthBound are unnamed, as are those of Paula and Jeff, even though Jeff's father plays a significant role in their adventure; Ness's father is even represented by a phone in the cast lineup. The same goes for everyone's parents in EarthBound Beginnings, but averted neatly in Mother 3.
• Final Fantasy:
  • In Final Fantasy IV, Edge's parents are referred to as the King of Eblan and Queen of Eblan, including in the boss battle against them.
  • In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud's mother appears, but her name is never given. The 2020 remake finally gives her the name Claudia.
  • Despite being mentioned several times in Final Fantasy X, Tidus and Yuna's mothers are never named. Seymour's mother is only referred to as her Aeon form, Anima, though it is possible this was her real name.
• Hugh's (dead) parents in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade are unnamed; in the prequel we learn his father's name is Canas, but even then his mother's name is not said. Similarly, Lugh and Raigh's mother is named Nino in the prequel, but their father remains unnamed (as Nino can have a paired ending with either Jaffar or Erk, in addition to a solo ending).
• None of Garet's immediate family in Golden Sun have name tags, and the only one identified in dialogue is his older sister Kay. Datamining shows that Garet's little brother is named Aaron... and his parents are apparently "Garet's Papa" and "Garet's Mama".
• Only the mothers of Rika and the Sonozaki twins are named in Higurashi: When They Cry, and that is due to their plot relevance. The other parents are unnamed.
• Everyone's parents in Katawa Shoujo except for Jigoro Hakamichi (Shizune's father) and Meiko Ibarazaki (Emi's mother). Justified in nearly all cases; The only other parent Hisao interacts with besides his own (who he is likely to refer to as 'mum' and 'dad' anyway) and those listed above (who are named) is Lilly's mother, with whom he shares two lines of dialogue over the phone before she hands over to Lilly, and one of those comes off garbled because Hisao's English isn't stellar. All other parents are dead or absent.
• The Ulmer parents in ''King's Heir: Rise to the Throne aren't named, only referred to as "mother" and "father", and while the father has some plot relevance, the mother has none.
• The Legend of Zelda
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: One of the Seven Maidens' grandfather can be found on Death Mountain. He is known as the Lost Old Man.
  • When they aren't absent, all of Link's parental figures remain unnamed, be they his uncle, his grandma, or anyone in between. In most of the games, his immediate parents aren't even mentioned
  • Zelda's family on the other hand has a slightly better track record - half the time he appears, her father the king is given a name, but the queen remains unmentioned and unnamed.
• Lan's parents in Mega Man Battle Network. His dad manages to get away with being called "Doctor Hikari" most of the time. They are eventually named. His mother is Haruka, and his father Yuichiro, as revealed in "Battle Chip Challenge". It's worth noting that his grandfather has both a first and last name (who fitting with the series' punny names, is named Tadashi Hikari, or "Right Light"
• In My Frogger: Toy Trials Kyle's friend Lucy referred to his mother as "Kyle's mom."
• An "Unnamed Parental Substitute" version occurs in Octopath Traveler II. The heads of the Blacksnakes are simply referred to as "Mother" and "Father." Father ends up subverting it, though, as flashbacks show that his name is Sebastian.
• Pokémon:
  • Every Pokémon game, with four exceptions: In Hoenn the player's father is named Norman, who is also a Gym Leader. In Sinnoh the player's mother is named Johanna, and like Norman she has a more active lifestyle than unnamed parents, participating in Pokemon Contests. In Kalos the protagonist's mother is a famous ex-Rhyhorn racer named Grace. Finally, in Orre, the player's mother is named Lily. Other than in these four games the player's mother is simply referred to as Mom, and their father doesn't even show up. The anime counterpart of the RSE player character's mother is named "Caroline".
  • The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky bonus episode "Igglybuff the Prodigy" features two Wigglytuff (Igglybuff's parents) who are always known as "Mama" and "Papa", to the point where not only do the townsfolk call them "Mama" and "Papa", but they call each other by those names as well. Justified somewhat in that storyline NPCs usually don't have nicknames, but since these two are both Wigglytuff, we have to tell them apart somehow.
• In the classic arcade game Robotron: 2084, Mikey's parents are known only as "Mommy" and "Daddy".
• In Shining Song Starnova, none of the heroines’ parents are named at any point, excluding Aki’s mother (Yumiko) and Nemu’s parents (Haruna, Kojiro, and Sena). Natsuki’s parents are the clearest example, as they only refer to each other as Ma and Pa, despite being important characters on her route.
• The Sly Cooper series lists names of numerous Cooper ancestors, but Sly's parents have usually been both nameless and faceless. This is partially subverted later on in the case of his father, however, as supplementary material refers to him as being named "Conner" despite still lacking a clear appearance. Next to nothing is known about his mother, however.
• In South Park: The Stick of Truth, your parents were never given names and were only known as Mom and Dad. Subverted in the sequel, where they reveal their names to be Chris and Kelly.
• In Spirits of Anglerwood Forest, most characters are at least given a first name. Cyrus's father is just labeled as "Cyrus's Father". By the end, we find out his surname is Grant.
• While both parents and the grandmother in Survivor: Fire have the surname MacDougal, their first names are unknown (as are the kids'.)
• In Tales of Symphonia, if the player has not done the side quest involving Genis and Raine's mother before going to Derris-Kharlan, the vision of Genis and Raine's mother is referred to as "Mother" instead of "Virginia".

Webcomics

• The Bird Feeder: It seems that Gramps was always that old. In #229, "Gramps' Other Name", he says that people didn't always call him "Gramps". When he was a kid they just called him "Pops". This is, however, subverted by the fact that, as it states in #228, "Gramps" is actually an acronym which stands for his full name, which is "Gornelius Russel Aristobulus Maximillian Patrick Seamus".
• Charby the Vampirate: Daray's father goes unnamed even though the rest of the family has given names, it probably has something to do with the fact that he's not in the comic much having disowned Daray in his first appearance.
• El Goonish Shive, of all the main eight characters only Tedd's parents' first names are known and those names were a long time coming with his father (Edward Verres) and mother (Noriko Verres) being named over 7 years and over 10 years into the comic's history respectively. We've seen Elliot and Ellen's parents have conversations with each other more than any other parents, but they only ever call each other "dear" or similar.
• General Protection Fault: Ki's parents are not referred to by name at any point, not even by each other.
• Homestuck: No-one's parents/legal guardians have known names; they're all simply called Dad, Nanna, Mom, Bro and Grandpa. More often than not, they're not even distinguished by surname, since only one father, grandmother, mother, brother and grandfather ever shows up in-comic. In Act 6, Nanna, Grandpa, Mom, and Bro's post-scratch counterparts are introduced, going by the names Jane, Jake, Roxy, and Dirk, respectively. Dad still goes nameless. The pre-scratch kids serve as adult guardians in the post-scratch universe, referred to as Poppop, Grandma, Mom, and Bro for John, Jade, Rose, and Dave respectively. Whether the guardians go by the same names as their counterparts isn't revealed in the comic proper. Hiveswap reveals that Grandpa Harley is called Jake like his post-scratch counterpart, and that Mom Lalonde is named Roxy.
• Kevin & Kell: The main couple's parents went unnamed for the early strips, typically only receiving names when they started getting development. Kevin's dad remained this way the longest, being called either "Kevin's Dad" or "Mr. Kindle" until his name was revealed to be Bentley. Similarly, Fiona's parents were not referred to by name until after their marriage ended. Fenton's mother's name, Desdemona, was given during the arc in which she was outed as a vampire bat, but her husband's name has not yet been revealed.
• Khaos Komix lampshades and uses it for comic effect in this comic.
• Lena: neither of Lena's parents has been given a real name. In one strip, Lena calls her mother Samantha, with the joke being that her name is not Samantha.
• Little Lapses: Even the parents with character titles are just referred to as "X's Mom". In the character Q&A's, readers asked the parents' names and both times got no answer.
• Misfile: This trope is both averted and played straight. Ash's mother and father have names and actual lives, but Em's mom is just Em's mom or Ms. McArthur.
• Namir Deiter: The mother of one of the characters has always been competing with her sister in every way they could come up with. After winning in the "have children first" category, she had her name officially changed to "Momma" just to throw it into her sister's face. She is also expected tho change it to "Grandma" should an opportunity arise.
• The Order of the Stick: Elan's mother, to the point where the priest at her own wedding, albeit a dream one, refers to her as "Elan's mother". (Durkon's mother is called only "Mama" and "Sarge" in her first appearance, though we later learn that her name is Sigdi.)
• Ozy and Millie ran with this up until the final story arc for Millie's mother. (It's Mililani Minerva Mudd, if you were wondering.) Ozy's father has Only One Name.
• Pebble and Wren: All the parents are named except for Wren's biological mother, who was only mentioned, and Pebble's father.
• Unsounded: Duane's grandfather is only known as Grandpa Adelier, Sette's grandmother/Nary's mother as Granny Frummagem and the matriarch of Ruffles' Inak clan is only known as Nana.

Web Original

• Can You Spare a Quarter?: Jamie's parents are never referred to by name during the course of the story, instead always being called "father" and "mother".
• Discussed in Cinnamon Bunzuh!, an Animorphs Review Blog. (For the record, it's actually Michelle.)
  Ifi: Hi Mrs. Cassie's Mom.
  Ifi: I'm gonna look up your name.
  Adam: Her name is "Cassie's Mom".
  Adam: Her parents were very presumptuous about grandkids.
• In Hector's World, the parents are just "my mum" and "my dad".
• Princess Natasha: The O'Brien parents are only known to the viewers as "Mr. O'Brien" and "Mrs. O'Brien".

Western Animation

• In 3-2-1 Penguins!, Jason and Michelle's parents are never referred to by their first names.
• Mama and Papa Mousekewitz in the An American Tail series. This is made more odd by the fact that they constantly refer to each other by those names. The Animated Series eventually gave Papa the name "Bernard" (despite this not being a Russian or Hebrew name^note On the other hand, he may have have adopted the name when they first came to America) when his sister came to visit to avoid the confusion of having his own sister call him Papa, but Mama was never named.
• Anne's parents in Amphibia don't have first names.
• The Babaloos: Both of Kevin's parents go unnamed in the show, and even the credits (at least, the version of the credits that says which characters people voiced) just list them as "Mom" and "Dad".
• Full averted with Bandit and Chilli Heeler from Bluey. Most of the adults and parents have their names given at some point, but the kids usually refer to them by last name or their relationship to their children, like "Mr. Heeler" or "Mr. Bluey's Dad". Bluey even asks for her parents' "non-mum/dad names" during 'The Show'.
• Brak's parents The Brak Show are consistently refereed to as Mom and Dad, even by each other and strangers. A bumper revealed "Dad" was actually named Javier, and that he wasn't Brak's father anyway.
• Caillou's parents are never given names in the English version. They are only referred to as "Mommy" and "Daddy". In one episode one of the dad's friends says "Is that you Daddy?, I haven't seen you in years!", sounding like they were the dad's long lost relative. Subverted in the French version however, which gives them the names "Boris" and "Doris".
• In ChalkZone, while Rudy's parents and Reggie's dad have names, Penny's mom's name was never revealed in the series.
• In the Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers episode "Adventures in Squirrelsitting", the mother of the two squirrel girls Tammy and Bink does appear, she also has dialog, but she does not have a name at all, no first name, no family name. She is usually referred to as Mrs. Squirrel. And this is only the most famous example from the show.
• Lampshaded in Clone High when Toots refers to the woman he's dating as "Cleo's drunk ass foster mom" and then can't remember the name of the woman's daughter. With the exception of Toots, who shows up quite a bit, the foster parents show up so rarely and briefly that it's excusable for them to go unnamed.
• Codename: Kids Next Door plays with the trope. To the Kids Next Door, adults are the enemy, and so they don't really care what the adults are named beyond "Mom" or "Dad". All adults are either "Mr. ______" or some variation on the gimmick they use to fight the KND. The biggest villain for the majority of the series is the demonic figure known only as "Father". The one who eventually tops him is the Draculaesque "Grandfather", who's Father's father. However, several of their actual parents were named over the course of the series.
• Courage the Cowardly Dog has two characters whose fathers' given names are revealed, but not their mothers'.
  • Eustace Bagge's father is named Ickett Bagge, but his mother is only ever called Ma Bagge.
  • In the episode "Remembrance of Courage Past", the flashbacks of when Courage was separated from his parents as a puppy has his father's first name revealed to be Henry, while his mother remains unnamed.
• The parents in Cow and Chicken. In one episode it's hinted that their real names actually may be "Mom" and "Dad". They actually take it several steps farther, as they lack torsos. While generally only the legs are on-screen, one episode panned up to reveal that there was nothing on top of the legs.
• In Danny Phantom, neither Sam, Tucker, or Valerie's parents' names were ever stated in the show except maybe twice during the series' span. Interestingly, the majority of their names are listed in the credits.
• The parents on Dexter's Laboratory to a ridiculous degree. In the last few seasons Dad was even referred to directly as "Mr. Dexter's Dad."
• Dinosaur Train has everyone call Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon as such, including friends of theirs who themselves have first names, such as neighbors Larry and Lorraine Lambeosaurus. Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon also usually introduce themselves to others as such. "Mr. and Mrs. P" sometimes get used as a nickname, however. The lack of first names also extends to Mr. Pteranodon's parents, who're called by everyone (including each other) as Grandma and Grandpa Pteranodon, though Mr. Pteranodon calls them "Mom" and "Dad."
• In Dragon Tales, the parents of the human characters are never shown nor named, though their voices are occasionally heard. The dragon parents are shown only from the about the stomach down are never named. In one episode a dragon parent was about to have her name revealed. "Hi, Mrs." but it was interrupted by the sound of Ord's parents approaching.
• Parodied in an episode of Drawn Together. The gang is helping Xandir prepare to tell his parents he is gay by doing a roleplaying exercise. Xandir's dad is referred to with the name Stan, but they never come up with a proper name for Xandir's mom, always referring to her in dialogue as "Xandir's mom", even when addressing her directly.
• The Fairly OddParents!:
  • Timmy's parents are this to a humorous effect. Even as children in the Time Travel episode they go by "Mom" and "Dad". Lampshaded/parodied: "My real name is (truck drives by), but everyone calls me Dad." This was repeated when Mom showed up. In more recent episodes, they even sign a form as "Timmy's Mom" and "Timmy's Dad", and Mr. Turner's credit card simply reads Dad. Timmy's dad is also referred to by their last name Turner, mainly by Dinkleberg. Although he is given a name at one point (it's Sheldon), his wife Mrs. Dinkleberg remains nameless. In one episode Timmy addresses a large crowd of people at a concert as "all you women... and Timmy Turner's dad!" while pretending to be someone else. The original Oh Yeah! Cartoons shorts took it a step farther, by never revealing the parents' faces, specifically by keeping them too tall to fit in the frame with Timmy. However, Butch Hartman hosted a contest on social media in 2018 for fans to pick the name for the mother. The official name for the character is "Trudy". We did learn Dad and Mom's names when they were younger in the episode "Polter-geeks" though ("Mom" and "Barnaby" respectively).
  • Cosmo and Wanda's known parents also don't have names. They are called Mama Cosma and Big Daddy respectively.
• In Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Jake's dad actually does get named ("Frank"), but his mom doesn't. More notable are Grandma and Grandpa; while their last name ("Spankenheimer") is sometimes thrown in, even strangers and legal officials seem to think that those are their real names. In a similar vein, people call the Big Bad "Cousin Mel" even if they're not related to her.
  • Lampshaded in The Nostalgia Critic's review of the film: "R.I.P. Grandma with No First Name".
• The Pines parents in Gravity Falls. The only clue we get is that Dipper and Mabel's middle names are the same as their parents' first names.
• In The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Billy's parents originally follow this trope (often addresses as "Billy's Mom/Dad") until they were given the names Harold and Gladys and referred as so regularly for the rest of the series.
• Hanna-Barbera has Augie Doggie and his father, Doggie Daddy, which is apparently the latter's real name. In Yogi's First Christmas, Huckleberry Hound addresses him as "Daddy" in one scene.
• In Heidi's Song Heidi's grandfather is never named.
• Hey Arnold!:
  • Unusually, Gerald's dad has a name (Martin), but not his mom.
  • Arnold's grandmother's real name (Gerty/Gertrude) was only mentioned two times, once a single episode during a bit of Blink and You'll Miss it sequence and then when Phil's sister shows up and reveals that growing up, Phil had a relationship with a girl that was almost identical to Arnold's relationship with Helga. Guess who.
• Jackie Chan Adventures:
  • Uncle, though he isn't a parent. He's Jackie's uncle, but everyone calls him "Uncle" (except Tohru addressing him by the title "Sensei", and his mother who calls him an assortment of insulting names, usually "Billy goat"), which can be a bit confusing with Jade since she also calls Jackie "Uncle Jackie" (even though he's actually a first cousin to one of her parents, and thus her cousin once removed) since it's common in Chinese culture to refer to close acquaintances as such even if they are not actually related to you. One line lampshades this: "No wonder I got confused, too many uncles." Jade's parents also have no idea how Uncle is related to them at all.
  • Tohru's mom is never named. Jade sometimes calls her "Mrs. T", Jackie usually just says "Tohru's mom" and Uncle just calls her an assortment of insulting names.
• Kaeloo: Stumpy's mother's name is never revealed, and she is simply referred to as "Mom" by all of her children.
• Kim Possible:
  • Kim's parents were simply "Mrs. Dr. Possible" and "Mr. Dr. Possible" for a long time, but they each got a one-line reveal in one of the two Grand Finales. They turn out to share names with their kids; the father is James Timothy, like Kim's twin younger brothers, and Kim's mom is Anne, which is Kim's middle name. This was lampshaded in one episode, where Mr. Dr. Possible complains about the difficulty of the questions on his tax forms, starting with his first name.
    Mr. Dr. Possible: Urgg, I'm a rocket scientist. I should be able to do my own taxes. Uh, let's see.... "Last name." "Possible." "First Name"....
    Kim: Dad!
  • Sometime in the fourth season, Ron's mother was referred to as "Dawn", while Ron's father remains completely unnamed (though signs point to it being "Jon" or "John").
  • Drakken's mother is nameless despite appearing several times.
  • Oddly, Wade's father, who never appears on-screen or has any lines, is given the name Lontaine, but his mother (who mentions the name and is heard several times) never gets one.
• On Life With Loopy, neither of Loopy and Larry's parents were given first names. The book Not Just Cartoons, Nicktoons contains a page that includes the first page to the script of "Loopy And The Lost Voice" (albeit printed backwards) even shows that Mrs. Cooper is simply listed as "Mom" in the script.
• In Little Bear the parents and grandparents are just known as Mother Bear and so on; to the extent that Grandpa Bear's stage name back in the circus was 'The Great Grandini'... long before Little Bear was even born.
• Averted in Littlest Pet Shop (2012) which has Blythe's dad, Roger Baxter. Her mom wasn't even mentioned until the Season 4 premiere where it's revealed her name was Lauren and she could talk to pets just like her daughter. It is heavily implied, as well as confirmed by the show's co-creator that she has passed away, but it is never stated in-show.
• Not quite a parent, but the Muppet Babies call their nanny as "Nanny"; justified since because they are babies, that's the only name they would know her as at first. Also, we always see her only from the knees down.
• In My Goldfish is Evil, Beanie's mom's first name is never revealed. Or the family's surname, for that matter.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • All of the main characters' parents have appeared once each, but the only parents to be named in-series are side character Diamond Tiara's parents, Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich; Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake, first named in the very episode where their twin foals are born; Pinkie Pie's parents, Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz; Rainbow Dash's parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles; and Applejack's parents, Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter in flashbacks.^note Expanded Universe material, such as the toyline and card game, have named Twilight's and Rarity's parents: Twilight Velvet and Night Light; and Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles, respectively. Fluttershy is the only one of the Mane Six to have Unnamed Parents, since they're just called Mr. and Mrs. Shy in "Flutter Butter". Also, it turns out Granny Smith was named such long before she was a grandmother, in keeping with her family's apple-themed names.
  • The iOS/Android game based on the show features Rarity's father as a character and he is given the name "Magnum". His name has never been mentioned in the show though so it is unclear whether or not the in-game name is canon; it was later officially retconned by the card game. Some of the names suggest we should take it with a grain of salt (For example, the filly fan-named Dinky is called "Fire Chief" in the game based on the hat she wore once on what amounts to pony Halloween. She's got nothing to do with firefighting (it's a dangerous job for an elementary schooler, after all.)
• Elsewhere in the My Little Pony franchise, there's the G3 "Newborn Cuties". The "newborn" versions of the main cast had moms who were not named at all; even in the toy line they were basically treated as accessories (hey, somebody ^note Or "somepony" for those who prefer FIM. has to be pushing the little hoof-pushed stroller thingy) and not given any names. They mostly look like older versions of the kids, a reversal of the G1 "Baby [insert adult pony's name here]" ponies. The exception to that rule is the mom pony that came with the baby versions of Cheerilee and Scootaloo, who were sisters: you get a fusion of the two that winds up looking a great deal like Twilight Sparkle (a year or two before FIM came out.)
• The Patrick Star Show: Parodied and discussed in "Bummer Jobs", when both SpongeBob and Patrick think their dads are just named "Dad".
  Squidward: It's very simple. Just collect my newspaper money from Mr. Star.
  Patrick: Who's Mr. Star?
  Squidward: Cecil. Your father?
  Patrick: Oh, him! Oh, but his name's not Seashell. It's Dad.
  SpongeBob: That's my dad's name, too!
  Patrick: No way!
  [the two high-five]
• In Peppa Pig, all the relatives are like this. So everyone calls Peppa's father "Daddy Pig", even his workmates and his own father.
• Used on Pete the Cat. For just one example, Pete's father is often referred to as "Mr. Pete the Cat's Dad."
• Mostly averted in Phineas and Ferb, in which the adult characters have first and last names; but alluded to in the episode "Undercover Carl". Carl goes undercover as a neighborhood kid, and when Major Monogram arrives posing as his father, all five children present greet him in unison with "Hi, Carl's dad!"
• Professor Utonium is a major character in The Powerpuff Girls, yet, his given name is never stated (even as a child!) He's either referred to by his title (even by his daughters) or his surname.
• Razzberry Jazzberry Jam: Louis’s mother is never named, and the credits only refer to her as “Mrs. Trumpet”. This is especially odd since when Billie’s father visited in an early episode, he did have a name. (Elmore, for the curious.)
• In Recess, the names of Spinelli's parents (Bob and Flo), Gretchen's parents (Phil and Doris), Gus' mom (Madge), and T.J.'s mom (Ellie) have been revealed. The rest of the gang's parents remain unnamed.
• In Rupert, an Animated Adaptation of the British comic strip Rupert Bear, the only parents whose given names are revealed are those of Podgy Pig, whose parents are named Cedric and Lily.
• Scooby-Doo:
  • Spinoffs featuring Scooby's parents always have the various characters (not just Scooby) call them Mommy and Daddy Doo (or variants such as "Mumsy and Dada"), which is apparently their real names.
  • "Wedding Bell Boos" from The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show oddly has Scrappy refer to Mommy and Daddy Doo as "Uncle Scooby's parents," not as his grandparents.
  • Despite Daddy-Doo's apparent lack of any other name, Scooby's grandfather and great-grandfather (i.e., Daddy's father and grandfather) in one of the 80s Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts are introduced as "Grandpa Scooby" and "Great-Grandpa Scooby."
• The Simpsons:
  • On their initial appearances in The Tracey Ullman Show, Homer and Marge did not have names, and were credited as "Mr. Simpson" and "Mrs. Simpson". It wasn't until the 30-minute show that they officially received those names, although "Homer" was used in a few shorts.
  • Grandpa Simpson is still usually referred to as Grandpa. Characters outside the family tend to refer to him as simply "Grandpa Simpson" rather than his given name of Abraham (which was first revealed in the episode "The Front"). Apparently Matt Groening never named the characters and other writers decided on the name, which by coincidence happened to be the name of Matt Groening's grandfather.
• South Park: In "Scott Tenorman Must Die", Scott Tenorman's parents are never named. Scott's father was revealed to be named "Jack" in "201", but his mother's name has never been given. Even the South Park wiki only lists her as "Mrs. Tenorman".
• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), the name of Casey's mother is never mentioned, despite a couple appearances by the character. Casey's late father, whose only appearance is on a brief flashback, is known to be "Arnold Casey Jones, Sr.".
• In Winston's Potty Chair, the names of the parents of Winston and his best friend, Molly, are never mentioned.

Real Life

• In many families, people refer to other family members relative to the kids. So a father might refer to his mother as "grandma" and his wife as "mom". This is most common when actually talking to the kids in question, of course.
  • Some school teachers call the parents 'mom' and 'dad', as well.
  • This trope is taken to its extreme in Nigeria, as it's common for everyone in almost every situation to refer to a parent by their most popular child, e.g Tom's Mummy (or Tom's Mom, or Mama-Tom) said this. Normally the most popular child is the eldest, but sometimes it could be the youngest, or an unusual child (smartest, mental difficulties, behavioural problems) in the bunch.
  • Eddie Izzard has a joke about this: "when you were a child, did you ever hear your grandma call your grandad 'grandad' and think, 'he's your grandad too? Does that make you my sister? ...What kind of crazy family is this?' "
  • Some parents even refer to themselves as their parental title instead of using "I".
    • And some songs reflect this:
      Hush little baby, don't say a word / Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...
    • This is often done when a child is very young and just learning language, because the same person being "Mommy", "I", "Me", and "Elly" is quite confusing.
• For that matter, parents tend to do this with other parents as well. Interaction with most other kids' parents is fleeting at best, so they become just "Alice's mom" or "Bobby's dad".
• It is a part of almost everyone's personal Coming of Age Story when you learn your parent actually has a name.
• Very common in the Arab world, where a father often takes the personal name of his firstborn son as a surname (so Omar, father of Jalil, would be Omar abu Jalil) and a mother takes the name of her firstborn daughter. This is known as a kunya.

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