Basic Trope: A surname considered embarrassing to the character.
- Straight: Alice's last name is Butt, and it causes a lot of embarrassment for her.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice's surname is profane or even a slur.
- There are several characters with unfortunate surnames who get teased for them.
- Alice has multiple surnames. All of them are embarrasssing.
- The surname is so vulgar it is considered a Brown Note.
- Alice is married. Her maiden name is "Fuchs", and her husband has Two First Names.
- Downplayed:
- Alice's surname is Finger, but she doesn't seem to mind about it.
- Alice's last name is only inappropriate if you pronounce it wrong. (e.g Cockburn)
- Alice's last name is Aliceson. She only finds it relatively embarrassing because it's a Repetitive Name, but doesn't mind it.
- Justified: "Butt" is a real surname, but it also means "bottom", which will inevitably lead to teasing.
- Inverted:
- Embarrassing First Name.
- Alice is very proud of her surname.
- Subverted: Alice doesn't mind being named Alice Butt. She just finds it amusing.
- Double Subverted: Then a serial killer named Tom Butt is caught, and Alice starts hating her surname.
- Parodied: Alice Butt changes her name to Betty Butt.
- Zigzagged:
- Sometimes Alice's last name of "Butt" causes her embarrassment, other times she doesn't mind, and still other times, she finds it funny.
- Different members of the Butt family have different opinions of their last names.
- Averted: Alice's last name does not give her grief.
- Enforced: "I've heard that some people have the last name of "Butt". Let's name a character that and see what happens!"
- Lampshaded: "Wow, that surname is embarrassing"
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied:
- Alice changes her surname.
- Alice's parents Bob Butt and Charlotte Smith decide to name her Alice Smith instead of Alice Butt.
- Discussed: "So 'Weiner', 'Wang', and 'Butt' are real surnames?"
- Conversed: "That poor character, it must be hard getting things under the name of Butt"
- Implied:Bob: "So, what's your name?"
Alice: "Alice"
Bob: "Alice what?"
Alice: (shyly) "I don't want to say..." - Deconstructed:
- Alice is bullied endlessly for her name, and she becomes suicidal.
- When Alice tells people her last name, they think she's just making it up for a cheap laugh. Fun Fact
- Reconstructed:
- See Defied 1.
- The people who made fun of Alice's name have a My God, What Have I Done? moment when they realize Alice did not find the jokes about her unfortunate name amusing in the slightest.
- Played for Laughs: There's a Running Gag of Alice being, well, the Butt-Monkey because of her surname.
- Played for Drama: Alice has social anxiety because of her surname.
- Played for Horror: After too much teasing, Alice snaps and murders someone when they make fun of her name
Back to Embarrassing Last Name.
