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* ''Series/FridayNightLights'': Main character Eric Taylor is almost always referred to as Coach. Because he coaches high school football in a football obsessed town in Texas, even the adults tend to refer to him as Coach.
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* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': The Marshal is only referred to with his title.
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* Almost everyone has a number, not a name, in ''Series/ThePrisoner'', but "Number Two" is a job and title as well. Over the course of the series, many different people serve as Number Two, who would appear to run The Village.
** The Supervisor, though possessed of a number (28). is always called "Supervisor". "The Butler" has no number, and is always referred to as "The Butler" in the credits.

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* Almost everyone has a number, not a name, in ''Series/ThePrisoner'', ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', but "Number Two" is a job and title as well. Over the course of the series, many different people serve as Number Two, who would appear to run The Village.
** The Supervisor, though possessed of a number (28). (28), is always called "Supervisor". "The Butler" has no number, and is always referred to as "The Butler" in the credits.
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* ''Series/{{Ghosts}}'': One of the ghosts haunting the house that the main couple live in is only known as The Captain.

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* ''Series/{{Ghosts}}'': ''Series/GhostsUK'': One of the ghosts haunting the house that the main couple live in is only known as The Captain.
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* The RT leader in ''Series/JandaKembang'' is always referred to as "Pak RT" while his name, Romli, is only mentioned once in episode 28, long after he is PutOnABus.
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** Number 54 is referred to as 'The General'.
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* Nursie in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} II'', sort of. She certainly goes by her title, even though it's not even role she properly fills anymore (granted she continues to do so anyway) but she does admit her real name as being Bernard.

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* Nursie in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} II'', sort of. She certainly goes by her title, even though but it's not even no longer her official role she properly fills anymore (granted (although she continues to do so anyway) but she it anyway). She does admit that her real name as being Bernard.is 'Bernard'.
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* ''Series/{{Ghosts}}: One of the ghosts haunting the house that the main couple live in is only known as The Captain.

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* ''Series/{{Ghosts}}: ''Series/{{Ghosts}}'': One of the ghosts haunting the house that the main couple live in is only known as The Captain.
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* ''Series/{{Ghosts}}: One of the ghosts haunting the house that the main couple live in is only known as The Captain.

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%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!






* In the TV adaptation of James Clavell's ''The Children's Story'', the new teacher explicitly tells the children to call her "Teacher" whenever they ask her name. (In the original book, the narrator refers to her throughout as "the new teacher," but she does tell the children her name when asked--the narrator just doesn't say what that name is. Clavell wanted her to represent an idea without being specifically tied to a particular nationality or ethnicity.)

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* In the TV adaptation of James Clavell's ''The Children's Story'', the new teacher explicitly tells the children to call her "Teacher" whenever they ask her name. (In the original book, the narrator refers to her throughout as "the new teacher," but she does tell the children her name when asked--the asked -- the narrator just doesn't say what that name is. Clavell wanted her to represent an idea without being specifically tied to a particular nationality or ethnicity.)



** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason[[note]]The ExpandedUniverse says this is her title as ruler of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani Miasimia Goria]][[/note]]) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.

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** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages -- quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason[[note]]The ExpandedUniverse says this is her title as ruler of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani Miasimia Goria]][[/note]]) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.



** In season one, The Chief's first name is revealed to be Thaddeus. But he's usually just called "The Chief" or "Chief"

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** In season one, Season 1, The Chief's first name is revealed to be Thaddeus. But he's usually just called "The Chief" or "Chief"



* Earl always refers to Darnell on ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' as "Crab Man," and his relatives (or pets) as "Crab Man's (insert position of relative or pet)." [[WholeEpisodeFlashback "Y2K"]] shows us why-when Earla dn Darnell first met, Earl couldn't remember his name and the nickname just stuck. Darnell himself uses it when he gets his own version of the theme song.

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* Earl always refers to Darnell on ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' as "Crab Man," and his relatives (or pets) as "Crab Man's (insert position of relative or pet)." [[WholeEpisodeFlashback "Y2K"]] shows us why-when why -- when Earla dn Darnell first met, Earl couldn't remember his name and the nickname just stuck. Darnell himself uses it when he gets his own version of the theme song.



* ''[[Series/StellaUK Stella]]'': "Daddy," the undertaker, is known as such by everyone in Pontyberry. Similarly, Aunty Brenda introduces herself as "Aunty Brenda"--she even ''runs for the council'' with posters saying "Vote Aunty Brenda."

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* ''[[Series/StellaUK Stella]]'': "Daddy," the undertaker, is known as such by everyone in Pontyberry. Similarly, Aunty Brenda introduces herself as "Aunty Brenda"--she Brenda" -- she even ''runs for the council'' with posters saying "Vote Aunty Brenda."



* As of season three of ''Series/TeenWolf'', Stiles' [[UnnamedParent dad]] has only ever been referred to as Sheriff Stilinski or simply [[TheSheriff the sheriff]].

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* As of season three Season 3 of ''Series/TeenWolf'', Stiles' [[UnnamedParent dad]] has only ever been referred to as Sheriff Stilinski or simply [[TheSheriff the sheriff]].



** In the book adaptation of ''Yes, Prime Minsiter'', written by the authors of the TV series, there is a brief reference (in a news clipping) to Hacker's predecessor, who is named Herbert Attwell. (The name is reminiscent of real life British Prime Ministers Herbert H. Asquith and Clement Attlee.)

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** In the book adaptation of ''Yes, Prime Minsiter'', written by the authors of the TV series, there is a brief reference (in a news clipping) to Hacker's predecessor, who is named Herbert Attwell. (The name is reminiscent of real life British Prime Ministers Herbert H. Asquith and Clement Attlee.))

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* ''Series/TheOutpost'': The members of [[BigBadDuumvirate The Three]] are only ever referred to by the number of their position within the triad.

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** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' subverts this: Quark specifically asks people not to call him "barkeep" and gets very annoyed when they do.

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** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
***Quark
subverts this: Quark he specifically asks people not to call him "barkeep" and gets very annoyed when they do.do.
***The Female Changeling, one of the series' main protagonists, is only ever called this. She may not ''have'' a name.
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* ''Series/OddSquad'' has Oprah (no, not [[Creator/OprahWinfrey that Oprah]]), who is almost always referred to as "Ms. O", a title for female Odd Squad Directors in the Management department. The only ones who are known to call her by her actual name are O'Donahue, her former partner, and Oscar after being promoted to President of the Scientists, and it's implied that only those who are close to her can refer to her as such. In Season 3, she is referred to as "Big O" or "The Big O", which is a title for those in the position of the same name, who serves as the head of all Odd Squad precincts worldwide.
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* Almost everyone has a number, not a name, in ''Series/ThePrisoner'', but "Number Two" is a job and title as well. Over the course of the series, many different people serve as Number Two, who would appear to run The Village.
**The Supervisor, though possessed of a number (28). is always called "Supervisor". "The Butler" has no number, and is always referred to as "The Butler" in the credits.

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* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the Cigarette Smoking Man's actual name was only revealed gradually -- he didn't even get a last name or initials until midway through the sixth season. (His full name? Carl Gerhard Busch Spender. He was he was usually referred to as "Smoking Man" or "Cancer Man".) Many other significant X-Files characters are only given descriptive names like "the First Elder" and "the Well-Manicured Man."

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* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the Cigarette Smoking Man's actual name was only revealed gradually -- he didn't even get a last name or initials until midway through the sixth season. (His full name? Carl Gerhard Busch Spender. He was he was usually referred to as "Smoking Man" or "Cancer Man".) Many other significant X-Files characters are only given descriptive names like "the First Elder" and "the Well-Manicured Man."



** In the book adaptation of ''Yes, Prime Minsiter'', by the authors of the TV series, there is a brief reference (in a news clipping) to Hacker's predecessor, who is named Herbert Attwell. (The name is reminiscent of real life British PMs Herbert H. Asquith and Clement Attlee.) The book is mainly framed as a series of diary entries (by Hacker), and memos (by Sir Humphrey) -- they never once refer to the former PM by name.

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** In the book adaptation of ''Yes, Prime Minsiter'', written by the authors of the TV series, there is a brief reference (in a news clipping) to Hacker's predecessor, who is named Herbert Attwell. (The name is reminiscent of real life British PMs Prime Ministers Herbert H. Asquith and Clement Attlee.) The book is mainly framed as a series of diary entries (by Hacker), and memos (by Sir Humphrey) -- they never once refer to the former PM by name.

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* The One-Armed Man, in ''Series/TheFugitive''.

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* The One-Armed Man, in ''Series/TheFugitive''. Eventually, he starts getting referred to as "Fred Johnson", as this is a name he uses as an alias on several occasions. In the final episode, [[spoiler:The One-Armed Man vehemently denies that "Fred Johnson" is his real name. Investigation reveals he had previously used the name "Gus Evans", but this may or may not be his actual identity.]]



* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the Cigarette Smoking Man's first name was never revealed, and he didn't even get a last name or initials until midway through the sixth season. Many other significant characters are only given descriptive names like "the First Elder" and "the Well-Manicured Man."

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* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the Cigarette Smoking Man's first actual name was never revealed, and only revealed gradually -- he didn't even get a last name or initials until midway through the sixth season. season. (His full name? Carl Gerhard Busch Spender. He was he was usually referred to as "Smoking Man" or "Cancer Man".) Many other significant X-Files characters are only given descriptive names like "the First Elder" and "the Well-Manicured Man."




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**In the book adaptation of ''Yes, Prime Minsiter'', by the authors of the TV series, there is a brief reference (in a news clipping) to Hacker's predecessor, who is named Herbert Attwell. (The name is reminiscent of real life British PMs Herbert H. Asquith and Clement Attlee.) The book is mainly framed as a series of diary entries (by Hacker), and memos (by Sir Humphrey) -- they never once refer to the former PM by name.
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* ''Series/{{Telefrancais}}'' has a pilot who is only known as Pilote.
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** Kill Crazy is only ever referred to as Kill Crazy. Even the nametag on his prison coveralls gives his name as Kill Crazy.
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* ''Series/{{Yellowstone}}'' features an itinerant cowboy who simply goes by Cowboy, even though he inevitably works alongside other cowboys.
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* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': Because the main character rarely, if ever, bothers to introduce himself by his actual name, Din Djarin, he's usually just referred to as "Mandalorian", or "Mando" for short. It works because, by the New Republic Era, Mandalorians are rare enough you generally wouldn't encounter more than one at a time.
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* ''[[Series/{{Batman}} Batman TV Series]]'': Miss Iceland from ''Green Ice / Deep Freeze'' is never known by his real name.

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* ''[[Series/{{Batman}} ''[[Series/Batman1966 Batman TV Series]]'': Miss Iceland from ''Green Ice / Deep Freeze'' is never known by his real name.
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* In ''Series/LockieLeonard'', everyone calls the local police sergeant 'Sarge' Leonard. Even his wife and sons.
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* ''Series/StarTrek'':

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* ''Series/StarTrek'':''Franchise/StarTrek'':

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** The Thin Marine and the Fat Marine from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]". "We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines, why would we need names as well?"



** The Thin Marine and the Fat Marine from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]". "We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines, why would we need names as well?"
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** The Thin Marine and the Fat Marine from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS60E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]". "We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines, why would we need names as well?"

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** The Thin Marine and the Fat Marine from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS60E7AGoodManGoesToWar "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]". "We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines, why would we need names as well?"
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** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason[[note: The ExpandedUniverse says this is her title as ruler of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani Miasimia Goria]]]]) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.

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** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason[[note: The reason[[note]]The ExpandedUniverse says this is her title as ruler of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani Miasimia Goria]]]]) Goria]][[/note]]) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.

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** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.

to:

** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason) reason[[note: The ExpandedUniverse says this is her title as ruler of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani Miasimia Goria]]]]) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.


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** The Thin Marine and the Fat Marine from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS60E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]". "We're the thin, fat, gay, married, Anglican marines, why would we need names as well?"
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* ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'': The title character himself is only called that way by ''everyone'', even in the classroom list. Whenever he's asked about his real name, he's always interrupted before he can say it out loud, and the issue isn't brought up again at least for a few episodes.
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** In the first ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' pilot, "The Cage," Captain Pike's second-in-command is only addressed as "Number One" (i.e. first officer). It's uncertain whether this would have persisted had that version of the show become the actual series. A [[ExpandedUniverse novel]] by D.C. Fontana claims she hails from a planet where everyone is genetically engineered, and her name actually ''is'' "[[YouAreNumberSix Number One]]."

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** In the first ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' pilot, "The Cage," Captain Pike's second-in-command is only addressed as "Number One" (i.e. first officer). It's uncertain whether this would have persisted had that version of the show become the actual series. A [[ExpandedUniverse novel]] by D.C. Fontana claims she hails from a planet where everyone is genetically engineered, and her name actually ''is'' "[[YouAreNumberSix Number One]]."" However her canon appearances in Series/StarTrekDiscovery reveal her actual first name to be Una. [[PunnyName Which means 'One']]...
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People [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep only known by their titles]] in live-action TV.
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* Kevin, the ButtMonkey of ''Series/AlFondoHaySitio'', is often called Pollo Gordo ("Fat Chicken").
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** "The Host" had been appearing for nearly a full season before we learned his name was Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, Lorne for short. He stated that he preferred not to go by Lorne because his green skin would cause people to crack Lorne Greene jokes.
** His real name was not only unknown to the audience, but the main characters as well. They never bothered to ask.
* The main characters of ''Series/{{Backup}}'' all work closely together in one police response van. Thus Sergeant Parkin is just Sarge, Susan Li is called Bruce, ditto Token, Oz, Thug, Flub, Dippy etc etc. When Bruce has been temporarily in command, she is called up over an incident involving PC Barrett. If it wasn't for the scene immediately afterward when Thug is being asked questions about the same incident you'd probably never guess who Barrett was.
* ''[[Series/{{Batman}} Batman TV Series]]'': Miss Iceland from ''Green Ice / Deep Freeze'' is never known by his real name.
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':
** Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol wasn't referred to by his full name until well into the series. Even his lover, Sharon Valerii, calls him "Chief." WordOfGod was originally she was going to use his name when [[spoiler:she was shot]] but his name had not been mentioned before and they didn't want people suddenly being jerked out of the moment by his being referred to as Galen for the first time. Even after he is later demoted several people call him Chief, probably by force of habit.
** Similarly, most of the pilots are rarely if ever called by anything except their call signs; even Helo's lover (also Sharon Valerii, but a different one) calls him Helo. Hence the subtle power of the scene where she is given the call sign Athena. It shows that the pilots now understand she is a different person to Boomer (the original Sharon Valerii) and have accepted her as one of them despite the fact that they know full well she is a Cylon.
* The Australian version of ''Series/TheBiggestLoser'', has the Commando. While his real name (Steve Willis) is openly known, he's nearly always called Commando on-screen.
* Nursie in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} II'', sort of. She certainly goes by her title, even though it's not even role she properly fills anymore (granted she continues to do so anyway) but she does admit her real name as being Bernard.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** The Master. His name is actually Heinrich Nest, but nobody has called him that in centuries.
** Downplayed with Buffy herself. Most people call her by her name, but villains usually just refer to her as "the Slayer".
* The first barkeeper on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' was known as "Coach" because he was Sam's coach when he was a major-league pitcher. Although [[TheDitz Coach himself]] thought he got the nickname because he always traveled cheap.
* In the TV adaptation of James Clavell's ''The Children's Story'', the new teacher explicitly tells the children to call her "Teacher" whenever they ask her name. (In the original book, the narrator refers to her throughout as "the new teacher," but she does tell the children her name when asked--the narrator just doesn't say what that name is. Clavell wanted her to represent an idea without being specifically tied to a particular nationality or ethnicity.)
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** Starburns. His real name is Alex Osbourne, but good luck getting anyone to remember that.
** Dean Pelton is called Dean more than he's called Craig. The fact he constantly makes dean-related puns (it's his whole i-dean-tity) doesn't help.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor, along with several other Time Lords like the Master, the Rani, the War Chief, and the Monk, operate like this, although most known Time Lords do have names. {{Fanon}} has that it that losing their name is an intrinsic part of becoming a renegade Time Lord, though some Renegades still have them. Drax seems to get away with using his real name, but then again, he isn't ''nearly'' as big a troublemaker as the other Renegades.
** The [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] has given names to all the major renegades, apart from the Doctor. [[spoiler:The Monk is Mortimus, the Master is Koschei, the War Chief is Magnus and the Rani is Ushas.]] However, it's not clear whether any of these are birth names, or Time Lord Academy nicknames like the Doctor's (Theta Sigma, or Thete).
*** It's also worth noting that [[spoiler:Magnus first appeared in a ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip, where the intent seemed to be that he was the Master. Then David [=McIntee=] named the Master Koschei, and Gary Russell attributed Magnus to the War Chief to [[ContinuityPorn tie everything up]].]]
*** Interestingly, even at the time a letter to ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' asking whether [[spoiler:Magnus was the Master or the War Chief]] was met with an enigmatic "You're right, it is one of those."
** When the Tenth Doctor [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary encou]][[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead nters]] a woman from his own future whom he has not yet met, River Song, [[spoiler:his future wife]], she convinces him that he will one day trust her implicitly by whispering his true name in his ear.
** Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is usually referred to as ''TheBrigadier''.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]], the Doctor receives a message from a Time Lord named the Corsair. [[spoiler:Turns out it was a trap. He finds ''part'' of the Corsair, though.]]
** In fact, it has been revealed that the oldest question in the universe, the one the Doctor has been running from his entire life is [[spoiler:[[TitleDrop "Doctor Who?"]]]] Bad Things can happen if it's revealed to the wrong people for reasons revealed over the arc.
** However, it turns out that the name chosen by a Time Lord is a "real name" to a sufficient degree that when the Doctor and the Master are addressed by Lord President Rassilon, it's as "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master". And for all we know, names like "Rassilon" or "Romanadvoratrelundar" could be similar words in other languages — quite likely since taking a name with a meaning seems to be the custom. The "the" in "The Rani" demonstrates this; we don't know what a Rani is (unless the alien MadScientist considers herself a Hindu queen for some reason) but there's such a thing and she calls herself one of those. Long story short: the Doctor's birth name is not the only name considered their "true" name.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong "The Wedding of River Song"]]: In the alternate reality created by [[spoiler:River Song refusing to shoot the Doctor, causing a fixed moment in time not to occur]], Amy is the leader of a resistance movement, and Rory is her second-in-command, who she only knows as "Captain Williams". When she meets the Doctor she tells him that she has vague memories from the original universe of being married to a man called "Rory" but can't remember anything about him. The Doctor asks her what Captain Williams' first name is, and she simply replies "Captain".
* Mountain Man, the Robertsons' slow-talking neighbor from ''Series/DuckDynasty''.
* In ''Series/EmeraldCity'', the Cardinal Witches are usually referred to by the name of the Cardinal point they represent, i.e. "East" and "West". Only Glinda's personal name has been revealed and regularly used.
* In ''Series/{{Entourage}}'', Ari's wife is always referred to as "Mrs. Ari Gold" and her first name is never mentioned until the final season (it's [[spoiler:Melissa]]).
* Lieutenant Murtagh from ''Series/FamilyMatters'' had his first name name legally changed to "Lieutenant." When he told this to Carl, and Carl asked him what his name was before the change, he answered that it was "Sergeant."
* Pilot from ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. He (and other members of his race) have names the translator microbes couldn't cope with.
* ''Series/LaFemmeNikita'': Apparently by official policy, the head of Section 1 is referred to as Operations and addressed as "Sir", except sometimes by Madeleine, who is of very high rank, and George, whose position outranks Operations.
* The ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode "The One With The Breast Milk" features Joey's rival in the world of spraying cologne at department store patrons, a laconic cowboy known only as "The 'Hombre' Guy". When he loses his poise in the last scene, his name turns out to be Todd.
* The One-Armed Man, in ''Series/TheFugitive''.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** The Spice King, who receives Daenerys outside Qarth, lampshades it by insisting his name is too intricate for foreigners to pronounce.
** The wildling leader who captures Jon and Qhorin is known only as Lord of Bones.
** The head of the Faith of the Seven forsakes his name upon ascent and is known only by his rank: High Septon.
* ''Series/GetSmart'':
** Agent 99 is always referred to as 99. In the episode where she and Max get married, her real name is presumably said during the wedding vows. But a wedding guest gets bored and falls asleep and his snoring [[TheUnreveal drowns out that part of the vows]]
** In season one, The Chief's first name is revealed to be Thaddeus. But he's usually just called "The Chief" or "Chief"
* ''Series/GilligansIsland'' had the Skipper and the Professor. (And Gilligan, too, although that at least was the character's actual last name.) Technically, they have names. It's just that they aren't used outside the pilot. The Professor is "Roy Hinkley", and the Skipper is "Jonas Grumby". There is no official word on Gilligan's first name, but the fan rumor is "Willy".
* The Waitress and The Lawyer on ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''. The fact that no one knows the Waitress' name after all their interactions with her is a RunningGag.
* "Daddy's assistant" (also TheGhost) in ''Series/TheLatestBuzz''.
* In the ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Bottle Job", the villain [[AllDevouringBlackHoleLoanSharks Mark Doyle's]] two henchmen are repeatedly introduced as "Liam" and "Liam's Brother".
* The Duke of Cornwall in ''Series/Merlin1998''. His name in [[Myth/ArthurianLegend the actual legends]] is usually Gorlois or Hoel, or sometimes not mentioned. In this series, however, he is simply referred to as "Cornwall". Made even stranger in the novelizations, where the name Gorlois was attributed to him, but many characters continued to call him Cornwall.
* ''Series/{{Misfits}}'': Rudy routinely refers to Alex, a good-looking bartender as the "Handsome Barman". Matt Stokoe, who plays Alex, even refers to his character by that name in an online Greatest Hits video.
* Subverted in ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'' with Mr. Butler. It is his actual last name, and just a funny coincidence.
* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'':
** Several characters on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' are known by their titles/professions only. Famous examples are the [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Swedish Chef]] and the [[DeadlineNews Newsman]]. (An OverlyLongName was given for the Swedish Chef by the guest star in one episode,[[note]]"But we call him Tom."[[/note]] but it was very possibly a joke.)
** In ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'', Sweetums is only referred to as "Jack." As he puts it, "[[HulkSpeak Jack not name, jack job]]!" For those that don't get it, his job is moving cars around at Mad Man Mooney's... which he does by lifting them up by the bumper.
* Earl always refers to Darnell on ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' as "Crab Man," and his relatives (or pets) as "Crab Man's (insert position of relative or pet)." [[WholeEpisodeFlashback "Y2K"]] shows us why-when Earla dn Darnell first met, Earl couldn't remember his name and the nickname just stuck. Darnell himself uses it when he gets his own version of the theme song.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' gave us "Brain Guy," whose official name was actually "Observer," even in the credits, for quite a while. Eventually "Brain Guy" stuck, though, especially when he was forced to confront his former fellow Observers in favor of humanity.
* Mall Cop from ''Series/NaturallySadie''.
* ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' has a few, such as Backpack Boy and Coconut Head.
* The Hero of ''Series/{{Olympus}}'' gets called anything ''but'' his real name. ''Mercenary'' and Son of [[spoiler:Aegeus]] are often used.
* Control in ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' is known only by her codename. She serves as the head of a covert intelligence agency.
* The Quartermaster, a.k.a. QM, in ''Series/{{Pixelface}}''.
* Ned from ''Series/PushingDaisies'' is always referred to by the narrator as "The Pie Maker" (and "Young Ned" in childhood flashbacks), although most of the characters in the show do call him by his first name. His last name hasn't been given.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': The Cat is a member of a species of humanoid cats.
* In ''Series/RobinHood'', the Sheriff of Nottingham is usually just called "the sheriff". This is especially funny after Isabella becomes the sheriff, because since the audience doesn't know that his real name is Vaisey, she still calls him "the sheriff", even though he isn't.
* As with the CEO in the third movie, OCP's head in ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'' is only referred to as "the Chairman".
* In ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', Sabrina always calls her quizmaster "Quizmaster." She later finds out in one episode that his name is Albert, and she remarks that she always thought his name really ''was'' Quizmaster and the fact that it was his occupation was just a happy coincidence.
* ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'': The Chanels do have names, but [[AlphaBitch Chanel Oberlin]] (AKA Chanel #1) [[InvokedTrope refuses to even learn their names]] and so it takes longer for the Pledges to learn them as well. Chanel even attempted this with the pledges but did learn their names out of necessity since Zayday and Grace refused to go along with that shit. It's even considered a form of membership into the Kappas to be deemed a Chanel Number, as [[spoiler: Hester]] becomes Chanel #6 during the series.
* The Janitor from ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' -- he even calls himself that. [[spoiler:In the final episode, he tells J.D. his real name is Glenn Matthews]]. But unfortunately as soon as J.D. leaves, [[spoiler:an orderly walks by and says "Hey Tommy". The Janitor responds with "What's up?", thus leaving his true name a mystery]]. That is, until WordOfGod confirmed that the Janitor was telling the truth for once.
* The Governor from ''Series/TheSlammer''.
* Government ministers on ''Series/{{Spooks}}'' are consistently referred to by their titles, even semi-regular characters like the Home Secretary.
* ''Series/StarTrek'':
** In the first ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' pilot, "The Cage," Captain Pike's second-in-command is only addressed as "Number One" (i.e. first officer). It's uncertain whether this would have persisted had that version of the show become the actual series. A [[ExpandedUniverse novel]] by D.C. Fontana claims she hails from a planet where everyone is genetically engineered, and her name actually ''is'' "[[YouAreNumberSix Number One]]."
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' subverts this: Quark specifically asks people not to call him "barkeep" and gets very annoyed when they do.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' has the Emergency Medical Hologram, but since that was too long, they just called him The Doctor, which he kept for the entire series despite frequent prodding by other crew members to come up with a name (and the occasional ResetButton when an episode had him adopt one on his own). In his case, it was because he had a computer's knowledge of languages, and everything he liked the sound of tended to mean something offensive in ''some'' language or another. He did eventually decide on a name for himself in the series finale: [[spoiler:Joe.]] However, the timeline in which he decided on this name was negated by ''Voyager'' coming home.
** Chef in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. (No, he was ''not'' Will Riker.)
* ''[[Series/StellaUK Stella]]'': "Daddy," the undertaker, is known as such by everyone in Pontyberry. Similarly, Aunty Brenda introduces herself as "Aunty Brenda"--she even ''runs for the council'' with posters saying "Vote Aunty Brenda."
* The main antagonist for the first two seasons of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is known only as "The Demon" for the first season, which is expanded to "the Yellow-Eyed Demon" for the second (out of necessity after other demons started showing up). His real name, Azazel, was only revealed [[spoiler:four episodes into the season ''after'' his death.]]
* Zigzagged with host Greg Davies in ''Series/{{Taskmaster}}''. Everyone calls Greg by his name in the studio, but in the pre-recorded challenges, he is called The Taskmaster instead.
* As of season three of ''Series/TeenWolf'', Stiles' [[UnnamedParent dad]] has only ever been referred to as Sheriff Stilinski or simply [[TheSheriff the sheriff]].
* Many of the White Lodge and Black Lodge residents in ''Series/TwinPeaks'' are known only by a title- "The Man From Another Place", "The Giant", etc.
* In the game shows ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' and ''Series/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego'', as in all other related media, Lynne Thigpen's character is referred to only as "The Chief" with no actual name for her character ever being given.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'', the Cigarette Smoking Man's first name was never revealed, and he didn't even get a last name or initials until midway through the sixth season. Many other significant characters are only given descriptive names like "the First Elder" and "the Well-Manicured Man."
* In ''Series/YesMinister'', the Prime Minister is only referred to by his title. Extraordinarily, this is kept up when Hacker gets promoted into ''Series/YesPrimeMinister'': he only gets referred to as "His/Your/My Predecessor". Make what you will of that (ghostwritten) SelfInsertFic by UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher ...

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