History LastNameBasis / Literature

** Crowley is a demon, and therfore it makes sense for him to have OnlyOneName, but he has chosen the human pseudonym of "Anthony J. Crowley" - meaning that as far as people who don't know his true nature are concerned, he goes by a Last Name Basis. The first name 'Anthony' only appears twice in the entire novel, and we never [[MysteriousMiddleInital find out that the 'J' stands for]].

** For that matter, a large number of characters are known by their last names; (Rubeus) Hagrid, (Albus) Dumbledore, (Severus) Snape, (Remus) Lupin, (Minerva) [=McGonagall=], (Dolores) Umbridge, (Cornelius) Fudge, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, etc. Justified since most of them are authority figures, like teaching staff or ministers. The general rule of thumb is that Harry/The Narrator refers to characters he likes by their first names unless they are explicitly authority figures. For instance, he starts calling Lupin by his first name once he's stopped thinking of him as a teacher. Hagrid is an exception: though him and Harry are close friends, he never calls Hagrid on his first name. Nobody does, not even Dumbledore, who's on a FirstNameBasis with everyone up to and including the BigBad. Even ''his own brother'' calls him "Hagger".

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/RejectionSlips": "Learned", the first letter, addresses Creator/IsaacAsimov as "Asimov". This shows the poem is more formal than the other two.

* In ''Literature/TheAliceNetwork'', no one ever calls Allenton or Cameron by their first names, although Cameron's first name is known: Cecil. Justified: They're military men, and not calling people by their first names is military custom.

** For that matter, a large number of characters are known by their last names; (Rubeus) Hagrid, (Albus) Dumbledore, (Severus) Snape, (Remus) Lupin, (Minerva) [=McGonagall=], (Dolores) Umbridge, (Cornelius) Fudge, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, etc. Justified since most of them are authority figures, like teaching staff or ministers. The general rule of thumb is that Harry/The Narrator refers to characters he likes by their first names unless they are explicitly authority figures. For instance, he starts calling Lupin by his first name once he's stopped thinking of him as a teacher. Hagrid is an exception: though him and Harry are close friends, he never calls Hagrid on his first name. Nobody does, not even Dumbledore, who's in FirstNameBasis with everyone, or his own brother.

-->Unlike his brother he was always called by his last name only. No one knew why, but the family was Stan and Josie, Joe and Reacher, and it always had been.

* ''Literature/{{Bravelands}}'': Baboon troops have a ranking system with the highest rank being the Highleaf. TheLeader of the troop is referred to as the "Crownleaf". They take "Crownleaf" as a surname and are exclusively referred to as such.

* A cat's "tail name" is the cat equivalent of this in ''Literature/TailchasersSong''. Cats have three names, with their "face name" being used by those very close for them, their "tail name" being used in general, and their "heart name" being personal. A cat is given their "tail name" in a NamingCeremony when they're a kitten. The protagonist's name is Fritti Tailchaser, but everyone just calls him Tailchaser.

* Robert Ackley from ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' is referred to as just "Ackley" by everyone. Not "Robert", "Bob" or even "Ack", just "Ackley".

** Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle are almost universally referred to by their last names. In Malfoy's case, he's only ever referred to by his first name when it needs to be clear that he, not his father, is being referred to. In [[FanFic fanfiction]], however, Malfoy is pretty much ''always'' referred to as "Draco".

* In ''Literature/{{A Series of Unfortunate Events}}'', friend of the family Mr. Poe is referred to as Mr. Poe for the entire run, which is justified as it is a somewhat Victorian setting and the Baudelaires are polite children. This is emphasized during ''[[LemonySnicketTheUnauthorizedAutobiography Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography]]'', in which Mr. Snicket receives a letter from the Duchess R. of Winnipeg. While he lambasts many things as erroneous, he never comments on someone who has been friends with his family for years, particularly his sister, addressing him as "Mr. Snicket".

** Nymphadora Tonks is a rare female example; she demands that people call her Tonks and not her first name. You can see her point. Her parents call her Dora, and after she gets married, so does her husband. The book doesn't address whether or not she took her husband's last name; Harry/The Narrator still thinks of her as "Tonks. Lupin still calls her that too ("Tonks is going to have a baby"), though he also uses "Dora" on occasion.

** For that matter, a large number of characters are known by their last names; (Rubeus) Hagrid, (Albus) Dumbledore, (Severus) Snape, (Remus) Lupin, (Minerva) [=McGonagall=], (Dolores) Umbridge, (Cornelius) Fudge, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, etc. Justified since most of them are authority figures, like teaching staff or ministers. The general rule of thumb is that Harry/The Narrator refers to characters he likes by their first names unless they are explicitly authority figures. For instance, he starts calling Lupin by his first name once he's stopped thinking of him as a teacher). Hagrid is an exception: though him and Harry are close friends, he never calls Hagrid on his first name. Nobody does, not even Dumbledore, who's in FirstNameBasis with everyone, or his own brother.

* Nymphadora Tonks in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is a rare female example; she demands that people call her Tonks and not her first name. You can see her point. Her parents call her Dora, and after she gets married, so does her husband. The book doesn't address whether or not she took her husband's last name; Harry/The Narrator still thinks of her as "Tonks."
** Lupin still calls her that too ("Tonks is going to have a baby"), though he also uses "Dora" on occasion.

* To the very end of the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' canon, despite being best friends and living through years (even decades) of perilous adventures together, Holmes and Watson still use each other's last names, but this would be absolutely TruthInTelevision for Englishmen of their period and class. Only Holmes' brother Mycroft ever uses his first name, though one childhood friend does dare to utter "Mr. Sherlock", presumably a habit derived from differentiating between the brothers.
** Interestingly, in the pastiche ''Beekeeper's Apprentice'' series, the main character and the detective refer to each other as 'Russell' and 'Holmes' respectively. Even [[spoiler: after they get married]].

* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novels, LastNameBasis is normal. First names are seldom even given in the text. Exceptions grow as the series go on, and are generally significiant.
** Technically, every important character except Bragg has a first name given; it's just that the only characters who are ever referred to by their first names with any frequency are Gaunt, Corbec, and Milo.

* Creator/JaneAusten

* While [[Literature/ArtemisFowl Artemis Fowl]] goes by his first name, his [[BattleButler butler]], Butler, is never addressed by his. Lampshaded rather poignantly in ''The Eternity Code'' when [[spoiler: Butler is fatally shot by Spiro's guards, and confesses his first name to Artemis. Later, Juliet comes racing home from training in Japan with Madame Ko because ''Domovoi'' needs her, not "Butler".]]

* Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs almost always refer to each other by their surnames in the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver. In fact, it's considered bad luck by them to use first names while working a case, which is probably justified because the one time Sachs says "Lincoln" while processing a scene, [[spoiler: the tunnel she's in collapses]].
* In Literature/ObsidianMirror, Oberon Venn is referred to almost exclusively as Venn. Even by his best friend tends to call him Venn as opposed to Oberon.

* In ''Literature/TheWardstoneChronicles'', we have John Gregory. You go through a good portion of the story thinking his name is actually Gregory.
** More specifically, the main character Tom usually refers to him as 'The Spook' in the narration, but 'Mr. Gregory' when he's talking to someone. Alice calls him 'Old Gregory'. Almost nobody ever calls him John.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' Harry and Karrin Murphy both do this to each other. Very rarely has Harry ever called her Karrin. She's called him Harry a few times though. Also they never call Butters by his first name, though that might have more to do with it being Waldo....
** As they grow closer over the course of the series, Harry starts referring to her as "Karrin" in his internal monologue more and more often. Though when he's talking to her, it's still "Murphy" or "Murph."

* After an embarrassing incident involving the use of the nickname "Carrots" and a smashed slate over his head, [[Literature/AnneofGreenGables Gilbert Blythe]] is referred to almost exclusively as "Mr. Blythe" almost by Anne Shirley. When she's not snubbing or ignoring him, that is. This goes on for years until they finally become friends, at which point she takes to calling him "Gil".

* Played with in ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo''. [[RepetitiveName Major Major]][[note]]full name Major Major Major, promoted to the rank of Major due to a computer error[[/note]] earns the rest of his squadron's dislike after being promoted to squadron commander. He fails to earn back their respect, partly because he can't ask to be [[FirstNameBasis addressed casually]] without invoking LastNameBasis or his rank.
** Major Major eventually starts authorizing documents (his only job as squadron commander) with the fake signature "Washington Irving" to make the job less monotonous. When he gets bored of that, he switches to "Irving Washington."

* In Robert Louis Stevenson's ''[[Literature/ThePavilionOnTheLinks The Pavilion On The Links]]'', the narrator always adresses his romantic rival as Northmour. The reader never learns more than the initial of the man's first name: R.

** Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle are almost universally referred to by their last names. Interestingly, the narration often calls him Draco in the later books, when he becomes a less antagonistic and more pitiful character.
*** In [[FanFic fanfiction]], however, Malfoy is pretty much ''always'' referred to as "Draco".

* In Robert Louis Stevensons [[Literature/ThePavilionOnTheLinks The Pavilion On The Links]], the narrator always adresses his romantic rival as Northmour. The reader never learns more than the initial of the man's first name: R.

* In Robert Louis Stevensons [[Literature/ThePavilionOnTheLinks]], the narrator always adresses his romantic rival as Northmour. The reader never learns more than the initial of the man's first name: R.

* With the exception of his ex-wife Joan, no one (including the narration) calls [[Series/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant Thomas Covenant]] by his first name. Linden notes at one point that even when she and Covenant were lovers, it never occurred to her to call him "Tom" or "Thomas" - "Covenant" always fit [[TheFettered her perception]] [[MeaningfulName of him]] too well for her to call him anything else.

** Usually, "Harry" refers to the character in specific, while "Potter" refers to the franchise as a whole.