History LastNameBasis / Literature

* McGee of ''Literature/BadNewsBallet'' only goes by her last name as [[EmbarassingFirstName she hates her first name]] Kathryn, which isn't befitting to her {{Tomboy}} nature. She doesn't even let her mom call her by her first name. (This results in the ballet teacher referring to her as "McGee McGee" in her first ballet class which she has to then clarify.)

** The adults are by and large number known by their last names to Harry/ the narrator; (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 adults use their first names when referring to each other, for the most part. Sirius is the only adult figure in Harry’s life whom he calls by first name, and that's only after Harry grows more familiar with him; when he's in a seemingly antagonistic role in ''Prisoner of Azkaban'', he's referred to as "Black".

* Anthony Buckeridge's ''Jennings'' books have the schoolboy characters (and their teachers) use surnames only all the time (as is still quite common in some British schools). Initials occasionally crop up, but you have to read quite a few books before learning all the first names of the regular characters.

* Emphasized in ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''; the [[AntiHero heroic]] and jovial McMurphy refers to his fellow mental ward patients by their surnames. They all get along fairly well. The [[BigBad antagonist]], the [[BattleaxeNurse sadistic]] Nurse Ratched, calls the patients by their [[FirstNameBasis given names]]. They are ''not'' fooled by her [[BitchInSheepsClothing sweet, motherly façade]].

** Nor are Inspector Javert's, Father Fauchelevent's, M.Gillenormand, or either of the elder Thenardiers. It would be easier to list the characters that do have first names.
** Feuilly is an ambiguous case in Les Amis, as his social class may indicate that like Fantine he [[OnlyOneName doesn't have more than one]].

* Appears in ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'' according to the time frame. As a servant, Jeeves is referred to simply as "Jeeves" by just about everybody (Bertie is quite jarred to find out that Jeeves even has a first name, Reginald), and he calls his master "Mr. Wooster". Meanwhile, acquaintances refer to Bertie as "Wooster", but close friends and family members use his first name.

* ''Literature/MaryRussell'': The main character and the detective refer to each other as 'Russell' and 'Holmes' respectively. Even [[spoiler: after they get married]].
* In ''Literature/Fahrenheit451'', protagonist Guy Montag is referred to solely as Montag in the narrative and more or less everyone else, only addressed as Guy by his wife Mildred and once or twice by his boss Captain Beatty (Clarisse calls him 'Mr Montag').
* The protagonist of ''Literature/TheLittleStranger'' is known simply as Dr. Faraday.
* ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'': Amelia and her husband Radcliffe Emerson fondly refer to each other by their last names, in memory of their rather tumultuous courtship. That Prof. Emerson from the first with less than affection addresses Miss Peabody by her last name ''alone'', as though she were a man, indicates that he respects her as an equal.
* 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.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', the character Jay Gatsby is almost always refered to as Gatsby. Although, to be fair, nobody really knows anything about him.
* Anthony Buckeridge's ''Jennings'' books have the schoolboy characters (and their teachers) use surnames only all the time (as is still quite common in some British schools). Initials occasionally crop up, but you have to read quite a few books before learning all the first names of the regular characters.
* Creator/JaneAusten:
** In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', unlike virtually every screen adaptation, you ''do'' find out Mr. Darcy's first name when he signs a letter. However, use of first names and last names was regulated by strict social protocols. Elizabeth's parents refer to each other as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet (which was usual in public, but less so while at home). Aunts and uncles were referred to by last name as well, so Elizabeth refers to her Uncle Gardiner. In public, the daughter called 'Miss Bennet' was the eldest present, and her younger sisters became 'Miss Firstname' (the same applied to sons; Edmund's RomanticFalseLead in ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' laments that he becomes Mr. Edmund again once his older brother shows up). Darcy and Bingley both refer to each other exclusively by last name with the proof of their friendship being the lack of a formal 'Mr.' proceeding it. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is referred to by first name because she's the daughter of an earl, unlike Lady Lucas who was married to Mr. Lucas until he was granted a non-hereditary knighthood. Mr Bennet's lack of a first name is lampshaded by ''Literature/LostInAusten'', wherein Amanda is surprised and pleased to find out Mr Bennet's first name. Even if it is [[EmbarrassingFirstName Claude]].
** The same is true of Austen's other novels, with the exception of ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' -- several characters in that story do address the heroine by her Christian name. This actually makes sense, since they are her social peers and are older characters who have known her from birth or early childhood onward; it's only those of lower social standing and/or newer acquaintance who call her "Miss Woodhouse."
* Being set in the Napoleonic Wars, this trope appears frequently in the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series. For instance, before their marriage, and even occasionally after, Stephen Maturin and Diana Villiers customarily address each other by their surnames, notwithstanding the passion of their romance. LastNameBasis becomes an important plot point in the round-the-world arc beginning with ''The Thirteen Gun Salute'' when [[spoiler:Stephen writes a letter granting his friend - and superior as chief of naval intelligence - Sir Joseph Blaine power of attorney to move his fortune to a different bank than the one he currently has it deposited in. However, Stephen signs the letter with his first name instead of "S. Maturin", which is his customary signature for business letters; in true CloudCuckooLander fashion he was writing a note to his wife at the same time and got the signatures mixed up. Sir Joseph can't move the money with the incorrectly signed power-of-attorney letter, but this proves to be ''very'' fortunate in the end because the bank that Stephen had intended to deposit his funds on unexpectedly goes bust. Also, Stephen's using his first name solidifies his friendship with Sir Joseph and moves it to a new level of intimacy, and from that point on they address each other by unadorned first name - a liberty that, among his friends and loved ones, Jack, Jack's wife Sophie, and Diana are virtually the only other ones entitled to.]]
** Jack and Stephen are on a FirstNameBasis (something which, at the time, was reserved for family members and BloodBrothers), but only during their off hours. When they are on the job, they invariably address each other as "Captain" and "Doctor".
** Stephen addresses Jack's First Lieutenant (later Captain) Thomas Pullings as "Tom", which is his right as an old shipmate and someone who has saved Tom's life a couple of times. However, Pullings never calls Stephen anything other than "Doctor", not out of any desire to maintain distance, but since he respects Stephen's skill and education too much to address him by an unadorned first name.
* ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' also goes by this, being a Regency piece about WoodenShipsAndIronMen. The third-person narration also refers to the protagonist exclusively by his last name--this is not surprising since Hornblower finds the name 'Horatio' ridiculous and won't sign his personal correspondence with it, preferring a discreet 'H.' instead. It also holds true for William Bush in the novel ''Lieutenant Hornblower'' (which is the only one from his point of view) but this is also not surprising since as a naval officer he would have been called Mr. Bush since early adolescence.
* Meursault, the narrator of Camus' ''Literature/TheStranger''.

* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': While Artemis goes by his first name, his [[BattleButler butler]], Butler (his actual last name), is never addressed by his. This is apparently due to a tradition where a Butler's charge does not know their first name. 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".]]

* Justifiably played straight in the ''Literature/VillageTales'' series, in which a ''lot'' of the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters are ex-Forces, Old Etonians, or were up at Oxford together (or all three); and many are titled (i.e., peers). They all tend to use surnames or titles of one another (and some minor academic characters appear [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep only by position-title]]), varied by school-era [[InSeriesNickname nicknames]] ... [[AffectionateNickname affectionate]] [[IronicNickname or]] [[EmbarrassingNickname otherwise]].

** Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle are almost universally referred to by their last names. In Malfoy's case, this often comes as a surprise to readers, as fans tend to be on first-name terms with him; in text, 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 ''Literature/GoodOmens'', there is no reference to Witchfinder-Sergeant Shadwell even ''having'' a first name. Wensleydale, the SmartGuy of Adam's gang, is rumoured to have been christened "Jeremy", but the rest of the gang call him "Wensley" (his parents call him "Youngster", possibly in the hope that he'd take the hint).

* In Creator/AgathaChristie's novels, Poirot and Hastings, despite being very close friends, call each other by their last names.

* In ''The Amelia Peabody Mysteries'', Amelia and her husband Radcliffe Emerson fondly refer to each other by their last names, in memory of their rather tumultuous courtship. That Prof. Emerson from the first with less than affection addresses Miss Peabody by her last name ''alone'', as though she were a man, indicates that he respects her as an equal.

* In ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'', protagonist Guy Montag is referred to solely as Montag in the narrative and more or less everyone else, only addressed as Guy by his wife Mildred and once or twice by his boss Captain Beatty (Clarisse calls him 'Mr Montag').

* 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]].

* Literature/{{Spenser}}'s first name is never given in any of the books. In at least one case, when a character asks for his first name, the first-person narrator simply says "I told her my first name."

** Nymphadora Tonks is a rare female example; she demands that people call her Tonks and not her first name. [[EmbarrassingFirstName 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.

* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': While 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".]]

** 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."

** The Wizards of the White Council are all on last name basis (usually using either "Wizard" or "Warden" as approprite), although Harry almost always ignores this, using first names or nicknames both with friends and to annoy those he doesn't like.

** 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.

** Voldermort the BigBad was the another exception as he is the one of only two antagonist (the other being Bellatrix briefly in Order of Phoenix) who doesn't call Harry by his last surname but his first name. Though he stops being so courteous towards his ArchEnemy during his VillainousBreakdown in ''Deathly Hallows'' and labels Harry as "Potter", "the boy" or "Dumbledore's puppet".
** Insofar as it applies to fellow students at Hogwarts, that's really just a Public School (Americans: read 'private, fee-paying school') thing, probably informed by all those other books set in boarding schools.

* {{Lampshaded}} by C.S. Lewis in ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', when 1940s British schoolmates Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb call one another by their first names near the end of their adventure, after spending almost the entire book on a last name basis. "One didn't do it at school," Lewis notes.

** 'Gentleman' Johnny Marcone does this to Harry. "Mr. Dresden, I have asked you not to call me that."

** The adults are by and large number known by their last names to Harry/ the narrator; (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 adults use their first names when referring to each other, for the most part. Sirius is the only adult figure in Harry’s life whom he calls by first name.