# Famous historical figures known by their first names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542 "2010-02-03T16:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/1 "2010-02-03T16:44:37Z")
This is the kind of weird thing I think about from time to time. Prior to Rome, it seems that most of the historical figures we know had only a single name (e.g., Archimedes). During the Roman era you get people with two names; I think they mostly tend to be known by their last name (e.g., Claudius Ptolemaus, known as Ptolemy). Then in the Dark Ages and Middle Ages there are a lot of single names again (e.g., Alcuin, Bede). Then since the Renaissance, it’s mostly been two names again, and famous people have mostly been known by their last name (up until the past century or so, when some entertainers started to be known by their first name). But from the Renaissance, we have a handful of famous people who are known by their first name, such as Michaelangelo, Galileo, and Rembrandt. I might also include Leonardo and Tycho, although nowadays they are often referred to by both of their names (but rarely by their last name alone). Any other examples? People who had two names but are primarily known by the first, not the last? I’m excluding: - Royalty, nobility, Popes, and the like, who traditionally take a single name - People from other cultures where single names are common (e.g., Powhatan) - Stage or pen names (e.g., Saki) I would suggest limiting the time period to pre-1950, to avoid the Chers, Beyonces and Rihannas. It might also be simpler to stick to the Renaissance and beyond, because before that, things get blurry (like, is “Christ” a name or an honorific, and anyway, it’s not a “surname” in the modern Western sense). Also… how about the first modern entertainer to be known primarily by their first name (again, stage names excluded)? I think maybe Moe Howard (and that happened because he used his real first name, Moses, as his character name). ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/2 "2010-02-03T17:28:15Z")
Napoleon, though I believe his contemporaries more often referred to him as Bonaparte. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/3 "2010-02-03T18:05:53Z")
Che (as in Guavara). And Mao (tse-Tung). ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/4 "2010-02-03T18:16:38Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > And Mao (tse-Tung). “Mao” is his surname. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/5 "2010-02-03T18:25:26Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Napoleon, though I believe his contemporaries more often referred to him as Bonaparte. I was wondering about Napoleon. He was Emperor, so that puts him in the royalty category. However, for some reason, I have the feeling he would be known as Napoleon even if he hadn’t become Emperor. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/6 "2010-02-03T18:29:55Z")
I know you said pre-1950, but I think it’s worth mentioning Arnold Schwarzenegger since he is pretty well known as just “Arnold” (I think most people would probably think of him if they just heard that name, alone,) and he did not _deliberately_ set out to make himself known by his first name like Prince or Beyonce did. He’s just SO larger-than-life, and has such an uncommon first name, that it was easy for him to just become known as “Arnold.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/7 "2010-02-03T18:50:37Z")
Michaelangeo ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/8 "2010-02-03T18:57:33Z")
Dante Rafael Giotto ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/9 "2010-02-03T19:34:24Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I was wondering about Napoleon. He was Emperor, so that puts him in the royalty category. However, for some reason, I have the feeling he would be known as Napoleon even if he hadn’t become Emperor. Probably not. As General and consul, he was usually Bonaparte. As Emperor, of course, he was Napoleon, and you could get in trouble for calling him anything else, since to do so was to deny his royal status. After his fall, it became optional–if you liked him and believe his empire legitimate, you called him Napoleon. If you were partial to the restored Bourbons, or to the republic, and believed him a usurper, you called him Bonaparte (or worse yet, Buonaparte). In time historians recognized that whether you liked him or not, he did in fact exercise power as emperor for 11 years, and thus Napoleon he remained. But if he had died in 1802, he’d be Bonaparte. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/10 "2010-02-03T20:53:41Z")
Hildegarde was a popular singer in the 30s and 40s. Her real name was Hildegarde Sell. In entertainment, Fatty Arbuckle was known as “Fatty” in many of his films. His costar, Mabel Normand, was billed as Mabel (e.g., **Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life**. Charlie Chaplin was billed in France simply as “Charlot,” the diminutive of “Charles.” Though they used their last names, everyone knew who Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo were. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/11 "2010-02-03T21:22:31Z")
Surnames in Europe were not used until about the 12th century, and it took several centuries before most people had or used a surname. As the population of regions grew, the use of surnames was necessary to distinguish between two people with the same names. In the advent of surnames, they more commonly referred to lineage (e.g. Andrew son of John, or Andrew Johnson), occupation (e.g. Andrew the bridge builder, Andrew Bridger), or city of region of origin (e.g. Andrew from the hills, or Andrew Hill). Eventually surnames were passed down to children and so on. Long way of saying, historically, almost everyone was known by their first name. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/12 "2010-02-03T21:24:38Z")
How about Ike? (You didn’t exclude nicknames.) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/13 "2010-02-03T21:25:43Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > “Mao” is his surname. It’s also his first name – surnames are first names in China, Japan and Korea. But perhaps the OP should have excluded cases where the first name is a surname. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/14 "2010-02-04T02:29:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Che (as in Guavara). His real name was Ernesto Guevara. Che was a nickname. It approximates as Bud. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/15 "2010-02-04T02:34:32Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > How about Ike? (You didn’t exclude nicknames.) Tina had all the talent. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/16 "2010-02-04T03:12:01Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Tina had all the talent. I was thinking Mamie’s Ike, but ok. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/17 "2010-02-04T03:20:37Z")
Not quite pre-1950, but close. Joe At least he is famous in the DPRK (North Korea). Joe Dresnok is an American defector who has acted in many DPRK films and is quite a local celebrity… going by the name “Arthur” to many. Everyone I met in Pyongyang had heard of or had met him. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/18 "2010-02-04T06:47:48Z")
Rob Roy (does it count if his middle name is also used?) ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/19 "2010-02-04T07:59:31Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > It’s also his first name – surnames are first names in China, Japan and Korea. But perhaps the OP should have excluded cases where the first name is a surname. It’s his “first name” in that it’s the first character in his name, but it’s functionally the same as his “last name,” hence why he shared it with his siblings and most of his kids. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542/20 "2010-02-04T10:07:19Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > Surnames in Europe were not used until about the 12th century, and it took several centuries before most people had or used a surname. Which part of Europe would that be? Because I’ve been known to threaten people who claimed that family names didn’t exist in Spain before the 10th century with throwing the Annals of Navarre at them… (the old version of my family’s lastname appears in documents older than that and you can follow the process by which the current version came to be). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-historical-figures-known-by-their-first-names/527542.md?page=2)