# How to spell this musician's name? (T. Monk)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 26, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000 "2001-09-26T22:21:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/1 "2001-09-26T22:21:06Z")

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In Cleveland Amory’s _Celebrity Register,_ the name of a famous jazz pianist is given as Thelonius Sphere Monk. Elsewhere, however, I find his first name spelled Theloni_ **o** _us. Which one is right? 😕

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**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/2 "2001-09-26T22:41:02Z")

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According to Amazon, about a billion Google links, and my cat, it’s Theloni **o** us.

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**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/3 "2001-09-26T22:41:08Z")

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I’ve always seen it as “Thelonious”.

But I ain’t his daddy, so I couldn’t say for sure.

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**Author:** ![ndorward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@ndorward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ndorward)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/4 "2001-09-26T23:14:37Z")

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Thelonious.

The real question is where the name comes from…how common is it? (I note that one letter to Cecil Adams came from a Thelonious.) I’ve also heard a few conflicting stories about the origins of his middle name. --N

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**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/5 "2001-09-26T23:24:45Z")

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And for a little bit of trivia?

The shortened nickname version of Thelonious?

Till

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-spell-this-musicians-name-t-monk/84000/6 "2001-09-27T05:10:52Z")

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According to Tabitha Soren, it’s “The Loneliest Monk.” 😉