# Nameless Characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906 "2009-11-01T02:09:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/41 "2009-11-01T16:08:13Z")
Many of the Control agents on \*Get Smart \*had no names, just numbers or titles (99, The Chief, etc.). Technically, The Professor and The Skipper had names, but they were only mentioned in the pilot and most people wouldn’t know them. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/42 "2009-11-01T16:13:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The main character in **Fight Club** is only listed as “The Narrator.” Isn’t that a device to avoid any spoilers? ---
**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:** [November 1, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/43 "2009-11-01T16:21:33Z")
Number 6 in **The Prisoner**. Actually, no character in the Village had a real name. The butler (who appeared in every episode) didn’t even have a number. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/44 "2009-11-01T16:25:47Z")
Do the characters in _Twelve Angry Men_ have names? The play just refers to them by numbers, but I don’t know if they added names for the movie versions. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/45 "2009-11-01T16:44:34Z")
> [@Dorothea\_Book](#): > > Isn’t that a device to avoid any spoilers? But isn’t Tyler just the name he chose for himself? Like, what was his name before he became Tyler Durden? Or was he always Tyler Durden? Also, is it still de rigeur to spoiler stuff about Fight Club? When will it get to the point where Ed Norton being Tyler will be just as obvious as Norman being mother? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/46 "2009-11-01T19:01:18Z")
Turns out TV Tropes has a page on nameless characters, although many of their examples are cases where the name was eventually revealed or where the character has a first or last name but not both. > **[No Name Given - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoNameGiven)** > > By the numbers, the majority of characters will not have a name within the work, because they lack Nominal Importance. One way to play with audience expectations, however, is to present characters and instead of addressing them by their personal … Notable TV examples from the list include Fez on _That 70s Show_ (“Fez” is just a nickname, because no one else can pronounce his real name) and a number of supporting characters on _The X-Files_ like Deep Throat and the Well-Manicured Man. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/47 "2009-11-01T20:23:08Z")
The two main characters in _Once_ remain unnamed. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/48 "2009-11-01T20:31:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > None of the characters from **Zombieland** (except for poor, dead BM) have names. They all refer to themselves as the cities they’re from. Wichita says her name. > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > The videogame **Planescape: Torment** refers to the main character as “The Nameless One,” for plot-related reasons. He is sometimes referred to as “Yemeth.” I’m not 100% sure of the context that this comes from. > [@Dorothea\_Book](#): > > Isn’t that a device to avoid any spoilers? Maybe, maybe not. There is no evidence that **any** of the names he uses are his real names. Including **that** name. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/49 "2009-11-01T21:19:46Z")
The narrator of Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart” has no name, just like his victim. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/50 "2009-11-01T21:28:23Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But isn’t Tyler just the name he chose for himself? Like, what was his name before he became Tyler Durden? Or was he always Tyler Durden? In the novel (which has a different ending than the movie) he’s actually called Mr. Durden at the end, IIRC. So that suggests to me it’s the name he goes by whether it’s one he split into or not. (But more on this below) > [@](#): > > Also, is it still de rigeur to spoiler stuff about Fight Club? Well I’m somewhat new to Cafe Society having mainly posted in Great Debates till now. Perhaps I erred on the side of caution. Time for a poll? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/51 "2009-11-01T21:34:26Z")
On the narrator in _Fight Club_… > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Maybe, maybe not. There is no evidence that **any** of the names he uses are his real names. Including **that** name. Well that would just mean it’s a pseudonym but he’d still have a name. As I said above, in the novel, he is addressed by the name we’re alluding to at the very end (unless I’m misremembering). My thought has always been that it really _is_ his name. I mean if Tyler Durden is just a pseudonym that the narrator uses when he’s being Durden, why not just use two different names instead having the narrator appear to be nameless? ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/52 "2009-11-01T23:33:04Z")
One very special example worth mentioning is Ira Levin’s splendid novel ‘A Kiss Before Dying’. I’m going to tread carefully because I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who has yet to have the pleasure of reading it, but Levin very deftly and ingeniously takes the ‘nameless character’ idea to new heights, at least for a substantial portion of the book. I won’t say any more. Just read it. And ignore the movie adaptations. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/53 "2009-11-01T23:49:15Z")
Also the name of the dead baby girl central to the plot of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/54 "2009-11-02T01:01:43Z")
A key character in Dickens’ BLEAK HOUSE is known as “Nemo”–which means “nobody.” ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/55 "2009-11-02T01:28:33Z")
True **pseudotriton** although the character has an actual name. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/56 "2009-11-02T01:55:03Z")
What about most of the characters in _Ragtime_? Weren’t they referred to as things like “Brother?” I’m referring to the book. I don’t know if there was a movie. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > When will it get to the point where Ed Norton being Tyler will be just as obvious as Norman being mother? Oh, please. There are still people here that get pissed off if you mention that Rosebud was a sled. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/57 "2009-11-02T02:00:08Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Rosebud was a sled. Lol… ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/58 "2009-11-02T02:01:09Z")
Oh, and yes there _was_ a _Ragtime_ movie–not terrible either. I don’t remember if they came up with names for the unnamed characters. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/59 "2009-11-02T02:02:43Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > What about most of the characters in _Ragtime_? Weren’t they referred to as things like “Brother?” That is true of the central family - Father, Mother, Brother - but everybody else had a name. > [@](#): > > I’m referring to the book. I don’t know if there was a movie. I am referring to the book also. There was a movie, but all I remember about it is Elizabeth McGovern really, really naked for a nice long scene. Also something about racial injustice. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/60 "2009-11-02T02:05:52Z")
Wasn’t she only really, really topless? (Or did her remaining underthings get lost with the racial injustice part?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906.md?page=4)