# 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:** 4
**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 2, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/61 "2009-11-02T02:09:53Z")
Quoth **sweetie pea** : > [@](#): > > Also the name of the dead baby girl central to the plot of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Wasn’t she named “Beloved”? ---
**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, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/62 "2009-11-02T02:17:47Z")
> [@Dorothea\_Book](#): > > Wasn’t she only really, really topless? No. The only parts of Elizabeth McGovern you don’t get to see are inside her. \*\*\*Twelve Angry Men \*\*\*had twelve nameless characters. ---
**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, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/63 "2009-11-02T02:23:33Z")
> [@bup](#): > > No. The only parts of Elizabeth McGovern you don’t get to see are inside her. Wow, I did not remember that… (I guess I was very caught up in the racial injustice plot 😉 ) ---
**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, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/64 "2009-11-02T02:41:35Z")
I gave each of her cute little nipples pet names. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/65 "2009-11-02T04:09:16Z")
> [@bup](#): > > \*\*\*Twelve Angry Men \*\*\*had twelve nameless characters. Actually, two of them were given names in the final shot of the movie. ---
**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, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/66 "2009-11-02T04:11:31Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I gave each of her cute little nipples pet names. Good thing they weren’t nameless characters… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/67 "2009-11-02T04:13:01Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > [Really, you couldn’t think of a nameless character in film?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_No_Name) “The convention of saving an arm to kill is shared as well with Mifune’s character typically wearing his arms inside his kimono, leaving the sleeves empty.” This connects with a form of combat shooting I’ve heard of that requires one to transfer from his “good” hand to his “bad” hand halfway through to emulate a gunfight by Wild Bill Hickok. And I can still offer you and yours three eternal resting place some 35 feet from Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, and Deadwood Dick for a reasonable price. 😃 Note to the mods: I have been trying to sell those plots here for nigh on ten years with no takers. No nibbles. There has to be a point where a commercial post stops being commercial and starts being a standing joke, and I think I reached that years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Red\_Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/68 "2009-11-02T05:35:21Z")
In A Man for all seasons, there is a character(s) named The Common Man, who IIRC is also the narrator. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/69 "2009-11-02T06:47:55Z")
This far into the thread and no one has mentioned John Doe from Se7en? ---
**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:** [November 2, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/70 "2009-11-02T14:12:40Z")
The diary writer in _Go Ask Alice_ never gives her name. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/71 "2009-11-02T15:46:38Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > This far into the thread and no one has mentioned John Doe from Se7en? I think there’s sort of a difference between a character who has a nickname, or something like that, but no “real” name, and a character who literally has no name _at all_ and is never addressed or referred to by any name. I’m not sure John Doe counts. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/72 "2009-11-02T16:03:02Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I think there’s sort of a difference between a character who has a nickname, or something like that, but no “real” name, … So, would the Terminator count? He has no real name, but his “name” is right there in the title. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/73 "2009-11-02T16:46:32Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I think there’s sort of a difference between a character who has a nickname, or something like that, but no “real” name, and a character who literally has no name _at all_ and is never addressed or referred to by any name. I’m not sure John Doe counts. So, in **Haruhi Suzumiya** , the narrator is only known by his nickname Kyon, and his real name is unknown. But everyone calls him “Kyon”, so in a sense that’s his name. On the other hand, his younger sister is called “Kyon no imouto” or “Imouto-chan”, i.e., “Kyon’s younger sister” or just “Younger sister”. Does that count as having no name? ---
**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, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/74 "2009-11-02T16:53:56Z")
Gosh, this is becoming very legalistic isn’t it? But it’s interesting, no? There are gradations of namelessness and all have some kind of significant impact on narratives. To know a character by some specific name that isn’t a legal name (“The Brother”) is one thing; to suspect that a character’s name is a pseudonym (Tyler) another. To have a character never given any name at all has yet another kind of effect. And then there are characters deliberately given names that suggest some kind of anonymous or generic effect. My favorite is Hiro Protagonist in Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/75 "2009-11-02T16:56:30Z")
In film: For all of Kill Bill Pt 1 and a good chunk of Pt 2, Uma Thurman’s character is known simply as “The Bride”. In literature: In Timothy Findlay’s _Not Wanted On The Voyage_, he pokes fun at the fact that Noah’s wife is never named in the Bible. She is known as “Mrs Noah” throughout the book. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/76 "2009-11-02T16:56:38Z")
The Faun from **Pan’s Labyrinth** has no name - at least no name that a human being could pronounce. (He is NOT the god Pan.) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/77 "2009-11-02T17:29:55Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I think there’s sort of a difference between a character who has a nickname, or something like that, but no “real” name, and a character who literally has no name _at all_ and is never addressed or referred to by any name. I’m not sure John Doe counts. He got a library card (and possibly other ID) in the name John Doe. While it may be a pseudonym, it is his name, so I agree with you, it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/78 "2009-11-02T18:06:31Z")
> [@Dorothea\_Book](#): > > And then there are characters deliberately given names that suggest some kind of anonymous or generic effect. > > My favorite is Hiro Protagonist in Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_. Thinking of _Snow Crash_, was YT’s real name ever mentioned? I can’t remember now. I know she introduced herself as “YT” (“Yours Truly”). ---
**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, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/79 "2009-11-02T18:41:54Z")
Aha! I thought of a good one–Mr. Big from Sex and the City. So that would fall into the “referred to only by a nickname” category. When the movie came out, it was supposed to be a big deal that we found out his actual name. I think it was something really waspy and boring. It would have been so much better if his name had been Herman Shmulevitz or something. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906/80 "2009-11-02T18:53:37Z")
The [waitress](http://www.native-instruments.com/) in **It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia** is never named in the 12 episodes in which she appears as a speaking and plot character. In one episode she even complains to one of the principle characters who calls her “waitress” something like, " How can you _still_ not know my name?" [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nameless-characters/515906.md?page=5)