# Referring to characters by last name only **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2013, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295 "2013-04-10T05:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/1 "2013-04-10T05:39:30Z")
I’ve noticed a huge number of TV and movies have the characters referring to each other by their last name only. Why is this? It’s not real life, especially women, unless it’s sports or military. Everyone I know either uses first names or a title with the last name (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.) Is this a regional trend I’m just unaware of? I know there are other countries who do this, but these are US characters. It just sounds odd. Artificially scripted. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/2 "2013-04-10T06:49:31Z")
The ‘alien’ franchise does this a lot, due to its setting. I like it, it somehow feels more futuristic than people calling eachother ‘Sue’ and ‘Bob’. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/3 "2013-04-10T07:30:15Z")
Bear in mind that the people you see on TV and films are hardly a typical cross-section of society. Lots of cops, criminals, military, government and people from other “institutional” backgrounds where calling folks by their last name is the norm. Note that people rarely call each other by their first names on sitcoms, which tend to portray a more “civilian” population. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/4 "2013-04-10T07:44:59Z")
Well, I can tell you we sure don’t do it over here. I don’t think I’ve ever been “surnamed” in my life, except with a Ms/Miss/Mrs on the front. From the plethora of US TV shows labelled by main character surname (House, Castle, Frazier, Monk … the list goes on) I had always thought it was an American “thing”. Like boys calling their dads “sir”. Not so? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/5 "2013-04-10T09:41:44Z")
Unless there is a show called _Frazier_ that I’m unaware of, _Frasier_ was his first name. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/6 "2013-04-10T09:50:54Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > From the plethora of US TV shows labelled by main character surname (House, Castle, Frazier, Monk … the list goes on) I had always thought it was an American “thing”. Like boys calling their dads “sir”. Not so? Not so, but note that (setting aside the Frasier reference), you’ve named two cop shows and one doc’s: both are environments where calling people by their lastname is common, whether preceded by a title or not. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/7 "2013-04-10T10:05:36Z")
Calling your parents “sir” and “ma’am” is definitely a thing, at least in my region of the states. It’s just respectful, you know? I had a friend, once, who would call me by my surname instead of my given name. It’s the only time I’ve ever heard someone do that, with me or anybody else, in real life without prefacing it with the appropriate honorific. Frankly I found it really annoying, but I was too polite then to say, “Don’t do that”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/8 "2013-04-10T10:13:08Z")
People are also called by their last names where I come from too - although they’re just as likely to call them by their first name or by a nickname completely unrelated to either. Usually it’s just whatever sounds better. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/9 "2013-04-10T10:17:28Z")
As an aside, growing up in the American South in the 20th century, it was common to refer to close adult friends of your parents as ‘Miss FirstName’ or ‘Mister FirstName’. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/10 "2013-04-10T10:22:12Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > Calling your parents “sir” and “ma’am” is definitely a thing, at least in my region of the states. It’s just respectful, you know? Calling your parents “sir” and “ma’am” is definitely NOT a thing in any part of the US I’ve lived in. It has a 1950’s and earlier feel to it, and authoritarian and unloving vibe to me. My circles have always used first names with friends. I agree with those who say that the tv shows where characters use last names with each other are shows set in military or police or other, similar professional settings that deal with life-threatening situations Even in those shows, when characters have personal moments with each other, they use first names. It makes the first name much more intimate and tender. As first name use once was. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/11 "2013-04-10T10:58:34Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Unless there is a show called _Frazier_ that I’m unaware of, _Frasier_ was his first name. Really? I never watched it. Okay, pretend I said _Seinfeld_ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/12 "2013-04-10T11:24:00Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Really? I never watched it. Okay, pretend I said _Seinfeld_ 😛 But everyone in the show called him Jerry. Seinfeld was just the name of the show. In the show Newman and Kramer were known by their last names. Kramer’s first name wasn’t known until far into the show but that was not shown as being normal. It was a quirk of a quirky character. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/13 "2013-04-10T11:28:44Z")
Now can we fight over whether Gilligan is a first name of a last name? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/14 "2013-04-10T11:38:46Z")
Bueller ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/15 "2013-04-10T12:09:35Z")
I guess my point, if I have one, is that I’m surprised that it’s someone _in the US_ who is questioning this habit. Because my impression was that the US was, in fact, where this was done. Maybe the UK too? Just looking at TV, my gut instinct would be that “surnaming” happens on British cop shows too, but probably slightly less than their US equivalents. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/16 "2013-04-10T12:25:31Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Now can we fight over whether Gilligan is a first name of a last name? In the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz (the producer of Gilligan’s Island) states that he preferred the full name of “Willy Gilligan” for the character. When I was in college (granted, that was 40 years ago) we all called each other by our last names for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/17 "2013-04-10T13:16:03Z")
Until recently I had never noticed a problem. Last name usage even pops up in school where a last name is used in place of first name when there are too many Mikes or what have you. Currently, I’m watching season one of _Homeland_, and the use of Brodie was driving me nuts. Brodie could be a first name, but it isn’t in this case. It is his last name. I’m fine with all the CIA and Marines calling him Brodie, but when his wife does, I find it exceedingly strange. Her name could very well be Brodie too. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/18 "2013-04-10T13:16:42Z")
Gilli Gan ---
**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/19 "2013-04-10T14:10:48Z")
I worked with a lot of ex-military types. The bosses often called staff by their last names. Maybe it’s a holdover from that? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295/20 "2013-04-10T14:29:47Z")
Columbo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/referring-to-characters-by-last-name-only/655295.md?page=2)