# The Big Bang Theory: What Will Penny's Last Name Be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817 "2011-11-23T00:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/101 "2012-05-12T20:45:55Z")
what about Penny? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/102 "2012-05-12T21:04:13Z")
> [@hendersonmd](#): > > I would guess Overton, the Cheesecake Factory founder. This, or (from page 1) a celebutante’s name. ---
**Author:** ![sparkygaz666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@sparkygaz666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparkygaz666)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/103 "2012-12-16T12:16:51Z")
Her surname will be “Nimoy” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/104 "2012-12-16T18:25:37Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > I’m guessing midwestern Swedish of some sort. I’d say Norwegian; she’s a dead ringer for a girlfriend I had once (from Wisconsin) whose last name was Cleven. (Maybe that’s Swedish too, I dunno, but she was definitely of Norwegian extraction.) I’m reminded of the episode of “Three’s Company” where Jack and Janet learned that Chrissie’s full name was “Christmas Snow.” I like Penny Lane, but Wyatt sounds more like a surname to me. “Bob Wyatt,” “Penny Wyatt.” Very Midwestern. ---
**Author:** ![MidniteAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MidniteAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidniteAngel)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/105 "2013-03-05T17:38:42Z")
Did anyone else wonder why early in the show Sheldon tells Leonard that he cannot have a cat because Sheldon is Deathly allergic to them, yet a few seasons later, Sheldon gets what was it like 19 cats or something but does not have a reaction to that… :smack: So even though everyone is saying that they cant do this or that, remember that they dont pay attention to what was already done… :dubious: So with that I am hoping that they come out that Penny’s last name is connected to someone famous in the science world… THAT would be the best… but seriously, I REALLY want to know what her last name is… The one thing that drives me crazy!! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/106 "2013-03-05T18:39:14Z")
I’m going to vote for Butfart. It has a very midwestern sound to it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/107 "2013-03-05T19:11:39Z")
I have a suspicion that it’ll be something common and Midwestern- like someone else said, something like “Anderson”. I also can’t believe that the rest of the cast doesn’t know it already. Sheldon has an eidetic memory (supposedly), and in one of the early episodes, cleans up all her stuff in her apartment while she sleeps. Plus, didn’t he also set her up on a dating site? That usually takes a last name as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/108 "2013-03-05T19:32:34Z")
I follow Kaley Cuoco on twitter. She’s made it pretty clear that she hopes the writers never reveal Penny’s last name. Of course, they may not care what she thinks. She’s also seriously in love with her Pit Bulls. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/109 "2013-03-05T20:44:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > …I also can’t believe that the rest of the cast doesn’t know it already. Sheldon has an eidetic memory (supposedly), and in one of the early episodes, cleans up all her stuff in her apartment while she sleeps. Plus, didn’t he also set her up on a dating site? That usually takes a last name as well. Who says the other characters don’t know her last name? I think they do, it just never get’s mentioned in dialouge. Bernadette’s last name seldom get’s mentioned. IIRC the last time we heard it was during her maiden name debate while getting ready for the wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/110 "2013-03-05T21:21:25Z")
Cruise, but to be a SAG member she has to have a different name, so she chooses Copper. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/111 "2013-03-05T21:33:45Z")
No, no, wait! The ultimate nerd answer . . . wait for it . . . Erdős. And then she gets a film with Kevin Bacon! Imagine these guys finding out that their E/B# is 1?!? They’d lose it. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/112 "2013-03-05T22:02:38Z")
She’s an actress. Chances are the name everybody on the show knows her by is a stage name. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/113 "2013-03-07T03:21:12Z")
Gadget… 🙂 Still helping weird humans succeed in a mission, particularly on the quest to Sheldon’s World of War Craft stolen goods. ---
**Author:** ![JerseySwamps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@JerseySwamps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseySwamps)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/114 "2013-03-07T03:58:23Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I have a suspicion that it’ll be something common and Midwestern- like someone else said, something like “Anderson”. > > I also can’t believe that the rest of the cast doesn’t know it already. Sheldon has an eidetic memory (supposedly), and in one of the early episodes, cleans up all her stuff in her apartment while she sleeps. Plus, didn’t he also set her up on a dating site? That usually takes a last name as well. I would imagine that the entire cast knows her last name. They just don’t use it on screen. Albertson would be funny, as a nod to The Simpsons. > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Cruise, but to be a SAG member she has to have a different name, so she chooses Copper. Personally, I am rooting for Cooper. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/115 "2013-03-07T22:14:44Z")
If they really are going to keep the name secret, they should play with it: Penny and New Person going up the stairs. NP: What is your last name, by the way? [They round the back of the stairs and nothing is heard. They re-emerge.] NP: Really? Wow. So are you related to …? Penny: Nope, not at all. Play it like what state is Springfield in? (And definitely don’t blow it like The Comic Book Guy thing.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/116 "2013-03-07T22:26:01Z")
Any chance Penny will actually be her last name, or a nickname based on her last name? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/117 "2013-03-07T22:37:25Z")
> [@JerseySwamps](#): > > Personally, I am rooting for Cooper. They already have a Cooper. It would be incredibly odd for a TV show to have two unrelated characters with the same last name (even if it does happen from time to time in real life). Hell, it’s odd for a TV show to have two characters with the same FIRST name, and that happens ALL THE TIME irl. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/118 "2013-03-09T16:31:05Z")
> [@JerseySwamps](#): > > I would imagine that the entire cast knows her last name. They just don’t use it on screen. Has it been established that she actually has a last name that the cast would be able to know? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/119 "2013-03-09T23:00:39Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Has it been established that she actually has a last name that the cast would be able to know? Leonard used to take pieces of mail from her mailbox so he would have an excuse to talk to her. And about 100 other examples. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817/120 "2013-03-09T23:25:00Z")
This poll started nearly 16 months go, when they announced that TPTB said they were going to reveal Penny’s last name. I guess there are about 8-10 more episodes in this season to Get it Done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-theory-what-will-pennys-last-name-be/603817.md?page=7)