# TV shows in which the family has no last name. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877 "2009-09-28T18:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/21 "2009-09-29T00:19:29Z")
[Lovejoy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovejoy). Was it his first name? Or his last? Deliberately left ambiguous. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/22 "2009-09-29T00:40:46Z")
> [@Telcontar](#): > > …\*Eventually we find out their other names, but they are rarely stated. As an homage to the original Battlestar Galactica (where nobody had surnames) several characters in the revival series were only given one name (Gaeta, Tyrol, Cally, Cottle, etc). We later found out their first names (in Cally’s case her lastname). All except for Dr Cottle. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/23 "2009-09-29T00:48:37Z")
Bewitched - We never learn Samantha’s maiden name despite a parade of her relatives appearing on the show . ---
**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:** [September 29, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/24 "2009-09-29T01:00:53Z")
We never learned \*any \*of Agent 99’s names. Or the Chief’s. And Larabee - first or last? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/25 "2009-09-29T01:48:45Z")
There were two young aides who always appeared together on _The West Wing_. Even those senior staffers who could remember their names never seemed to be able to tell them apart, even though one was Anglo and the other was Asian. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/26 "2009-09-29T02:17:36Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > In the world of anime, the (arguable) protagonist in [The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruhi_Suzumiya) has no first or last name: he’s just known by his nickname Kyon. They go one better with his sister, who is just ‘Kyon’s Little Sister’. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/27 "2009-09-29T03:16:31Z")
> [@](#): > > As an homage to the original Battlestar Galactica (where nobody had surnames) several characters in the revival series were only given one name (Gaeta, Tyrol, Cally, Cottle, etc). We later found out their first names (in Cally’s case her lastname). All except for Dr Cottle. For that matter, several of the pilots are known primarily or entirely by their call-signs (I don’t think we ever learn Racetrack, Skulls, or Flattop’s names). They even lampshaded it once: Adama addresses a pilot by name, and she’s surprised, not that he remembered her name, but that he ever knew it. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/28 "2009-09-29T03:35:21Z")
I thought Starbuck was his call sign. ETA: Er, his or her. Or what. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/29 "2009-09-29T13:57:47Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I thought Starbuck was his call sign. > > ETA: Er, his or her. Or what. In the original series, Starbuck appeared to have been his real (and only) name. In the new series, Starbuck was, indeed, her call sign (real name was Kara Thrace). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/30 "2009-09-29T14:03:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They even lampshaded it once: Adama addresses a pilot by name, and she’s surprised, not that he remembered her name, but that he ever knew it. Some would say twice: > [@](#): > > **Laura Roslin** Thank you, Captain Apollo. > **Lee Adama** Sir, “Apollo”'s just my call sign. My name’s Lee Adama. > **Laura Roslin** I know who you are, but “Captain Apollo” has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/31 "2009-09-29T14:45:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > We never learned \*any \*of Agent 99’s names. Or the Chief’s. And Larabee - first or last? 99 used the name “Susan Hilton” in one episode, but later told Max that WASN’T her real name. The Chief’s full name was never revealed, but a few times, he was given the first name Thaddeus. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/32 "2009-09-29T15:22:58Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In the original series, Starbuck appeared to have been his real (and only) name. > > In the new series, Starbuck was, indeed, her call sign (real name was Kara Thrace). This is the case with all the original series pilots - their name from the original (eg: Apollo, Boomer, Starbuck, etc), becomes their call sign, and they’ve got a real name aside from that (Lee Adama, Sharon Valerii, Kara Thrace). The civilians and officers whose names carry over (eg: Adama, Baltar, Tigh), their TOS names become their last names, and they gain first names (William, Gaius, Saul). (Of course, several of those names are altered by spoilers.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Falling_Reverend)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/33 "2009-09-29T16:25:00Z")
Disco Stu ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/34 "2009-09-29T21:27:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Bewitched - We never learn Samantha’s maiden name despite a parade of her relatives appearing on the show . I had forgotten about that. When Endorra was asked her last name she got around it by saying, “You’d never be able to pronounce it.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/35 "2009-09-30T02:29:19Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I had forgotten about that. When Endorra was asked her last name she got around it by saying, “You’d never be able to pronounce it.” 🙂 Spock said the same thing to the blonde in the planet-of-the-happy-spores _Star Trek_ episode, come to think of it. His mom Amanda said something similar in “Journey to Babel.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/36 "2009-10-27T03:12:35Z")
Just watching a repeat of “The Andy Griffith Show” and Sara the telephone operator was a reoccurring mystery character who was never seen or heard. Juanita, the diner waitress, was serenaded by Barney several times but was never seen or heard. Long time girlfriend of Barney, Thelma Lou’s last name was never revealed. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/37 "2009-10-27T11:25:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Spock said the same thing to the blonde in the planet-of-the-happy-spores _Star Trek_ episode, come to think of it. His mom Amanda said something similar in “Journey to Babel.” If I recall correctly, in one episode it was Spock’s frist name that couldn’t be pronounced, and in the other episode it was his last name. Which means that “Spock” is either his middle name, his nickname, his pseudonym, or his “Name to be Used Among the Barbarians.” ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/38 "2009-10-27T17:47:53Z")
MacGyver never had his first name directly revealed. A lot of people just called him Mac. Though near the end of the series, he meets an adult son he never knew about. The boy is called Sam. Eventually it is revealed to actually be his initials. His actual name is Sean Angus Malloy. He says his mom told him his middle name was his father’s first name. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/39 "2009-10-27T17:55:45Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > MacGyver never had his first name directly revealed. A lot of people just called him Mac. > > Though near the end of the series, he meets an adult son he never knew about. The boy is called Sam. Eventually it is revealed to actually be his initials. His actual name is Sean Angus Malloy. He says his mom told him his middle name was his father’s first name. No, a few episodes before that MacGyver dreams (is sent back?) to King Arthur’s time and his name (I guess it was also his ancestor’s name? Can’t remember exactly) was written on a wall. The woman he was with says “OOh, nice name” and he says “Well, maybe around here, but where I come from…” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877/40 "2009-10-27T17:57:50Z")
Spock’s first name is Mister. Duh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-in-which-the-family-has-no-last-name/511877.md?page=3)