# Well-known characters without actual names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286 "2008-11-24T18:02:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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 25, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/101 "2008-11-25T16:04:36Z")
> [@MickNickMaggies](#): > > Yup. Macbeth _was_ his first name. His last name, historically, was mac Findlaích. If one is also going by history, Lady Macbeth’s first name was Gruoch. > > But everyone knows Shakespeare played fast and loose with history. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Macbeth being a historical character we know their full names, even if not given in the play. He was [Mac Bethad mac Findlaích](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth_of_Scotland), she was [Gruoch ingen Boite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruoch_of_Scotland) Right – but I was just going on the internal evidence in the Scottish play. While Shakespeare’s plays dealing with English history and Roman history are tolerably true to their sources, he was so remote from the Macbeth era of Scottish history that it might have well been a legendary story, like Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. (And Hamlet didn’t have a last name in Shakespeare’s play either.) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/102 "2008-11-25T16:26:46Z")
Oh, another one is Q from Star Trek: TNG. Apparently, the beings in his race are all named Q so that our primitive minds can understand them, but I believe I remember one episode stating that each Q is, in fact, individually named, but the names are both unpronouncable and unintelligible to our lizard brains. ---
**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 25, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/103 "2008-11-25T17:39:40Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > (And Hamlet didn’t have a last name in Shakespeare’s play either.) Sure he did, he was **Hamlet Prince.** ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/104 "2008-11-25T17:44:35Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Did the title character of that odd TV series _The Prisoner_ have a name, or was he always Number Six (Number Two or One in the last scene)? Post #80. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/105 "2008-11-25T17:52:19Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > In the 1939 film THE WIZARD OF OZ, the wizard is not named but in the L. Frank Baum books he is Oscar Zoroaster Pardrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmanuel Ambrose Diggs. > The Tin Woodsman had the name Nick Chopper > The Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion never got their own names. > Baum did not name the Wicked Witch of the West but the later book and Musical WICKED names her Elphaba. The Wicked Witch of the East had no name, either. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/106 "2008-11-25T18:28:13Z")
Nick Mancuso’s character in the TV series [_Stingray_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090528/). He occasionally told people to call him Ray but he made it clear that wasn’t his real name. He only revealed his real name once in the series when he whispered it to another character. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/107 "2008-11-25T18:43:33Z")
In Futurama, the corporate giant “Mom” to my knowledge is never referred to as anything other than “Mom”. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/108 "2008-11-25T18:56:54Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The “Man With No Neck”, in _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. The credits simply list him as “A Narrator”. Charles Gray is credited as “The Criminologist - An Expert,” which is in line with how other actors are credited (“Peter Hinwood as Rocky Horror - A Creation”). In _Shock Treatment_, Charles Gray plays Judge Oliver Wright, although I’m not sure if this was supposed to be the same character or not. (Confusingly, some actors from RHPS appear in ST as different characters, while some recurring characters are played by different actors.) Of course if you chose to pretend that ST never existed, no one would blame you. > [@Yumblie](#): > > In Futurama, the corporate giant “Mom” to my knowledge is never referred to as anything other than “Mom”. In that case, wouldn’t her name be “Mom”? She’s a robot, so it’s unlikely she’s biologically related to anybody calling her that. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/109 "2008-11-25T19:33:13Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Post #80. Sorry. I must have missed the page turn. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/110 "2008-11-25T19:44:09Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > In Futurama, the corporate giant “Mom” to my knowledge is never referred to as anything other than “Mom”. > [@TWDuke](#): > > In that case, wouldn’t her name be “Mom”? She’s a robot, so it’s unlikely she’s biologically related to anybody calling her that. [“Mom”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mom_(Futurama)) is not a robot; not unless there’s one hell of a plot twist coming up in future _Futurama_ material. She is also, to the best of my knowledge, never given a real name. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/111 "2008-11-25T20:10:41Z")
In the **Manchurian Candidate** the first name of Mrs. Iselin, Raymond’s mother, is never revealed. The Bible is full of unnamed characters, the most famous probably being Noah’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/112 "2008-11-25T20:16:36Z")
‘The Youth’ from _Red Badge of Courage._ My back shuddered every time he was referred to…that was a long book. Is that little black kid on _South Park_ really called Token? ---
**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 25, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/113 "2008-11-25T20:20:12Z")
I just thought of another one myself - the Emcee from “Cabaret” (played in the film by Joel Grey, and memorably played in the Broadway revival by Alan Cumming.) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/114 "2008-11-25T20:23:53Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > A couple from Family Guy > > Greased Up Deaf Guy > Giant Chicken The monkey in the closet also. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/115 "2008-11-25T21:06:42Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > The Bible is full of unnamed characters, the most famous probably being Noah’s wife. I came in to mention Potiphar’s wife and Lot’s wife. Although identified only by these spousal designations in the Bible, these and other characters are [named in such sources as](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_for_the_Biblical_nameless) Middrash, the [_Book of Jasher_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Jasher), and the _Sefer Hayyashar_. Many people who know the Magi as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior are unaware that these names are not appended to the Wise Men in the pages of the New Testament. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/116 "2008-11-25T21:13:10Z")
In Cormac McCarthy’s **The Road** , the main characters are only known as The Boy and The Father, or The Man. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/117 "2008-11-25T21:33:00Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > In the 1939 film THE WIZARD OF OZ, the wizard is not named but in the L. Frank Baum books he is Oscar Zoroaster Pardrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmanuel Ambrose Diggs. Interesting initials . . . ---
**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 25, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/118 "2008-11-25T23:13:19Z")
Charlie Chaplin usually played unnamed characters, ‘a tramp’, ‘a Jewish barber’, ‘recruit’, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/119 "2008-11-25T23:24:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Although not officially named in the series, it’s virtually canon that he was John Drake, the agent McGoohan previously played in **Danger Man** McGoohan denies this and as you say it’s never mentioned in the series. Just convenient that the actor went from one secret agent show for ITV to another, fans put two and two together… [http://www.thepennyfarthing.com/articles/drake.htm](http://www.thepennyfarthing.com/articles/drake.htm) Quote: Drake is not Six simply because McGoohan has said so, so many times. In an interview with Barrington Calia (New Video magazine 1985) when asked: “Is The Prisoner John Drake?”, McGoohan replied: “No! People assume that ‘The Prisoner’ is a sequel to ‘Danger Man’ because I began the project closely afterward” To address the OP, what about “The Narrator” from H G Wells War of the Worlds? ---
**Author:** ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286/120 "2008-11-26T00:32:30Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > In Cormac McCarthy’s **The Road** , the main characters are only known as The Boy and The Father, or The Man. Came in here to mention this book. Just finished reading it yesterday. I’m interested to see if the upcoming movie does it justice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-characters-without-actual-names/474286.md?page=7)