# Why do we call Galileo by his first name?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 14, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649 "2016-12-14T01:12:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/1 "2016-12-14T01:12:37Z")
When we talk about the great early astronomers, we refer to Brahe, Copernicus and Newton, not Tycho, Nicholas and Isaac.
But we always refer to Galileo Galilei as Galileo, not Galilei.
How come? 😕
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### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/2 "2016-12-14T01:23:55Z")
Your previous thread on the topic: [Why Galileo? Why not Galilei? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159054)
Slate’s opinion: [Why we don't use Galileo's last name.](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/08/why_do_we_call_galileo_galilei_by_his_first_name.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Because that’s how he referred to himself. At the time of Galileo’s birth in 1564, surnames were optional in Italy. In daily interactions, an Italian would use the name his parents gave him at birth—what we’d now call a first name—and, if further clarification were required, add on his father’s name (like di Antonio, or “son of Antonio”), his birthplace (Romano, or “from Rome”), his occupation (Panettiere, \* meaning “baker”), or a traditional family surname (if one existed, like Galilei).
Quora’s answer: [https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Galileo-Galilei-referred-to-by-his-first-name-Galileo-and-not-Galilei](https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Galileo-Galilei-referred-to-by-his-first-name-Galileo-and-not-Galilei)
> [@](#):
>
> The name follows a Roman tradition. “Galilei” is a plural, like the Roman nomen gentile, the clan name. The first male child would sometimes be named after the clan, in the singular, as the scion of the family: “Galileo”. It’s not a very personal name, just a mark of his rank in the family. In other places, he might have been named Primo (“first”), and his younger brother Secondo (“second”).
🙂
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/3 "2016-12-14T01:34:46Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Your previous thread on the topic: [Why Galileo? Why not Galilei? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159054)
So did you remember that he had a thread about that _thirteen years ago_ or did you just search for previous threads on the topic?
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### Author:  [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/4 "2016-12-14T01:42:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> So did you remember that he had a thread about that _thirteen years ago_ or did you just search for previous threads on the topic?
It was an interesting question so I highlighted the thread title and right clicked “search google.” The old thread was the forth result.
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/5 "2016-12-14T02:08:04Z")
Would Leonardo be relevant to this thread?
Would da Vinci be relevant to this thread?
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### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/6 "2016-12-14T02:14:15Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> Would Leonardo be relevant to this thread?
The other three turtles fit as well.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/7 "2016-12-14T02:36:26Z")
The moon has a crater named Tycho. I don’t think it has a Brahe.
In the general science literature I don’t recall ever seeing Brahe called just that. He’d be introduced by both names, then refered to as Tycho in the rest of the chapter or whatever. Conversely Copernicus and Kepler are also introduced by both names, but thereafter referred to by last name.
I suspect the answers are mostly as given by **levdragon**. The “firstname lastname” system we take for granted now was just stabilizing at various rates at various times in the various countries these guys hailed from.
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### Author:  [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/8 "2016-12-14T03:03:17Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> It was an interesting question so I highlighted the thread title and right clicked “search google.” The old thread was the forth result.
(Did Google also mention that the 2003 thread itself mentioned [a 2000 thread on the same question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=13748)?)
Even today, the use of a lone praenomen is still seen occasionally:
_ **Madonna** _ Ciccone
_ **Hillary** _ Clinton
_ **Saddam** _ Hussein
_ **Elizabeth** _ Regina
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/9 "2016-12-14T03:30:04Z")
Never mind Galileo. What about Figaro?
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### Author:  [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/10 "2016-12-14T03:41:43Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> Would Leonardo be relevant to this thread?
> Would da Vinci be relevant to this thread?
Ironically, Leonardo da Vinci’s last name wasn’t an actual surname – it refers to his birthplace of Vinci, Italy. So calling him “da Vinci” is analogous to calling Cecil Adams “of Chicago.”
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/11 "2016-12-14T04:45:29Z")
> [@septimus](#):
>
> _ **Madonna** _ Ciccone
> _ **Hillary** _ Clinton
> _ **Saddam** _ Hussein
> _ **Elizabeth** _ Regina
I think you might have meant to say “Elizabeth Windsor”. “Regina” is a title, not a family name.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/12 "2016-12-14T04:56:19Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Ironically, Leonardo da Vinci’s last name wasn’t an actual surname – it refers to his birthplace of Vinci, Italy. So calling him “da Vinci” is analogous to calling Cecil Adams “of Chicago.”
Normally this would be the case for somebody of that era. But the last time this was discussed, people provided convincing evidence that the da Vinci family were early adopters and used da Vinci as a surname in the modern sense.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/13 "2016-12-14T05:08:41Z")
Galileo, Galileo men have named him,
To **Northern Piper** ’s occasional amaze.
But it’s only once a decade that he asks it.
I guess it’s like a comet’s orbital phase.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/14 "2016-12-14T06:16:37Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Never mind Galileo. What about Figaro?
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for him, too.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/15 "2016-12-14T06:36:44Z")
> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Beelzebub has a devil put aside for him, too.
Bismillah!
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### Author:  [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/16 "2016-12-14T08:00:44Z")
> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Your previous thread on the topic: [Why Galileo? Why not Galilei? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159054)
Ouch! I sympathize with **Northern Piper**. That’s happened to me too. Memory plays tricks on us all. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/17 "2016-12-14T08:42:39Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Ironically, Leonardo da Vinci’s last name wasn’t an actual surname – it refers to his birthplace of Vinci, Italy. So calling him “da Vinci” is analogous to calling Cecil Adams “of Chicago.”
Incorrect. It was a surname derived from birthplace origin - He, and his father, put it down as their surname on tax and election records. Facts established in this thread: [The Da Vinci Contention - Was it (and if not, is it now) his surname? - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=723898)
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/18 "2016-12-14T08:50:59Z")
n/m
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### Author:  [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/19 "2016-12-14T09:11:05Z")
> [@Keeve](#):
>
> I think you might have meant to say “Elizabeth Windsor”. “Regina” is a title, not a family name.
Could also have meant Elizabeth Tudor
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2016, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-galileo-by-his-first-name/774649/20 "2016-12-14T10:36:01Z")
I am surprised that, on this board, no one mentionad Amerigo Vespucci.
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