# You know their name, but don't realize it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202 "2020-01-30T00:14:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/21 "2020-01-31T00:42:21Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > His real name was B.J. He was named _after_ his parents Bea and Jay. I always took that to mean that he was named Bea Jay (with initials “B.J.”) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/22 "2020-01-31T14:24:23Z")
Through the Soap and much of the Benson years, we wondered what Benson’s first name was. Well, it was Benson. When he ran for Lt. Governor, it was reveal his _last_ name as “Dubois.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/23 "2020-01-31T15:01:58Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > His real name was B.J. He was named _after_ his parents Bea and Jay. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I always took that to mean that he was named Bea Jay (with initials “B.J.”) As I recall, Hawkeye sneaked a peek at his service record, and found that he was officially listed as B.J. “He didn’t even tell the Army!” ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/24 "2020-01-31T15:07:08Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I haven’t been watching as much the last couple seasons, so I’m sure there have been some developments, or somebody will point out that my understanding is totally wrong but… > Doctor Who. After decades of playing keep away about what his real name is they have lately been hinting, and edging ever closer to canonizing that not only did the word “Doctor” become kind of a universal language constant meaning helper/healer because of the work he has done throughout time/space, but it is actually his real name. Unless you believe the episode _The Zygon Inversion_, in which he says that his name is Basil. My personal headcanon is that the Doctor’s real, honest-to-goodness birth name is, in fact, “Basil Who.” I would love for this to become canon, just for the amount of fanboy rage it would be sure to inspire. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/25 "2020-01-31T16:42:14Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Unless you believe the episode _The Zygon Inversion_, in which he says that his name is Basil. Or any of the episodes where he introduces himself as “John Smith”. I mean, yeah, we hear that and of course routinely brush off what seems like the laziest possible alias from some kind of space-alien trickster; but what if, in decade after decade, the guy’s just been blandly putting an honest answer out there? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/26 "2020-01-31T19:00:24Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I haven’t been watching as much the last couple seasons, so I’m sure there have been some developments, or somebody will point out that my understanding is totally wrong but… > Doctor Who. After decades of playing keep away about what his real name is they have lately been hinting, and edging ever closer to canonizing that not only did the word “Doctor” become kind of a universal language constant meaning helper/healer because of the work he has done throughout time/space, but it is actually his real name. No. I think it was John Hurt’s War Doctor, in _The Day of the Doctor_, who said that he chose that name. Also, in “Forests of the Dead” Ten tells River that there was only one time that he would, or even could, tell her his name. I do like the thought that his/her name is actually “John Smith”. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/27 "2020-01-31T19:36:01Z")
There’s that classic murder mystery, _[Deduce You Say](https://cartoontheater.com/cartoons/deduce-you-say/)_, where [del]Holmes and Watson[/del] Homes and Watkins are pursuing the Shropshire Slasher. “Your name?” “Shropshire Slasher.” “Occupation?” “Shropshire Slasher.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/28 "2020-02-02T19:28:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s that classic murder mystery, _[Deduce You Say](https://cartoontheater.com/cartoons/deduce-you-say/)_, where [del]Holmes and Watson[/del] Homes and Watkins are pursuing the Shropshire Slasher. > > “Your name?” > “Shropshire Slasher.” > “Occupation?” > “Shropshire Slasher.” Related: “Who are you? How did you get in here?” “I’m a locksmith, and I’m a locksmith.” ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/29 "2020-02-02T20:28:51Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I remember the flashback episode of Bonanza when Hoss was born. His mother Inga wanted to name him Eric after her father, and Ben wanted “Hoss” a mountain term for a nice, friendly person. Finally Ben said “We’ll name him both and see what name sticks.” > > Since his mother died soon after that in an Indian attack, Hoss it was. Goes to show you, never evah marry a Cartwright! ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/30 "2020-02-02T21:38:34Z")
I vaguely recall a scene from a movie where a guy is begging a stripper to tell him her real name. She keeps coyly accepting the money he offers and repeating that it’s “Jane,” which seems like she’s toying with him, but turns out to be true. I had to Google for it, but apparently I am more or less correctly recalling the awful 2004 movie _Closer_. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/31 "2020-02-02T22:04:04Z")
Well, there’s this one guy on the team, Who’s on first… I was in a karate class once and a new kid joined. The teacher introduced him as Mr. New and I thought “Oh, good, verbal hazing. He doesn’t even get a name. That always works out well.” It took another couple classes before I found out that his last name was actually New. In _Angel,_ Cordelia meets one of Angel’s friend, a guy named Gunn, which she assumed was a street tag but no, that’s his name. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/32 "2020-02-02T22:20:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > There was a character named “Afrend”? The email address was “a.friend” and it was a plot point that the person wasn’t just “a friend,” but was Arthur Friend. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/33 "2020-02-03T16:47:20Z")
How about “Honey” Huan, Duke’s admirer in _Doonesbury_? ---
**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:** [February 3, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/34 "2020-02-03T17:07:32Z")
In the film Withnail & I, Paul McGann’s character is never addressed by name. He’s listed as “& I” in the credits. However, his name is known because at one point he receives a telegram, addressed to “Marwood”. As for [The Man With No Name…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obLl9d3ZUmA&t=5m30s) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/35 "2020-02-03T17:08:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How about “Honey” Huan, Duke’s admirer in _Doonesbury_? Her actual name is Ching Huan. She became known as “Honey” because that’s what Duke called her. It’s not her real name. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/36 "2020-02-03T17:51:24Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I remember the flashback episode of Bonanza when Hoss was born. His mother Inga wanted to name him Eric after her father, and Ben wanted “Hoss” a mountain term for a nice, friendly person. Finally Ben said “We’ll name him both and see what name sticks.” > > Since his mother died soon after that in an Indian attack, Hoss it was. The character’s name was Eric. “Hoss” means horse. His nickname refers to his size. Maybe it was more of a dream sequence than an actual flashback? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/37 "2020-02-03T19:09:24Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > The character’s name was Eric. “Hoss” means horse. His nickname refers to his size. Maybe it was more of a dream sequence than an actual flashback? No. “Hoss” does not mean horse. Here’s the episode [Journey Remembered](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfQdoEViG-Q) (sequence starting about 34:00). > [@](#): > > Inger: “I had always hoped to call him Eric, after my father.” > > Adam: “But don’t you remember. Uncle Gunnar asked us to name him Hoss!” > > Inger: “Oh yes, I remember. In the mountain country\* that is the name for a big friendly man.” > > Ben: “Hoss. I tell you what, Adam. We’ll give him both names, and see which one sticks.” > > \*of Sweden, evidently I remember watching that episode when it was broadcast, and being surprised that “Hoss” didn’t actually mean “horse.” But the name probably stuck because people assumed it did. (Actually, I think it was a retcon, and the name originally was supposed to be a variant on “horse.” But officially it wasn’t, according to the show.) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/38 "2020-02-03T21:59:51Z")
This one kinda-sorta fits the OP: On the sitcom _New Girl_, there was a character named Winston Bishop, and another who was known only by his last name - Schmidt - until late in the final season. Turns out, Schmidt’s first name was _also_ Winston. Years earlier, he had lost at Rock/Paper/Scissors to determine who had to give up his name to avoid confusion. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/39 "2020-02-04T14:17:57Z")
In the epic poem Beowulf the character of Grendel’s mother is famously without a name. Or is she? [Battaglia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gefjon#Beowulf) and others have pointed out that the name of the Earth/chthonic goddess Gefion is also given in the poem. Both have similar traits. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202/40 "2020-02-04T14:58:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Number Six: Who are you? > Number Two: The new Number Two. > Number Six: Who is Number One? > Number Two: You are Number Six. From the opening of The Prisoner. Many folks have interpreted that last line as “You are, Number Six” with the meaning that Number Six is now Number One. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-their-name-but-dont-realize-it/847202.md?page=3)