This page is (mainly) about people who are usually known by just their surnames, or by their surnames and either their initials,
a nickname, or a title. Sometimes (as for example with Sepp Blatter) it's simply that the first name by which they're
best known is a contraction, and the full name isn't obvious.
Some of these questions may be better asked the other way round. For example: "Which England spin bowler has the real first name
Mudhsuden (mud–soo–den)?"
| Abbott & Costello |
Abbott |
 |
Bud (William) |
| Costello |
|
Lou |
| Red Adair |
|
Paul Neal |
| Buzz Aldrin |
|
Edwin Eugene |
| Ronni Ancona (Scottish impressionist, b. 1968) |
|
Veronica |
| The Andrews Sisters |
1911-67 |
|
LaVerne |
| 1916-95 |
|
Maxene |
| 1918-2013 |
|
Patty |
| Fatty Arbuckle |
|
Roscoe Conkling |
| Paddy Ashdown |
|
Jeremy John Durham |
| W. H. Auden |
|
Wystan Hugh |
| Gene Autry ('the Singing Cowboy', 1907–98) |
|
Orvon Grover |
| The Rev. W. Awdry |
|
Wilbert |
| Lord Baden–Powell |
|
Robert |
| Ginger Baker |
|
Peter Edward |
| R. M. Ballantyne |
|
Robert Michael |
| J. G. Ballard |
|
James Graham |
| P. T. Barnum |
|
Phineas Taylor |
| J. M. Barrie |
|
James Matthew |
| Bartók (Hungarian composer, 1881–1945) bartok |
|
Béla |
| Count Basie |
|
William James |
| H. E. Bates |
|
Herbert Ernest |
| L. Frank Baum |
|
Lyman |
| Mrs. Beeton |
|
Isabella |
| Bix Beiderbecke |
|
Leon Bismarck |
| Arnold Bennett |
|
Enoch |
| Berlioz (French composer, 1803–69) |
|
Hector |
| The Beverley Sisters |
1924-2015 |
|
Joy (Joycelyn Victoria) |
| b. 1927 |
|
Babs (Babette) |
| b. 1927 |
|
Teddy (Hazel) |
| Acker Bilk (1929–2014) |
|
Bernard Stanley |
| 'Dickie' Bird (cricket umpire – retired in 1998) |
|
Harold |
| Mr. Birdseye (frozen food pioneer) |
|
Clarence |
| Biro |
|
Lazlo |
| R. D. Blackmore |
|
Richard Dodderidge |
| Sepp Blatter (President of FIFA, 1998-2015) |
|
Joseph |
| Sonny Bono |
|
Salvatore |
| P. W. Botha |
|
Pieter Willem |
| Scobie Breasley |
|
Arthur Edward |
| Capability Brown |
|
Lancelot |
| Beau Brummell |
|
George Bryan |
| Burke & Hare, murderers |
Burke |
|
William |
| Hare |
|
William! |
| 'Rab' Butler |
|
Richard Austen |
| Max Bygraves |
|
Walter |
| Lord Byron (sixth Baron Byron) |
|
George Gordon |
| Hoagy Carmichael |
|
Hoagland Howard |
| Casanova |
|
Giovanni Giacomo |
| Fidel Castro's brother, to whom he handed over power in Cuba in 2006 |
|
Raul |
| Coco Chanel |
|
Gabrielle Bonheur |
| G. K. Chesterton |
|
Gilbert Keith |
| US President Cleveland |
|
Grover |
| Baron Clive of India |
|
Robert |
| Joe Cocker |
|
John Robert |
| Sean Connery's real first name |
|
Thomas |
| Chick Corea (US jazz pianist and composer, 1941–2021) |
|
Armando Anthony |
| Colin Cowdrey |
|
Michael |
| Buster Crabbe |
|
Clarence |
| Dr. Crippen (homeopath and murderer, 1862–1910) |
|
Hawley Harvey |
| Fanny Cradock (maiden name Pechey) |
|
Phyllis Nan Sortain (a.k.a. Phyllis Primrose) |
| A. J. Cronin |
|
Archibald Joseph |
| Bing Crosby |
|
Harry Lillis |
| e.e. cummings |
|
Edward Estlin |
| General Custer |
|
George Armstrong |
| Paul Daniels |
|
Newton Edward |
| 'Dixie' Dean |
|
William |
| Debussy |
|
Claude |
| F. W. de Klerk |
|
Frederik Willem |
| Jack Dempsey (took the name Jack after another boxer) |
|
William Harrison |
| Dolce & Gabbana |
Dolce |
|
Domenico |
| Gabbana |
|
Stefano |
| Fats Domino |
|
Antoine |
| Lonnie Donegan |
|
Anthony James |
| J. P. Donleavy (Irish–American novelist, 1926–2017) |
|
Anthony James |
| Dvorak |
|
Antonin |
| 'Buster' Edwards (Great Train Robber) |
|
Ronald |
| T. S. Eliot |
|
Thomas Stearns |
| Duke Ellington |
|
Edward Kennedy |
| Moss Evans (TGWU General Secretary, 1978-85) |
|
Arthur Mostyn |
| The Everly Brothers | b. 1937 |
|
Don |
| 1939–2017 |
|
Phil |
| F. Scott Fitzgerald |
|
Francis Scott Key |
| Wife of the above – noted for her beauty and high spirits, and dubbed by her husband "the
first American flapper" |
|
Zelda (née Sayre) |
| Flanagan & Allen |
Flanagan |
|
Bud |
| Allen |
|
Chesney |
| Flanders & Swann |
Flanders |
|
Michael |
| Swann |
|
Donald |
| C. S. Forester |
|
Cecil Scott |
| E. M. Forster |
|
Edward Morgan |
| General Franco (1892–1975; dictator of Spain from 1939)
|
|
Francisco |
| C. B. Fry |
|
Charles Burgess |
| R. Buckminster Fuller |
|
Richard |
| Zsa Zsa Gabor |
|
Sari |
| Mahatma Gandhi |
|
Mohandas Karamchand |
| Garibaldi (Italian patriot) |
|
Giuseppe |
| Mrs. Gaskell (born Stevenson) |
|
Elizabeth Gleghorn |
| Mrs. Bill Gates |
|
Melinda |
| King George VI (known to the royal family as Bertie) |
|
Albert Frederick Arthur George |
| W. S. Gilbert |
|
William Schwenk |
| Dizzy Gillespie |
|
John Birks |
| W. E. Gladstone |
|
William Ewart |
| W. G. Grace |
|
William Gilbert |
| D. W. Griffith |
|
David Wark |
| The Brothers Grimm |
1785–1863 |
|
Jakob |
| 1786–1859 |
|
Wilhelm |
| Apollo astronaut 'Gus' Grissom |
|
Virgil |
| Matt Groening's father |
|
Homer |
| Bear Grylls |
|
Edward Michael |
| Che Guevara |
|
Ernesto |
| Woody Guthrie |
|
Woodrow Wilson |
| H. Ryder Haggard |
|
Henry |
| Lady Hamilton (mistress of Lord Nelson) |
|
Emma |
| Dashiell Hammett (Dashiell was his middle name) |
|
Samuel |
| W. C. Handy (1873–1958) – 'Father of the Blues' |
|
William Christopher |
| Rex Harrison |
|
Reginald Carey |
| L. P. Hartley |
|
Leslie Poles |
| H. J. Heinz |
|
Henry John |
| Patsy Hendren (England cricketer – 51 Tests, 1920–35) |
|
Elias Henry |
| Mrs. Tim Henman, Mrs. Greg Rusedski |
|
Lucy |
| G. A. Henty |
|
George Alfred |
| 'Wild Bill' Hickok |
|
James Butler |
| Benny Hill |
|
Alfred Hawthorne |
| Jack Hobbs |
|
John Berry |
| Noddy Holder |
|
Neville |
| Buddy Holly |
|
Charles Hardin (Holley) |
| J. Edgar Hoover |
|
John |
| Anthony Hopkins's actual first name |
|
Philip |
| Lightning Hopkins |
|
Sam |
| E. W. Hornung |
|
Ernest William |
| A. E. Housman |
|
Alfred Edward |
| L. Ron Hubbard |
|
Lafayette |
| 'Stonewall' Jackson |
|
Thomas Jonathan |
| Hattie Jacques |
|
Josephine Edwina |
| Jesse James's elder brother and partner in crime |
|
Alexander Franklin (Frank) |
| M. R. James (English ghost story writer, 1862–1936) |
|
Montague Rhodes |
| P. D. James |
|
Phyllis Dorothy |
| Captain W. E. Johns |
|
William Earl |
| Boris Johnson |
|
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel |
| 'Magic' Johnson |
|
Earvin |
| Father of the Kardashian sisters (O. J. Simpson's defence lawyer) |
|
Robert |
| Buster Keaton |
|
Joseph Francis (born Joseph Frank) |
| 'Machine Gun' Kelly |
|
George |
| Khachaturian (Soviet composer – born Tbilisi – 1903-78) |
|
Aram |
| B. B. King |
|
Riley |
| Jonathan King |
|
Kenneth |
| Martin Luther King |
|
Michael |
| Lord Kitchener (lost at sea in 1916 when HMS Hampshire struck a mine) |
|
Horatio Herbert |
| Evel Knievel |
|
Robert Craig |
| Kodaly |
|
Zoltan |
| The Kray twins' mother |
|
Violet |
| k. d. lang |
|
Kathy Dawn |
| Lillie Langtree |
|
Emily Charlotte |
| James Last (German bandleader, 1929–2015) |
|
Hans |
| D. H. Lawrence |
|
David Herbert |
| Tiggy Legg–Bourke (personal assistant to Prince Charles, 1993–9, and nanny to princes
William and Harry) |
|
Alexandra |
| C. S. Lewis |
|
Clive Staples |
| Lord Lichfield |
|
Patrick |
| Jenny Lind ('the Swedish Nightingale' – 1820–87) |
|
Johanna Maria |
| Dr. Livingstone (Scottish missionary in Africa, 1841–73) |
|
David |
| Longfellow |
|
Henry Wadsworth |
| H. P. Lovecraft |
|
Howard Phillips |
| L. S. Lowry |
|
Laurence Stephen |
| 'Lucky' Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania) |
|
Charles |
| Frank Maloney (boxing promoter and manager) – after gender reassignment |
|
Kellie |
| Captain Marryatt |
|
Frederick |
| The Marx brothers |
Chico |
|
Leonard |
| Groucho |
|
Julius |
| Gummo |
|
Milton |
| Harpo |
|
Arthur (Adolph) |
| Zeppo |
|
Herbert |
| W. Somerset Maugham |
|
William |
| Paul McCartney |
|
James (Paul) |
| Barry McGuigan |
|
Finbar Patrick |
| H. L. Mencken |
|
Henry Louis |
| Mendelssohn |
|
Felix |
| Glenn Miller |
|
Alton Glenn |
| Spike Milligan |
|
Terence |
| Mills & Boon |
Mills |
|
Gerald |
| Boon |
|
Charles |
| A. A. Milne |
|
Alan Alexander |
| The Montgolfier brothers |
|
Joseph–Michel |
|
|
Jacques–Étienne |
| Montgomery of Alamein |
|
Bernard |
| L. M. Montgomery |
|
Lucy Maud |
| Morrissey |
|
Stephen |
| Buster Mottram |
|
Christopher |
| Mo Mowlam |
|
Marjorie |
| H. H. Munro ('saki') |
|
Hector Hugh |
| Mussorgsky |
|
Modest |
| Beau Nash (d. 1762) |
|
Richard |
| Horatio Nelson's only child (a daughter, whose mother was Emma Hamilton) |
|
Horatia |
| Father of Gary, Phil and Tracey Neville |
|
Neville |
| Cardinal Newman (English theologian and poet, 1801–90; canonised in 2019) |
|
John Henry |
| Nijinsky |
|
Vaslav |
| Captain 'Titus' Oates (of Scott's 1912 Antarctic expedition) |
|
Lawrence |
| Offenbach (German–born French composer, 1819–80) |
|
Jacques |
| George Osborne |
|
Gideon Oliver |
| Ozzy Osbourne |
|
John Michael |
| Mr. Otis (inventor of the safety lift or elevator) |
|
Elisha Graves |
| Al Pacino |
|
Alfredo James |
| Monty Panesar |
|
Mudhsuden |
| Randolph Severn Parker III, co–creator of South Park, is best known as (first name) |
|
Trey |
| Kim Philby |
|
Harold Adrian Russell |
| Beatrix Potter |
|
Helen |
| Jackson Pollock |
|
Paul |
| J. B. Priestley |
|
John Boynton ("Jack") |
| Prokofiev |
|
Sergey |
| Rachmaninov |
|
Sergei |
| J. Arthur Rank |
|
Joseph |
| Rasputin |
|
Grigori |
| Vivian Richards |
|
Isaac |
| Rimsky–Korsakov |
|
Nikolai |
| Judge Rinder (criminal law barrister and TV personality) |
|
Robert |
| Smokey Robinson |
|
William |
| Sonny Rollins |
|
Theodore Walter |
| Rolls |
|
Charles Stewart |
| Rommel |
|
Erwin Johannes Eugen |
| Tiny Rowland (controversial chief executive of Lonrho, 1962–94) |
|
Roland Walter |
| J. K. Rowling |
|
Joanne Kathleen |
| Royce |
|
Frederick Henry |
| 'Razor' Ruddock (Canadian boxer) |
|
Donovan |
| 'Babe' Ruth |
|
George Herman |
| The Saatchi brothers |
|
Maurice, Charles |
| J. D. Salinger |
|
Jerome David |
| 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
|
Robert |
| Emily Sandé |
|
Adele Emily |
| Colonel Sanders |
|
Harland |
| Sir Malcolm Sargent |
|
Harold Malcolm Watts |
| Captain Scott |
|
Robert Falcon |
| Barry Sheene |
|
Stephen Frank |
| Shelley (English Romantic poet, 1792–1822) |
|
Percy Bysshe |
| E. H. Shepard |
|
Ernest Howard |
| Shostakovich |
|
Dmitri |
| O. J. Simpson |
|
Orenthal James |
| Smetana |
|
Bedrich |
| Stevie Smith |
|
Florence Margaret |
| W. H. Smith |
|
William Henry |
| Will Smith |
|
Willard Christopher |
| C. P. Snow |
|
Charles Percy |
| Sissy Spacek |
|
Mary Elizabeth |
| Dr. Spock |
|
Benjamin McLane |
| H. M. Stanley ("discoverer" of Dr. Livingstone) |
|
Henry Morton |
| Bram Stoker |
|
Abraham |
| Stravinsky |
|
Igor |
| E. W. Swanton |
|
Ernest William |
| J. M. Synge |
|
John Millington |
| A. J. P. Taylor |
|
Alan John Percivale |
| W. M. Thackeray |
|
William Makepeace |
| Daley Thompson |
|
Francis Morgan |
| J. R. R. Tolkien |
|
John Ronald Reuel |
| Topol |
|
Chaim |
| P. L. Travers |
|
Pamela Lyndon |
| J. M. W. Turner |
|
Joseph Mallord William |
| Madame Tussaud |
|
Marie |
| Rudy Vallee |
|
Hubert Prior |
| Queen Victoria |
|
Alexandrina Victoria |
| A. Wainwright (author of the popular series of guide books to the English Lake District) |
|
Alfred |
| Fats Waller |
|
Thomas Wright |
| Ruby Walsh (jockey – Grand National winner 2000 and 2005) |
|
Rupert |
| H. G. Wells |
|
Herbert George |
| Mae West |
|
Mary Jane |
| T. H. White |
|
Terence Hanbury |
| Billy Wilder |
|
Samuel |
| Hank Williams; also the inventor of the first portable, fully automatic machine gun (Maxim) and the
discoverer of Machu Picchu (Bingham) |
|
Hiram |
| J. P. R. Williams |
|
John Peter Rhys |
| Tennessee Williams |
|
Thomas Lanier |
| P. G. Wodehouse |
|
Pelham Grenville |
| Tiger Woods |
|
Eldrick Tont |
| F. W. Woolworth |
|
Frank Winfield |
| The Wright Brothers |
1867–1912 |
|
Wilbur |
| 1871–1948 |
|
Orville |
| Mr. Yale (US inventor and manufacturer of the pin tumbler lock) – his son and business partner
had the same forename |
|
Linus |
| W. B. Yeats |
|
William Butler |
| Lud Zamenhof |
|
Lazarus Ludovic |
