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This is a list of notable people whose full legal name is (or was) a mononym, either by name change or by being born mononymic (e.g. Burmese, Indonesian, or Japanese royalty). Titles (e.g. Burmese honorifics) do not count against inclusion, because they are not part of the name itself.
This list does not include people who are mononymous only as a stage name, pen name/pseudonym, in certain contexts, or by dint of fame.
Reason | Source | Mononym | Title(s) | Other name | Born | Died | Description | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birth | Japanese royalty | Aiko | Princess Toshi | 2001 | - | daughter of Emperor Naruhito | ||
Birth | Japanese royalty | Akihito | Emperor Emeritus | 1933 | - | former Emperor of Japan (abdicated 2019) | ||
Birth | Burmese | Ba | Sir U | 1887 | 1963 | Burmese president and Supreme Court justice | ||
Birth | Nepali | Balkrishna | Acharya | c. 1972–1973 | - | Nepali billionaire businessman and chairman of the consumer goods company Patanjali Ayurved | ||
Birth | Arakanese royalty | Bin | Min | 1493 | 1554 | King of Arakan in Myanmar from 1531 to 1554 | ||
Birth | Indonesian | Boediono | 1943 | - | former Vice President of Indonesia | |||
Name change | Cher | Cherilyn Sarkisian | 1946 | - | American singer and actress | |||
Name change | Chyna | Joan Marie Laurer | 1970 | 2016 | American professional wrestler and actress | |||
Name change | religious | Dhammaloka | U | Laurence Carroll | 1856 | 1914 | Irish-born Buddhist monk, celebrity preacher and editor in British Burma | |
Name change | promotion | DotComGuy | Mitch Maddox | American computer specialist; changed to mononym as promotion, later reverted to birth name | ||||
Birth | Japanese royalty | Fumihito | Prince Akishino | 1965 | - | heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito | ||
Name change | religious | Gambira | U | Nyi Nyi Lwin | 1979 | - | Burmese Buddhist Monk leader of All Burma Monks' Alliance during the 2007 Saffron Revolution | |
Birth | Indian | Govindjee | U | 1932 | - | Indian-American biochemist | ||
Birth | Japanese royalty | Hirohito | Emperor | Shōwa | 1901 | 1989 | former Emperor of Japan | |
Birth | Vietnamese | Hổ | 1998 | - | footballer of Sedang ethnic | |||
Name change | Indrani | Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri | 1983 | - | Indian-British-Canadian director, photographer, girls' empowerment activist and author | |||
Name change | iOTA | Sean Hape | 1968 | - | Australian musician and actor | |||
Birth | Burmese | Kyan | Binnya | 1538 | senior minister at the court of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy | |||
Birth | Australian aboriginal | Loongkoonan | 1910 | 2018 | Australian aboriginal artist | |||
Birth | Japanese royalty | Mako | former Princess | Mako Komuro | 1991 | - | Daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, lost royal status and gained surname by marriage to commoner Kei Komuro | |
Birth | Indian | Mayawati | 1956 | - | Indian politician who formerly served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh | |||
Name change | Japanese royalty by marriage | Michiko | Empress | Michiko Shōda | 1934 | - | Japanese empress consort | |
Birth | Japanese royalty | Naruhito | Emperor | 1960 | - | Emperor of Japan | ||
Name change | Nenê | Maybyner Rodney Hilario | 1982 | - | Brazilian basketball player | |||
Birth | Burmese | Nu | U or Thakin | 1907 | 1995 | leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician | ||
Birth | Burmese | Ponnya | U | 1812 | 1867 | Burmee dramatist | ||
Name change | transitioning | Quinn | Rebecca Quinn | 1995 | - | Canadian soccer player | ||
Name change | religious | Rajneesh | Chandra Mohan Jain | 1931 | 1990 | Indian mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement | ||
Name change | religious | Ramdev | Swami | Ram Kisan Yadav | 1965 | - | Indian ayurvedic and yoga practitioner | |
Birth | Pakistani | Riazuddin | 1930 | 2013 | Pakistani physicist | |||
Name change | Burmese | San | Saya | Yar Kyaw | 1876 | 1931 | Leader of the 1930–1932 Saya San Rebellion in British Burma | |
Birth | Burmese | Saw | U or Galon U | 1900 | 1948 | Burmese politician who served as Prime Minister during the colonial era before WW2 | ||
Name change | Shez | Efrat Yerushalmi | 1959 | - | Israeli poet | |||
Birth | Indian | Siddaramaiah | 1948 | - | Indian politician who served a full-chief ministerial term of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018 | |||
Birth | Indonesian | Sjumandjaja | 1934 | 1985 | Indonesian director, screenwriter, and actor | |||
Birth | Indonesian | Sudirman | 1916 | 1950 | Indonesian National Hero and the first commander of Indonesian Armed Forces | |||
Birth | Indonesian | Suharto | 1921 | 2008 | former President of Indonesia | |||
Birth | Indonesian | Sukarno | 1901 | 1970 | former President of Indonesia | |||
Birth | Indonesian | Supriyadi | 1923 | c. 1945 | Indonesian National Hero and the first appointed Minister of Defense of Indonesia | |||
Name change | Teller | Raymond Joseph Teller | 1948 | - | American magician | |||
Birth | Burmese | Thant | U | 1909 | 1974 | Burmese diplomat and longest-serving Secretary-General of the United Nations | ||
Birth | Indonesian | Triyatno | 1987 | - | Indonesian weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist | |||
Birth | Mon royalty | U | Binnya | 1323 | 1384 | King of Hanthawaddy in Myanmar from 1348 to 1384 | ||
Name change | Warrior | James Hellwig | 1959 | 2014 | American professional wrestler | |||
Name change | Winter | Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr. | 1972 | - | American software programmer best known for his goal to visit every company-owned Starbucks location in the world; changed name first to John Winter Smith, then to mononym Winter | |||
Name change | Ye | Kanye Omari West | 1977 | - | American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer | |||
Birth | Indian | Zoramthanga | 1944 | - | Indian politician and current Chief Minister of Mizoram |
See also
References
- "Turning Back Time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
- @cher (1 March 2017). "@KBetter52 I Don't Have A Last name.Went to court...& Let me tell you it wasn't easy.They don't want Ppl running around with no last names🤣" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Cher". IMDb.
- "Copy of Name Change Document" (PDF). 2007-11-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- "Hổ là ai? Vì sao cầu thủ của Đắk Lắk chỉ có tên, không có họ?" (in Vietnamese). ithethao. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- "Watch This Rad Feminist Short Film of Girls Playing Soccer in Jodhpur".
- McElwee, Molly (9 September 2020). "Canada international Quinn comes out as transgender". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- "Frequently Asked Questions About the Bad Boys of Magic". Pennandteller.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007.
Teller's full legal name is just Teller. He has one of the few US passports that has been issued with a single name.
- Grasso, John (6 March 2014). Historical Dictionary of Wrestling – John Grasso – Google Books. ISBN 9780810879263. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- Reynolds, R.D.; Alvarez, Bryan (2014). The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Bestselling Classic — Revised and Expanded. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1770411753.
- "Starbucks Everywhere". starbuckseverywhere.net. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- Aubrey, Elizabeth (October 18, 2021). "Kanye West officially changes his name to 'Ye'". The Independent. Retrieved October 19, 2021.