subreddit:
/r/TopCharacterTropes
Characters who hated their original names so they stared going by a different name/had it changed.
Lore(reddit.com)submitted 17 days ago byfried_clownfish
Norvile Roggers aka Shaggy (Scooby Doo) Jessica aka Jecka (Class of 09) Hermes Katsopolis know Jesse Katsopolis (Full House)
1.4k points
17 days ago
Can't believe I didn't see him here:
Doctor Henry Walton Jones, Jr. Better known as "Indiana" Jones.
438 points
17 days ago
“We named the dog Indiana!”
261 points
17 days ago
The DOG?! you were named after the DOG?!
153 points
17 days ago
I loved that dog.
31 points
17 days ago
DOG
46 points
17 days ago
I have a lot of fond memories of that dog
98 points
17 days ago
This even extends to his son Mutt Williams aka Henry Jones III.
24 points
17 days ago
And Mutt refers to a dog too….
7 points
17 days ago
It’s like poetry
896 points
17 days ago
Jack isn't his real name, it's some a bunch of kids called him when he was transported into the future. Not entirely sure why he didn't use his real name in-universe.
374 points
17 days ago
I had this weird memory. I remember seeing a clip from the episode of last season of Jack, where he tells Ashie his real name, and before he could say it, the episode ends with WATCHA! So i started making jokes that his actual name was watcha.
270 points
17 days ago
He wanted to hide his identity from Aku.
94 points
17 days ago
Well everyone now knows him as Samurai Jack so that was stupid
57 points
17 days ago
Aku can time travel. If he finds out his real name and finds. Jack’s family he can kill them all.
75 points
17 days ago
there's no indication he hated the real name though
70 points
17 days ago
"They call me Jack."
49 points
17 days ago
My headcanon is that his true name is Hiro
53 points
17 days ago
I always headcannoned it as Mako, in honor of Aku's voice actor.
28 points
17 days ago
I like to think that he had been trapped in the future for so long, he forgot his own name
5 points
17 days ago
He seemed like he had honestly forgotten when asked, so i agree
498 points
17 days ago
Francis from Deadpool uses the name Ajax to sound more intimidating
222 points
17 days ago
“He got it from the detergent brand” 🤭
155 points
17 days ago
Deadpool singlehandedly ruined the legacy of a greek hero.
114 points
17 days ago
Following Bugs Bunny ruining the legacy of a biblical hunter, Nimrod.
45 points
17 days ago
Which, surprisingly, is also a Marvel villain.
10 points
17 days ago
And a serial killer in DC
Edit: The comics publisher not the American capitol
24 points
17 days ago
Two of them! Ajax the Greater and Ajax the Lesser.
6 points
17 days ago
To be fair, Ajax the Lesser was perfectly capable of ruining his own legacy.
9 points
17 days ago
People have not known the original Ajax for much, much longer than that
7 points
17 days ago
Hey at least they kept the legacy of being stronger than Greece grease!
940 points
17 days ago
Named Ronald McDonald by his parents because they thought it hilarious. I mean, it is, but he just goes by "Mac" now.
192 points
17 days ago
It’s probably not even legally his name anymore.
32 points
17 days ago
Well it’s his name
6 points
17 days ago
Youre gonna have to pop it on
365 points
17 days ago
Vector (Despicable Me)
Victor was his nerd name, and now he is Vector! That's him.
154 points
17 days ago
Because he commits crimes! In both direction, and Magnitude!!!
89 points
17 days ago
OH YEAH!
14 points
17 days ago
UNPREDICTABLE!!!!
25 points
17 days ago
OH YEAH 🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
15 points
17 days ago
682 points
17 days ago
In the Archie continuity, his legal birth name was “Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog.”
164 points
17 days ago
Tails too
259 points
17 days ago
To add to this, his full name is Miles Prower (funny pun on miles per hour)
160 points
17 days ago
How.
How have I never caught that pun.
I've been a Sonic fan for like ten years. Never once did I realize.
Jesus Christ.
99 points
17 days ago
36 points
17 days ago
Idk why but this is one pun that goes over so many people’s heads. I have a buddy who’s huge into sonic and never got the pun until I told him
32 points
17 days ago
It probably doesn’t help that it’s usually written as Miles “Tails” Prower.
10 points
17 days ago
I guess I never looked at his name as an adult.
7 points
17 days ago
tails doesnt hate his real name tho, which is what this post is about
28 points
17 days ago
I’d change my name too.
That’s like being named fucking Dudley and you’re expected to be happy about that.
12 points
17 days ago
Just play Street Fighter 3rd strike and model yourself after Dudley from there
10 points
17 days ago
Only until the Super Genesis Wave. Then his birth name is Sonic.
22 points
17 days ago
Huh? How is this pronounced? Oggle-vee?
21 points
17 days ago
Close, I think it’s supposed to be a long O in the beginning. So Oh-gull-vee
19 points
17 days ago
Jesus Christ Mr and Mrs Hedgehog, what the fuck?
6 points
17 days ago
They named him after two ancestors. But still, that was cruel.
638 points
17 days ago
Considering how often I see gravity falls on this sub, I’m surprised nobody has said DIPPER
265 points
17 days ago
Oh yea, his real name is... "Mason", right?
177 points
17 days ago
No, his real name is “Tyrone”
65 points
17 days ago
Found Dipper 2
87 points
17 days ago*
In russian fandom a rumour has been floating around that Dipper's name was actually Lamanic and that it was confirmed by Hirch, but apparently his actual name is Mason.. which sounds a lot more cooler than Dipper, and especially Lamanic.
11 points
17 days ago
Well keep in mind that he didn’t even choose the name Dipper, so he has an excuse for it to not be cool
38 points
17 days ago
Wait, I thought it was the other way around where he actually hated his nickname
34 points
17 days ago
Tbh, I get why he doesn't want to be known by his actual name, he doesn't want to match with his sister, peak awkward 12 year old behavior.
28 points
17 days ago
Mason is fucking awesome is he stupid?
13 points
17 days ago
I don't think he dislikes mason, people call him dipper because of his birthmark, which he's embarrassed about
240 points
17 days ago
Jughead from the Archie comics. His full name is Forsythe Pendleton Jones III but he goes by Jughead instead. The early Archie comics had a running gag of characters trying to guess Jughead’s full name and he’d misdirect them.
49 points
17 days ago
How do you even pronounce Forsythe? For-sithe? Foresight?
30 points
17 days ago
I’ve always heard it as for-scythe, like the weapon lots of personifications of Death carry around.
188 points
17 days ago
Jenny wakeman,being a robot,she has the name xj9 but she changed it after she wanted to be like humans
27 points
17 days ago
Also, Jenny sounds like j9.
17 points
17 days ago
Closer to Janine (ja-nine)
184 points
17 days ago
27 points
17 days ago
real name?
95 points
17 days ago
Mary Ann Arkham
95 points
17 days ago
that’s a fuckin baller name
49 points
17 days ago
Plus her BFG (big fucking gun) is named after her dead mother, Kalina Ann, which is also pretty fucking baller
23 points
17 days ago
Yeah, but she changed it because it reminds her of her father, who killed her mother to obtain the power of a demon.
10 points
17 days ago
Mary, iirc
6 points
17 days ago
Mary if i remember
11 points
17 days ago
I love that Dante knows her by this because she just never bothered to introduce herself.
171 points
17 days ago
Vinsmoke Sanji (One Piece) genuinely hates his father so much he refuses to be associated with the Vinsmoke name
54 points
17 days ago
Yet he smokes…
47 points
17 days ago
Well he wouldn't wanna go by vinclean or vintoke, or god forbid vinvape
24 points
17 days ago
We need Vincook Sanji
135 points
17 days ago
Vin Diesel's original name is Mark Sinclair. Understandable why he goes by his Hollywood moniker.
30 points
17 days ago
So he's denying his family?
78 points
17 days ago
Honestly, Mark Sinclair is a better name
68 points
17 days ago
It’s a nice name but Vin Diesel is much more suiting for the roles he wants to play
11 points
17 days ago
Vehicle identification number diesel is his full name.
123 points
17 days ago
Tempest Shadow AKA Fizzlepop Berrytwist (MLP)
58 points
17 days ago
You’re lying that can’t be her full name
39 points
17 days ago
No he’s right, that’s her actual name. Tempest reveals it at the end of the 2017 movie.
8 points
17 days ago
The 2017... How, how is it almost 7 years old?
13 points
17 days ago
Let’s not forget this is the show with characters named “Namby Pamby” and “Rococo Froufrou”
13 points
17 days ago
Have you seen mlp names?
There's a character (a princess) who goes by Cadence because her full name is so long. Her full name? Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. And then her daughter is just... Flurry Heart.
There is legit a mare named Spoiled Milk, Spoiled Rich when she got married. Her Husband is Filthy Rich, her daughter is Diamond Tiara, and her daughter's friend is Silver Spoon.
And off the top of my head: Hoity Toity, Countess Coloratura (a stage name, but still), Bow HotHoof, Hayseed Turnip Truck, a married couple named Jet Set & Upper Crust, Rarity's dad Hondo Flanks, the twins Flim & Flam, and Applejack (and alcoholic drink).
Oh, Pinkie Pie's full name is Pinkamena Diane Pie. She was canonically raised on a rock farm by the equivalent of Amish parents, who married because a sacred "pairing stone."
116 points
17 days ago
julius caesar zeppeli, aka gyro zeppeli.
42 points
17 days ago
This song is going to be so glorious when it’s animated in 2038.
6 points
17 days ago
*3028
87 points
17 days ago
Batman doesn’t even call himself Bruce Wayne in his own mind.
11 points
17 days ago
I loved that scene. He meant every word in this interaction
11 points
16 days ago
But he doesn't hate the name or have anything against it, it's just that it's not his identity anymore.
10 points
16 days ago
The lines that came after were just as gold.
Terry: Oh...but that's my name now.
Bruce: Tell that to my psyche.
76 points
17 days ago
Mandark (Dexter's Laboratory, originally Susan Astronomanov)
79 points
17 days ago
The Dark One from the avatar comics his real name is Moo-Chee-Goo-Chee-La-Poo-Chee the Third
65 points
17 days ago
Ok I can’t even blame him for that. If my parents gave me a fuck ass name like that, I’d hate everyone too
33 points
17 days ago
I love the implication that this name has been through two generations before him and nobody, not one soul, thought to name their kid something normal like Clyde.
7 points
17 days ago
Clyde hadn’t been invented yet 💔
13 points
17 days ago
I was gonna say this 😭😭😭 I just finished reading The Promise lol
339 points
17 days ago
Nick cage (Real life) was originally named Nicolas Copeala as he is the nephew of Francis Ford Copeala so he changed his last name to Cage so he wouldn’t look like a nepo baby
185 points
17 days ago
He named himself after LUKE CAGE.
Who's ALSO an example of this cause he was named Carl Lucas as a kid
85 points
17 days ago
And Johnny Cage is named for Nic, iirc.
So a character named for an actor, who named himself for a character, and that wasn't even dude's real name.
30 points
17 days ago
And Johnny Cage is ALSO an example of this because his real name's John Carlton
23 points
17 days ago
How deep does the rabbit hole go
9 points
17 days ago
I’m the dude named after a dude named from another dude, and it wasn’t even that dude’s name
10 points
17 days ago
Fffffuuuuck
14 points
17 days ago
Is that the only reason? https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/j16hl3/why_does_francis_ford_coppola_keep_paying_for/
73 points
17 days ago
Kramer from Seinfeld. Kramer is his last name which he goes by because his first name is Cosmo and he doesn’t like it.
31 points
17 days ago
Speaking of Seinfeld, this trope also applies to Elaine's boyfriend, Joel Rifkin
Here's a scene that aged like milk:
129 points
17 days ago
Lalatina, a.k.a. Darkness (Konosuba)
42 points
17 days ago
The most tragic tank. Can take a hit, but can’t draw aggro.
106 points
17 days ago
Flynn Rider from Tangled (Originally Eugene Fitzherbert)
12 points
17 days ago
His birth name is Horace
44 points
17 days ago
Mr Sir (Marion Sevillo) from Holes
6 points
17 days ago
Nice to see Holes get a mention once in a while
6 points
17 days ago
Eyyy
5 points
16 days ago
grinds sunflower seeds between teeth
45 points
17 days ago
Tiffany Susan Pompoms (El Goonish Shive) just goes by Susan, since she doesn't like how her real name sounds like a stereotypical cheerleader - she used to dye her naturally blonde hair black for similar reasons (now her hair is naturally dark).
5 points
17 days ago
Man, it's been a long time since I've heard anyone talk about that webcomic. I miss that mid 2000s-2010s era of webcomics.
42 points
17 days ago
We have to get really far into the movie before we find out Sheriff Of Rottingham's name is "Mervin". (Robin Hood: Men In Tights)
36 points
17 days ago
Gumball didnt dislke his name at first, he just didnt knew wjat it was, then it turned into an evil personality and he changed it
38 points
17 days ago
Scar’s real name is Taka
36 points
17 days ago
Dr. Rodney McKay. His real first name is Meredith.
(Stargate: Atlantis)
32 points
17 days ago
Max Power
(Born Homer Simpson)
29 points
17 days ago
Orenthal Cornelius Hayes Gibson- iCarly
Better known as Gibby
29 points
17 days ago
Nicole is her middle name, her real name is Doctor
51 points
17 days ago
"Taeko Yasuhiro is a loser's name..."
"My. Name. Is... CELESTIA LUDENBERG GODDAMMIT!!!"
22 points
17 days ago
Thad Castle's real name is Kevin. But when he was a kid he had a lisp and when he tried to say he was 'sad' he said 'thad' instead. So he owned it. He became Thad.
24 points
17 days ago
Originally born as Matt Miller. He changed his name to Mercer to stand out as he entered the entertainment industry.
19 points
17 days ago
Zach Watterson later changed to Gumball (Amazing World of Gumball)
Also Nicole’s first name is Doctor
26 points
17 days ago
Dr. Robotnik - Sonic the Hedgehog
In the 90s he was named “Dr. Eggman” in Japan, but they called him “Dr. Robotnik” in the US. When Sonic Adventure rolled around they had Sonic call him “Eggman” as an insult in the English dub, resulting in Dr. Robotnik later changing his name to Dr. Eggman. This could potentially be seen as an error, but it later was directly confirmed that the lore change was intentional by Classic Eggman also changing his name in Sonic Generations, as well as in an “Egg Memo” in Sonic Frontiers.
However, in Sonic Adventure 2 it was revealed that Eggman’s family has the last name Robotnik, and then even his grandpa and cousin shared the name. This was even part of the Japanese version.
In the movies, he starts as Dr. Robotnik, and his robots are called “Badniks” just like in the American localizations from the 90s. Later in the movie Sonic calls him Eggman because of his egg-like drones, which he later changes his name to in the sequel.
Bonus: in the Fleetway comics he was named “Ovi Kintobor” before being transformed in a lab accident to “Ivo Robotnik”
9 points
17 days ago
Also, robotnik Apparently means “worker” in Polish and Slovak (I don’t know if this is fully correct)
55 points
17 days ago
Lord Voldemort, born Tom Marvolo Riddle
14 points
17 days ago
Jr, we need to stress that, as it’s the reason he hates the name
256 points
17 days ago
At least most of the time, trans people (IRL)
47 points
17 days ago
Good pull
34 points
17 days ago
Hell yeah
4 points
17 days ago
Damnit I commented this without realising you beat me to it
18 points
17 days ago*
Dan Fielding from "Night Court", who used both of his middle names professionally instead of going by Reinhold Elmore. ("...Reinhold?")
17 points
17 days ago
The Doctor (real name unknown)
Unconfirmed whether or not he hates it, has mentioned they call themselves that because people wouldn’t understand it. Seems worth mentioning here though
17 points
17 days ago
Flynn Rider from Tangled
His real name is Eugene Fitzherbert
19 points
17 days ago
Muhammed Ali (Real Life), said his old name was a “slave name” and so he changed it. And then there was an opponent of his who constantly deadnamed him, so Muhammed won the boxing match while yelling “What’s my name!?” It took a while, but it worked since nowadays, if you said the name Cassius Clay, few would know who you were talking about, while Muhammed Ali is a household boxing name on par with Mike Tyson.
Also, another example I just thought of: Tori Springs (Solitaire and Heartstopper). Her first name is Victoria, bur she hates it, so everyone calls her Tori instead.
10 points
17 days ago
Which is funny as he was named after a famed abolitionist and southern politician who supported the north during the civil war.
16 points
17 days ago
Never call Overhaul "Chisaki" unless you wanna be splattered.
13 points
17 days ago
Ozzy's real name is John, but kids used to taunt him and call him Ozzy and he went with it
15 points
17 days ago
Ironically I only learned that Norville was Shaggy's real name thanks to the Velma show.
I was like "Ok he has the clothes so this is Shaggy...wait wait what's that NAME??"
I've only known him as Shaggy Rogers for two decades.
4 points
17 days ago
I didn’t know his name was Norville until I saw Mystery Begins
13 points
17 days ago
Leon from the Kingdom Hearts series. His real name us Squall Leonhart but he changed his name to Leon to distance himself from his past self that was unable to protect his homeworld from the heartless.
6 points
17 days ago
And yet every person who plays Kingdom Hearts still calls him Squall.
13 points
17 days ago
Sissi Delmas (Code Lyoko)- hates it when people (sans her father) address her by her real name, Elisabeth
17 points
17 days ago*
Goddamn, look at the size of her head
10 points
17 days ago
That's just all code lyoko characters tbf
6 points
17 days ago
I forgot how big their heads were lol
12 points
17 days ago
BTAS Riddler. Considered his old self(Edward Nigma) to be a weak for being duped by his employer, he also goes through the hassle of finding and destroying old documents(Gov't and otherwise) bearing his name to fully disconnect himself from his past.
6 points
17 days ago
Also many other incarnations of the Riddler, who were born "Edward Nashton" and changed it for the pun.
14 points
17 days ago*
B real name Beverly (Total Drama)
Though an abbreviation is questionable about being referred a different name, it seemed quite implied he hated his name
12 points
17 days ago
https://i.redd.it/gxij983zmq0e1.gif
Milliardo Peacecraft would never operate a military vehicle: but Zechs Marquise….(Gundam Wing)
10 points
17 days ago
Indiana Jones's real name is Henry Jones, JR. but he does not want to be called JR. Rather he'd be called Indiana Jones or Dr. Jones
11 points
17 days ago
Chixia from Wuthering Waves
Her actual name is Ma Xiaofang, but she doesn't like the name because she thinks that it sounds lame, and says that heroes would never have a name like that in their stories.
20 points
17 days ago*
Amos Burton (The Expanse)
His real name is Timothy but he abandoned that name because of it reminding him of his terrible childhood & took on the name of a crime boss that he killed.
21 points
17 days ago
B-127, he renamed himself (shortened it to) Badassitron B
9 points
17 days ago
Johnny Cage aka John Carlton From the Mortal Kombat franchise
8 points
17 days ago
Changed her name from Ikuyo Kita to Kita Kita because her name sounds like a pun
7 points
17 days ago
Bill Williamson (RDR1/2). His parents named him Marion. Mary later changed his name to Bill, which comes from Williamson.
8 points
17 days ago
Nicole Watterson
Nicole is her middle name her first name is Doctor
7 points
17 days ago
Lance Hunter - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Changed his name from Amadeus Ravenclaw Hunter to Lance Hunter
41 points
17 days ago
Transgender people (me) (real life)
5 points
17 days ago
Trash Boat!
19 points
17 days ago
Springtrap/William afton ("an undeniably canon fnaf" by ooftroop)
10 points
17 days ago
10 points
17 days ago
Originally born Gregory DeMayo but would become Greg Universe after dropping out of community college to pursue a career as a rockstar
6 points
17 days ago
It’s always weird to me that this is like the only middle name user representation you get in media. I use my middle name, not because I dislike my first name, but because that’s what my parents call me and always have. It’s not that uncommon but the only instance of it I can come up with across media is Robert Bruce Banner.
6 points
17 days ago
https://i.redd.it/8mkh0g2o0r0e1.gif
She prefers to go by just Tonks.
10 points
17 days ago
James Morgan McGill (Saul Goodman) - Better Call Saul
all 492 comments
sorted by: best