The distinction needs to be made between:

<> people who were known by their complete name at the height of their fame but who became one-namers in retrospect

and

<> people who always had a one-name professional moniker.


EXAMPLES

PELE, for example, I think always was known by that name in his visible career. LANCE (Armstrong), on the other hand, didn't become a one-namer until almost the end of his career, and he certainly never called himself by that one-word name professionally.

Example: CHER was Cher's official stage name: picture the marquee in Vegas. CELINE is probably still billed on the marquee as CELINE DION. wE PRETEND TO BE ON FAMILIAR TERMS WITH OUR STARS NOWADAYS, SO IN CONVERSATION ONE MIGHT REFER TO celine (SORRY CAPSLOCK)

One might refer now informally to CELINE, meaning Celine Dion, but she doesn't bill herself that way like MADONNA bills herself by just one name.

Sports heroes, ditto. Michael Jordan would never have referred to himself by one name professionally. But sportscasters nowadays, referring to a great of the past, often do.

Ditto Einstein. The dropping of the first name is a sign of respect for the magnitude of the achievement, but he didn't bill himself that way.


Ditto Letterman and Leno. You know who I mean, but you also know they don't sign checks or contracts that way. I bet Madonna does though, and I bet she had to go to court to make it legal, too.

~Susan

PS Note capping for clarity in typography, not meant as shouting.