BS: First name only

Subject: BS: First name only
From: PHJim
Date: 08 Jan 19 - 09:31 PM

There are folks who can get away with a nickname or just a first name: Cher, Elvis. . .
Most cannot. Spike Lee once tried to sue "Spike TV", saying that folks would identify it with him. Spike Milligan or Spike Jones or that little dog with the circle around his eye come to mind when I hear Spike.
When I hear JT, I think of James Taylor, but some folks think Justin Timberlake.
I read a post about Amos being ill and wondered is that Amos Garrett? He's no spring chicken and I hope it's not too serious.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jan 19 - 10:12 PM

Cantinflas

Jeanmarie

and one could argue Bing (kind of an unusual name)

The only ones I can think of.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:10 AM

To pull off the first-name-only thing, one almost needs to be fortunate enough to have been born with a fairly uncommon name (Elvis, Madonna, Prince). Otherwise, one has to invent a name to play the game (Flea, Sting, Slash).

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:23 AM

Donovan...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:24 AM

Tarzan...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:33 AM

Ringo

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:41 AM

A lot more people identify me by my first name than my last, especially after I explain that my father was Mr. Russell. I still find some people insist on formality, though.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 02:45 AM

Adolf...?

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 02:59 AM

Well, here in California, everybody but us exiled Midwesterners goes by first name only. I think they're all in a Witness Protection Program.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 06:52 AM

lol

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 07:23 AM

Only my friends pronounce my name correctly. Everybody else gets told to call me Mrs Thomas or Madame. Or even Hey, Lady.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Ed T
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 07:32 AM

I have also noticed that some couples are mentioned with female first male second, while others are in the reverse. Possibly, the order is determined by what sounds better. Or, in other cases which is the Alpha partner?
I have friends with two boys. When they refer to them, they always say "Sam and Charlie". It always sounds like Salmon Charlie to me

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 08:02 AM

My husband gets called all sorts of weird things in attempts to pronounce his first name (It's Ibrahima). His Christmas cards from the staff at the school where he's a cleaner were hilarious. He's had Ibby, Abby, Abrahama, Abe, Ibe, even Obama!!

My nickname was given to me by my Irish mother, and also by my school friends, as it was the name of my favourite pony at the riding school!

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 11:29 AM

My first name, which I use for all my gigs, is 'Owaikaho'akua. Most people call me "Ow!".

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: frogprince
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 11:37 AM

Odetta (sp?)

Beonce

Cher

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 11:44 AM

Beyoncé

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 11:57 AM

Arnie...

Any other famous Arnolds can fight it out between themselves for second place...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:24 PM

Twinkle...

Well.. she's one on my favourites...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlUw5nlAXIo

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 12:56 PM

Pelé. Jairzinho. Allison. Chicharito. Ronaldo (the Brazilian one). Ronaldinho. Socrates. Romario. Hulk. Fred. Garrincha. Odd man out, anybody? :-)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 01:05 PM

Not Adolf. Adolf was the first name of Adolf Busch, a German musician, founder of the legendary Busch Quartet, a man who vehemently opposed the Nazis and who left Germany in protest just before the war, never to reside there again. I revere their recordings of Beethoven's late quartets above all else, so when I hear the name Adolf I think of him first and foremost.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Jos
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 03:27 PM

Of Steve Shaw's list, I believe one of them is/was a footballer and another is either a football player or a team manager. Other than those two, the only one I have heard of is Socrates. Most people are known to the people around them by their first name.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 03:30 PM

Nope. They are or were all footballers!

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Jos
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 03:42 PM

I think maybe that proves my point (but I could be wrong, so let's not go on and on and on about it ... )

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Joe_F
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 05:33 PM

When I was little I heard in the news that Bankhead thought she owned "Tallulah".

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 06:50 PM

Twiggy! Oh, wait, *Dame* Twiggy!

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 06:54 PM

The residents of Tallulah Falls, Georgia would've probably contested Ms Bankhead's claim of ownership since the town has established well before her birth.

But her friend, Mrs. Fitzgerald, pretty much owned "Zelda".

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Ed T
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 07:41 PM

I suspect individuals with less common first names are easier to identify than names like Dave or Steve?

Some celebrities use(d) different first names to help single them out, like
Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth Jr.). Would we have easily remembered him only as George?

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: pdq
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 08:04 PM

Charo.

Homer and Jethro?

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: meself
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 09:12 PM

Does Sir Paul qualify?

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 09:22 PM

I recognized only two of the names in Steve's list - they're not all universally recognized by non-sports fans.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 09:49 PM

The residents of Tallula, Illinois would also contest a monopoly on the name. (Of course, the town's only claim to fame is that the road to Cleary's Grove is there.)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 09 Jan 19 - 10:47 PM

Banksy...

[probably our most famous artist from the South West of England
and no one apart from his cronies know who the slippery elusive bugger is...!!!]

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Acorn4
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 03:53 AM

Vin, Flossie, Les.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 04:01 AM

They're all Brazilian footballers except for Chicharito, who's a Mexixcan footballer. Sheesh.

Gazza. Jezza. Jazza (Archers). Macca. Dubya.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 04:13 AM

Isn't Jeremy Kyle known as 'Jez'?

I've had more than one pupil pronounce Socrates as 'So-Crates'.

(And one child in a Geography lesson who was very interested to find the Amazin' River on a map)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Jos
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 04:32 AM

I'd never heard of Babe Ruth either - and I haven't bothered googling it, so I'm still none the wiser.

But I expect a lot of people on here have heard of Micca ...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 04:44 AM

no one apart from his cronies know who the slippery elusive bugger is...!!!]

or who THEY are! They are an cooperative/studio anyway these days. Maybe it is/was two people/item from the start. With all that financial acumen - it has to be more than one person. IMNSHO

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 03:33 AM

At music the other evening the wife of one of the musicians made a rare appearance; they are Paul and June. Another of the musicians confessed that for a long time he thought that Paul's name was 'Paul Anjune'.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 07:39 AM

The reverse, I suppose, of the situation pertaining to the great Hungarian footballer Flórián Albert. From a certain angle it sounds like a cosy, middle-aged couple in Coronation Street.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Mo the caller
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 09:17 AM

So who comes to mind if you say Dylan? (for the 3 that I think of only 1 is a Christian name)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 09:29 AM

Liberace...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 09:34 AM

Edge (the)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 09:34 AM

Baldrick

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 09:59 AM

God...


...well.. seeing as we're also listing fictional characters...

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 11:06 AM

Prince, Rihanna, Lulu, Cher, Sting, Bono.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 11:25 AM

From: Senoufou - PM
Date: 10 Jan 19 - 04:13 AM
Isn't Jeremy Kyle known as 'Jez'?
I've had more than one pupil pronounce Socrates as 'So-Crates'.

That pronunciation is used in the film "Bill and Ted's excellent adventure" which might be where they get it from.
It also featured "that short dead dude" (Napoleon) and "Miss Of-Arc" (Joan)

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Jos
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 01:11 PM

"who comes to mind if you say Dylan?"

For me, Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, Dylan the rabbit in 'The Magic Roundabout' - no others, so two first names.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 01:29 PM

I think Nigel that Bill and Ted's film was late eighties, whereas my pupils were creating those howlers in the mid-seventies.

I always liked Dylan the rabbit. He was a sort of half-stoned, guitar-playing hippy.

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 01:38 PM

"Miss Of-Arc." I love it!

I always thought that Bono's first name was "Twat."

I remember when Jonathan Ross was interviewing The Edge, and asked him "Is it OK if I just call you The?"

Subject: RE: BS: First name only
From: Jos
Date: 11 Jan 19 - 04:13 PM

So Mo the Caller must have thought of a Dylan (last name) that still eludes me.