History Main / EmbarrassingLastName

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': The Silk Spectre, originally a Polish immigrant, romanized her name to Sally Jupiter. Her daughter/successor, Laurie, is not much of a fan of said name as well as being forced into the role, and prefers to keep her original last name.

* Creator/MelBlanc's original last name was "Blank", due to jokes about it, he changed the last letter to avoid having a name that amounted to being "Mel Empty".

* The security chief on ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' is named La'an Noonien-Singh. Her last name has always been a source of angst for her, as it marks her as a descendant of [[AVillainNamedKhan Khan Noonien-Singh]], a [[BewareTheSuperman genetically-engineered tyrant]] who brought about one of Earth's most devastating wars and [[NNoTranshumanismAllowed an ensuing ban on genetic enhancements]].

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv6FMEvNiWo a skit]] rife with them due to an earthquake at the office to legally change one's name, such as [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Donald McRonald]], Mark Peanus, [[VideoGame/MarioParty Mario Pardi]], Ty Neadik, [[Series/MorkAndMindy Morgan Mindy]] (Nanu nanu!), Holden Tudiks and one that the reporter won't say because [[NWordPrivileges it sounds racist]] - even if the person insists it's pronounced like 'cigar', a Black woman says it instead sounds like the N-word on a British accent. There's also one civilian who passed by to rescue people, Alan, asks for only an
initial, and they used it in the wrong one ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII A. Hitler]]), and the show's host (Kumdungeon).

[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/AnyasGhost https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/embarrassing_last_name.png]]]]

* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'': As revealed in the second game, Gruntilda's last name is "Winkybunion". Banjo wastes no time in mocking her for it, which comes across as a little surprising considering Banjo's usually the more kind and polite hero, with Kazooie doing most of the banter.

* Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib, from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. This is the result of: 1) his culture taking their last names from the ship they are assigned to after completing their ComingOfAge ritual ("Koris" is his family name), 2) his civilization buying/salvaging/taking any ship that can be of use to them, and 3) the fact that some ships have a galactic registry that makes simply renaming them extremely impractical. This is something of a sensitive topic for him, which Tali warns you of beforehand, but you are free to ignore this advice for the lulz.

** Anequs, after she enrolls in Kuiper's Academy, is given the patronymic surname Aponakwedottir — "Aponakwe's daughter." She rejects it nearly anytime she hears it, saying [[OnlyOneName it's not her name.]].

[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/AnyasGhost https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/embarrassing_last_name.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/AnyasGhost https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/embarrassing_last_name.png]]]]

While the EmbarrassingFirstName deals with the character not liking his first name and the EmbarrassingMiddleName with the middle name, the Embarrassing Last Name is where a character has a last name that sounds embarrassing to the public. It may be a sign of UnfortunateName or UnfortunateImplications.

* During the ''WesternAnimation/TheBackyardigans'' episode "Whodunnit?", Austin's surname was... Frothingslosh. You can stop laughing now.

* In ''LightNovel/AdachiAndShimamura'', Shimamura dislikes her last name, since it reminds her too much of a fashion store, and wishes she was a Shimazaki.

* Trixie Lulamoon of ''FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse'' absolutely hates her last name. She claims it's due to being teased by foals singing "Skip To My Lou" when she was younger, but it might also be due to being embarrassed by what her drunk AlternateSelf (who does go by "Lulamoon"), gets up to when she comes out to play.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Alejandro from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' has his last name revealed by Chris to everyone in ''All Stars''. Chris gets a good laugh at learning that his name is "[[BilingualBonus Alejandro Burros Muertos]]" (Dead Donkeys.) This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] further into the episode. This was previously revealed in a confessional in ''World Tour'', though it was just "Burromuerto" (Dead Donkey) there, and the translation was not made clear until ''All Stars''.

* Alejandro from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' has his last name revealed by Chris to everyone in ''All Stars''. Chris gets a good laugh at learning that his name is "[[BilingualBonus Alejandro Burros Muertos]]" (Dead Donkeys.) This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] further into the episode.

* The landlord in ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' is named "Calvin Fishoedeor" (pronounced "fish odor").

* The protagonist of Donald E. Westlake's novel ''Literature/HelpIAmBeingHeldPrisoner'' has the extremely unfortunate last name of Kunt (pronounced Koont, and he insists on the umlauts, or little dots above the u[[labelnote:*]]Which in reality make them NOT pronounced "oo", but the actual vowel doesn't exist in English[[/labelnote]]). This would be bad enough under ordinary circumstances, but when he goes to prison it threatens to become completely intolerable.

[[folder:Other Media]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv6FMEvNiWo This SNL skit]] is rife with them due to an earthquake at the office to legally change one's name. Because it's SNL, cue PlayedForLaughs!
** Donald [=McRonald=] wants to change his last name to Johnson to "finally stop all the dumbass childish jokes" about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McDonald the McDonalds mascot]].
** Mark Peanus [[note]]Penis[[/note]]
** Mario Pardi [[note]]VideoGame/MarioParty[[/note]]
** Ty Neadik [[note]]Tiny dick[[/note]]
** Todd Kobell [[note]]Taco Bell[[/note]]
** Ivan Jerganov [[note]]I've been jerking off[[/note]]
** Pete Ophelia [[note]]Pedophilia[[/note]]
** Alan Hitler, civilian who was helping rescue people and being hailed as a hero. Asks to be referred to using just an initial (Alan H.) Gets the wrong initial. ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII A. Hitler]])
** Julia N-word (The reporter won't even say it, just that it sounds ''very close'' to the N-word. She explains that it's spelled the same way but pronounced like 'cigar', but that just sounds like it's being said with a British accent, according to the reporter and another person who was rescued by Alan H.)
[[/folder]]

* In ''Literature/WhenMyHeartJoinsTheThousand'', Stanley Finkel's last name rhymes with "tinkle," which got him teased in elementary school.

* There is a running joke in the ''Waxahachie Smith'' novels by Creator/JTEdson regarding how embarrassing the surname Ramsbottom is. Smith even adopts it as his GoToAlias on the grounds that nobody would pick it as an assumed name.

* Several episodes of ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' feature a character who is a struggling comic who is stuck with the unfortunate name of Vic [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]].
* In an episode of ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'' one of the suspects is a retired wrestler who still goes by his stage name. He is made to admit his actual name, and reveals his last name is Fairy.

* In [[https://cyelatm.tumblr.com/post/172415663791 this]] ''Close Your Eyes, Look At The Mountains'' strip, Rosie's last name is revealed to be ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.
* Tiffany Susan Pompoms from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' strongly dislikes her last name, to the point where even her close friends can [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/party-104 forget]] that it ''is'' her name.

* ''Manga/SoulEater'': Soul doesn't like to be referred to by his last name "Evans", and adopted the CodeName "Soul Eater" when he came to the DWMA. [[spoiler:This isn't because he resents the name--he actually thinks he ''[[HeroicSelfDeprecation doesn't live up to it]]''.]]

* In ''Anime/ValkyrieDriveMermaid'', several characters tease Mamori Tokonome because "Tokonome" can be translated into "Virgin".
* ''Manga/NewGame'' Umiko Ahagon dislikes her last name and insists that the other employees call her by her first name. Most of the employees respect her wishes, but Kou occasionally calls her "Ahagon" to mess with her, despite using first names on everyone who doesn't outrank her.

* In ''LightNovel/AdachiAndShimamura'', Shimamura dislikes her last name, since it reminds her too much of a fashion store, and wishes she was a Shimazaki.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': The Silk Spectre, originally a Polish immigrant, romanized her name to Sally Jupiter. Her daughter/successor, Laurie, is not much of a fan of said name as well as being forced into the role, and prefers to keep her original last name.
* ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'': The Hitler-like dictator of Britain in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' is named Adam ''Susan''. No wonder they changed his name into Sutler in [[Film/VForVendetta the movie]].

* In ''Film/PitchPerfect 2'', new freshman Emily Junk admits her mother's last name is weird, but it was better than using her dad's last name "Hardon".

* The protagonist of Donald E. Westlake's novel ''Help I am Being Held Prisoner'' has the extremely unfortunate last name of Kunt (pronounced Koont, and he insists on the umlauts, or little dots above the u[[labelnote:*]]Which in reality make them NOT pronounced "oo", but the actual vowel doesn't exist in English[[/labelnote]]). This would be bad enough under ordinary circumstances, but when he goes to prison it threatens to become completely intolerable.
* ''Literature/WalkTwoMoons'' has a family called the Winterbottoms (one of the characters mocks this by drawing a cartoon of someone surnamed "Ice-Bottom"), and a mysterious woman named Mrs Cadaver (which a character points out is another word for "corpse").
* In ''Literature/TheNekropolisArchives'', the bounty hunter Overkill's real name is Christina Butts, which is why she prefers to go by her alias.
* ''Literature/ThreeActTragedy'': Sir Charles Cartwright's real name is Charles "Mugg", which sends his LoveInterest into peals of laughter when he reveals this.
* ''Literature/TheAmyVirus'': Both the protagonist Cynthia Butt (which is one of the reasons why she wants to change it to Cyan Beaut) and her friend Renate Silverdick.
* In the ''[[Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection American Girl]]'' book/short story ''Snickerdoodle,'' the main character is a girl named Kayla who is bullied at snowboarding camp because her last name is Bobsburger. She becomes the target of a mean-spirited prank; the bullies sneak into her cabin at night while she is asleep and cover her hair in ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Fortunately, a couple of camp councilors caught the bullies sneaking out of the cabin and are forced to confess the whole thing. The bullies are punished with shoveling snow and doing other chores all day and having their parents notified.
* ''Literature/LesMiserables'' has an amusing tangent discussing the origins of the name of the Gorbeau House, where Valjean and Cosette end up living. It was originally the site of a law practice run by guys named Renard (Fox) and Corbeau (Crow), who were widely mocked for their last names due to the combination of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast those names, especially in combination forbiddingly suggesting]] that they were [[AmoralAttorney amoral attorneys]], and because it suggests [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Crow_(Aesop) the fable of the Fox and the Crow]], whose verse telling by Creator/JeanDeLaFontaine is almost universally known in France. Eventually, the two petitioned the king for permission to change their names, and he agreed, decreeing new surnames for them. Corbeau was luckily renamed Gorbeau, but Renard was less luckily renamed Prenard ("taker"), a name suggesting someone greedy and/or a thief.
* In the short story "The Last of Sheila-Locke Holmes" by Laura Lippman, the protagonist is a young girl named Sheila Locke-Weiner. At one point she asks her mother if she can shorten it to just Sheila Locke, but her mother says that would be disrespectful to her father. Her mother goes on to say that if children tease her about it, she should point out that is actually pronounced 'Whiner'. Sheila's silent observation is that that is not very much better.

* In an episode of ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'' one of the suspects is a retired wrestler who still goes by his stage name. He is made to admit his actual name, and reveals his last name is Fairy.
* In the episode of ''Series/{{ALF}}'' where he was JUST about ready to head back to Melmac (not the series finale, but the one taking place around Brian's birthday), Alf reveals his full Melmacian name to be Gordon Shumway (which causes plenty of laughs from the family and embarrassment to him).

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** In ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', Skye was raised under the name of Mary Sue Poots, which might explain why she unpersoned herself and created the identity of Skye. Of course, neither of these is her real name - that's [[spoiler:ComicBook/DaisyJohnson]].
** ''Series/WandaVision'': The season finale reveals that the true identity of [[spoiler:the fake Pietro is a random civilian Agatha possessed, and his real name is Ralph Bohner. Even the character himself makes fun of the last name (when he was still in his Pietro persona), muttering "Bohner" to himself and chuckling.]]
* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Rachel was taking Emma to pediatrician Dr. Wiener, [[HehHehYouSaidX making Joey laugh a lot]]. Phoebe in turn reveals she knows Sandy Poophack and Lana Titweiller.
** Chandler Muriel Bing uses his first name is because it's the least embarrassing of his embarrassing names. When he learns that Monica never [[MaidenNameDebate changed her last name after they got married]] he's briefly annoyed but then suggests they give their children her name "and let Bing die with me".
* ''Series/GirlMeetsWorld'': Not Maya's own name (Hart), but her ancestors': Clutterbucket. Lucas, whom Maya constantly mocks for his Texas heritage, is thrilled upon hearing this.
* ''Series/TheITCrowd'' has Peter File.
-->'''Moss:''' Who's a pedophile?
* ''Series/MurphyBrown'': After Corky Sherwood get married, her hyphenated surname is Sherwood-Forrest. You can see the moment of horrified realisation dawn on her face as she says it aloud on air for the first time.
* ''Series/{{Voyagers}}'': When Jeffrey originally points out Gompers, Bogg thinks he's just remarking on what a horrible last name he has and says Gompers can deal with his last name if Bogg can deal with his.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': "Reviewing The Situation" reveals that Tim Whistler's true last name is actually ''Göebbels''. Making matters worse, Tim is also revealed to have been born in East Germany. With this in mind, it's not hard to see why he illegally changed his surname out of shame.

* Alejandro from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' has his last name revealed by Chris to everyone in ''All Stars''. Chris gets a good laugh at learning that his name is "[[BilingualBonus Alejandro Burros Muertos]]" (Dead Donkeys.) This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] further into the episode.
* Benson of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' goes on a FirstNameBasis because his full name is [[spoiler: Benson Dunwoody]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "The Uncle", Ocho reveals that his real name is Harry Tootmorsel. According to him, "Tootmorsel" is a Flemish name meaning "hot wind from the south".

* The landlord in ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' is named "Calvin Fishoedeor" (pronounced "fish odor").