History Main / LastNameBasis

*** Given how Mr Burns was adopted by an eccentric old billionaire as a child, is its possible he was named after the Roman convention where Charles would be his pre-nom and Montgomery is his actual name (for example, ''Gaius'' Julius Casaer). Given how old-fashioned, eccentric and high-society he is, this would make a lot of sense.

'''Lavelle:''' Riker? I bet he sleeps in his uniform.

** She mentions at one point that while she ''was'' once Annika Hansen, she's ''been'' Seven for most of her adult life, so thats how she thinks of herself. Its actually a conceit as her full "name" was ''Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One'', but when Janeway asked if they could shorten it to just Seven, she agreed, dubbing it "inaccurate, but acceptable".

* (Wendy) Pleakley from ''LiloAndStitch''

* Mitchell of ''BeingHuman'' takes until season two to let on to the viewer that this is actually his surname (his given name is John) - arguably truth in television, as being a century-old vampire he's of a generation where last name basis would have been prevalent.

* In Several East Asian countries, the last name is written/said first, then the first name. For instance, Kim is the surname of Kim il Sung and Kim Jong-ill
** Because of that, our glorious leaders are actually named Il Sung Kim and Jong-ill Kim. Somewhat strange sounding after many years of people and the media referring them by last name basis.

*** Calling him "Saddam" is a sign of disrespect

* In ''TheMentalist'', it's generally seen as jerky or disrespectful for anyone to call anyone in the workplace by first name. Van Pelt, however, is commonly called 'Grace' because she's a rookie (or used to be), Bosco and Lisbon are intimate enough to do this ([[{{Understatement}} no kidding]]), [[DaChief for some bizarre reason]], Jane always calls Minelli 'Virgil', and [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious we know that things are getting bad]] when Jane calls Lisbon "Teresa". Or that he's pulling another BunnyEarsLawyer UndercoverAsLovers gambit, which, this being [[TheChessmaster Patrick Jane]], is far more likely.

* This is almost completely subverted with the WWE Divas. So infrequently does Last Name Basis occur, that many Divas don't even ''have'' last names. Sometimes it's a first and last that are rarely separated (Gail Kim, Rosa Mendes) or a last name that is only used extremely rarely (Jillian Hall, Eve Torres) or simply only being known by their first name (Melina, Layla, Maryse.) Michelle {{McCool}} seems to be the one exception to this.
* Nowadays, the only male wrestler better known by his first name than by his last name is Santino Marella.

* On ''TheInspectorLynleyMysteries'', the titular Inspector Lynley calls his partner Sergeant Havers one of two things: "Sergeant" or "Havers." He does call her "Barbara" when she visits his family in Cornwall, but when they get tangled up in a mystery - as they inevitably do - and they're back on duty, well, to quote Barbara, "It's bye-bye 'Barbara' and hello 'Havers'!" He also calls her Barbara during particularly intense or emotional moments. By the sixth season, however, after [[spoiler:he leaned on her after his wife's death]], [[FirstNameBasis he calls her 'Barbara' almost exclusively]], reverting to 'Havers' only when he is cross with her; this signals a fundamental shift in their relationship. In contrast to her partner, however, Barbara never calls him ''anything'' other than 'sir', as he's her superior officer (and a Lord to boot, while she is working-class). Still, the ''way'' she says it evolves, from stiffly formal to fond and often teasing.

* Everyone in ''DrQuinnMedicineWoman'' called Sully by his surname. This was probably partly because he [[{{EmbarrassingFirstName}} was embarrassed by his name.]] (It was Byron.)

*** Pansy Parkinson is a weird exception. She is TheLibby and Harry has no likeness for her, but he/the narrator thinks of her as "Pansy" rather than "Parkinson". Hermione does refer to her as "Parkinson", however. Harry never talks to Pansy or mentions her in dialogue.

* On ''AreYouBeingServed'', the staff of Grace Brothers - apart from very rare occasions - always addressed one another formally ("Mr. Lucas", "Mr. Humphries", "Miss Brahms", etc.). Among the characters, Captain Peacock and Mr. Grainger tended to use each other's given names (Stephen and Ernest, respectively) most frequently in private conversation.

* All of the government-employed characters in DoomsdayMyDear refer to each other by last name: Zahra, Bowden, Young, et cetera. A few characters refer to Khepry and Chet by their first names, but no one uses Cyril's.

* In the movie ''{{Waitress}}'' Jenna [[InsistentTerminology won't]] call the man she's having an affair with by his first name, even though Dr. Pomatter (Jim) uses hers.

* In the movie ''{{Waitress}}'' Jenna [[InsistenTerminology won't]] call the man she's having an affair with by his first name, even though Dr. Pomatter (Jim) uses hers.