History Main / NoNeedForNames

* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', the title character started out with no name and said she didn't see the point in having one when Yuji asked for her name, though some call her [[RedBaron Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter]]. Yuji refused to accept this and started calling her Shana after her sword, Nietono no Shana. Shana eventually accepted it.
* A rival time-traveler from the future appears in the ninth ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel who actively shows disdain for even the existence of names, and prefers to not have one at all. But for the sake of reference, he suggests that the others call him Fujiwara. [[FirstPersonSmartass Kyon]] prefers to just call him The Sneering Bastard.

* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', the title character started out with no name and said she didn't see the point in having one when Yuji asked for her name, though some call her [[RedBaron Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter]]. Yuji refused to accept this and started calling her Shana after her sword, Nietono no Shana. Shana eventually accepted it.
* A rival time-traveler from the future appears in the ninth ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel who actively shows disdain for even the existence of names, and prefers to not have one at all. But for the sake of reference, he suggests that the others call him Fujiwara. [[FirstPersonSmartass Kyon]] prefers to just call him The Sneering Bastard.

* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine,'' the only [[ShapeShifting Changelings]] who have names are the 100 who were sent out to live among the other races of the universe; the rest reside in the Great Link where their bodies and minds become one.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* In the ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' fanfiction, ''FanFic/{{Aloha}}'', there is an InsectoidAlien race called the Swarm who believes this due to the fact they value the group as a whole rather than the individual. Lilo disagrees and instantly starts naming them.

** In ''Discworld/MovingPictures'', Victor is on the beach talking to the animals that have been given sentience and language by Holy Wood. They don't have have names, and Victor inadvertently insults them when he says the mouse should be named Squeakers and the bunny, Thumper.
** In ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', Angua is very explicit about the fact that wolves (unlike either dogs or werewolves) don't have names. Gaspode has trouble wrapping his mind around the concept.
** ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'': Gaspode explains the same thing to Carrot when they "interrogate" a wolf for information on Angua's ''[[IncrediblyLamePun were]]''[[IncrediblyLamePun abouts]]. The book also features a wolf with a name, Gavin, who is an old friend of Angua. It's not so much his name as the name of somebody he ate, but it will do for human interactions.

This is when a character or group of characters have no names, and don't see the point in having them. This is not merely [[NoNameGiven when their name is never revealed]], but when they actually have never been referred to by a name or assigned a name. Such characters are prone to having a FanNickname assigned to them, since it's kind of hard to discuss characters without a way to refer to them. If the characters in the show feel compelled to call them something, you may run into OnlyKnownByTheirNickname, EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep, or he might even be referred to by others only by the name of his nation, tribe, or species. But the character himself will not adopt this as a name.

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* A a rival time-traveler from the future appears in the ninth ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel who actively shows disdain for even the existence of names, and prefers to not have one at all. But for the sake of reference, he suggests that the others call him Fujiwara. [[FirstPersonSmartass Kyon]] prefers to just call him The Sneering Bastard.

* In ''Literature/{{Stray}}''. Pufftail tells his grandson Kitcher that cats do not have names. Unlike humans, cats do not name things. Pufftail considers himself nameless, though everyone still calls him "Pufftail" nevertheless. This view is not universal amongst cats because his daughter Tabitha, who lives as a pet, considers it a point of pride and independence that her father refuses a name.

->''But Old Father Pufftail was a proud and independent cat who called no man or woman or child his owner. He even resented being called a name, though everyone called him Pufftail; and he was, in fact, a much-loved local "character".''

* In the Disney/LiloAndStitch fanfiction, ''FanFic/{{Aloha}}'', there is an InsectoidAlien race called the Swarm who believes this due to the fact they value the group as a whole rather than the individual. Lilo disagrees and instantly starts naming them.

* A a rival time-traveler from the future appears in the ninth ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel who actively shows disdain for even the existence of names, and prefers to not have one at all. For the sake of reference, he suggests that they call him Fujiwara. [[FirstPersonSmartass Kyon]] prefers to just call him The Sneering Bastard.

* A a rival time-traveler from the future appears in the ninth ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel actively shows disdain for even the existence of names, and prefers to not have one at all. For the sake of reference, he suggests that they call him Fujiwara. [[FirstPersonSmartass Kyon]] prefers to just call him The Sneering Bastard.

-->'''Clifford:''' So what's your name?
'''Raven:''' Pfft. I'm a raven, silly.
'''Clifford:''' No shit. And I'm a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent wolf]]. But ''my name'' is Cliff.

* The Durlans do not traditionally take names and to adopt one like Reep Daggle/Chameleon of the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} is to functionally exile oneself from the Durlan community with the potential repercussion of execution should they decide to return to the planet.

* ''Estranged,'' later published as a graphic novel, is a ChangelingTale focusing on both sides of the switch. The human-raised-by-fairies is only known as "the (Human) Childe," because he was basically a pet and there weren't any other humans around to confuse him with. It's something of a RunningGag that Whick, his wax {{Golem}} servant, was deemed name-worthy while he wasn't.