History Main / RaceNameBasis

->'''Dolan''': "Cat! Settle down!"
->'''Zaraganba''': "Don't call her 'Cat'! Her name's Shima!"

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The villainous Steel often calls the titular ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' "wolf-dog" to his face, to disparage Balto's [[MixedAncestry mixed parentage]].

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Downplayed in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'', where Azeem calls Robin "Christian" (initially because he was a complete stranger who happened to be Christian, and later as a term of endearment). Azeem addresses the rest of the (presumably Christian) cast normally.

* In ''Film/{{Babe}}'', the farmer never calls Babe anything other than "pig." Since the animals are only intelligible to each other, the farmer doesn't know his 'real' name.
* Teedo, a minor character in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', is actually from a race in which nobody has individual names and [[PlanetOfSteves everyone just uses their race's name]].
* Throughout ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Thor refers to Groot as "Tree" and Rocket Raccoon as "Rabbit". The latter is played initially as Thor just being ignorant enough of Earth's wildlife to confuse the two species, but [[BrickJoke later]], in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' some other Asgardians also refer to him as a "rabbit", so he must resemble whatever creature is known as a "rabbit" on Asgard.

* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': There is actually fairy etiquette about this, a bit like NWordPrivileges. Calling someone by their species name is only acceptable if you're good friends, else it's insulting. Most fairies do call all humans 'human' though, when they don't call them [[CallAHumanAMeatbag Mudmen]], that is. In ''The Opal Deception'', Ark Sool refers to Foaly as "centaur" which Foaly notes is insulting to do unless between friends.
* In ''Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans'' members of different tribes will often address each other by their tribal name even if they know each other's names, e. g. Uncas addresses Magua as "Huron".
* One particularly awkward meta-example occurs in the narration of ''Literature/OliverTwist'', which primarily refers to [[TheFagin Fagin]] as "the Jew."
* The Franchise/StarWarsLegends has a race that does this to ''themselves''. The Gand earn names as they gain status in life, and are all [[ThirdPersonPerson Third-Person People]] -- they call themselves by the family or personal name they've earned. A young Gand, or one who hasn't achieved anything in life, can only call himself "Gand."
* ''Literature/TheMoomins'': only a few characters have names (that we know of). Even those who do are often referred to by race. If more than one member of a race is present, family relationships are used to distinguish them. It helps that there are a dozen or so races, but maybe thirty characters.
* Happens to Ransom in ''Literature/OutOfTheSilentPlanet''. Well, he ''is'' the only human on Mars...
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** In the first few books, the human protagonists continue to refer to the alien who [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin gave them the morphing power]] as "the Andalite," despite [[BigBad Visser Three]] offhandedly addressing him as "Prince Elfangor." Apparently they couldn't remember it. This ends when they meet [[BewareTheSillyOnes Ax]], Elfangor's brother, who winds up [[TokenNonHuman joining their team]].
** There is also the FantasticSlur version: anytime an Andalite (or "Andalite bandit") attacks, [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] scream "Andalite filth!" And, inversely, "Yeerk scum!"

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': In the episode "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E02SoulHunter Soul Hunter]]", the Soul Hunter is in Medlab when the Minbari Ambassador comes to see him, "What do you want, Minbari?" Shortly after he recognizes her as Delenn of the Grey Council, after which he refers to her as such.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In a running gag, Master Bra'tac refuses to call Jack O'Neill by his name, preferring to call him "Human." It's implied to be an in-joke between them.
* For some reason the title character of ''Series/{{ALF}}'' is referred to by an acronym for Alien Life Form, even though the Tanners know his real name is Gordon Shumway.
* The Cat in ''Series/RedDwarf''. One of the books explains that ''felis sapiens'' don't have names; they assume everyone already knows who they are.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Master Shifu usually refers to Po as "Panda". His other students, who seem to be examples of ADogNamedDog, might originally have had other names, but since Shifu always referred to them by their species, they started using those as their names.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the dinosaurs have proper names as shown by the main characters, yet the adults never seem to have their names revealed. That doesn't stop [[CoolOldGuy Little Foot's grandfather]] and [[OverprotectiveDad Cera's dad]] from referring to each other as Three-Horn and Long-Neck, respectively, whenever they talk to each other, though.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Gems [[NoNeedForNames don't really have names]], but are just referred to by what type of gem subspecies they are--for example, all [[BeautifulSlaveGirl Pearls]] are named Pearl, all [[RedShirtArmy Rubies]] are named Ruby, etc. Technically individuals have a long designation for facet and cut, but that's only for official records and in some cases where many of them work in the same group. It doesn't help that members of each type [[CloneArmy tend to be largely identical]]. This, however, is ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' the case with [[FusionDance gem fusions]] of different types of gems. They're not part of the HiveCasteSystem that classifies other gems, so they just take the name of some type of gem they resemble.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez had a friend he called Gearhead that was a [[MechanicalLifeforms humanoid clockwork person]]. He [[DeconstructedTrope betrays Rick in anger]] over being called that instead of his real name, comparing it to [[InterchangeableAsianCultures calling a Chinese person "Asiaface"]].

* The Cat in ''Series/RedDwarf''. One of the books explain that ''felis sapiens'' don't have names; they assume everyone already knows who they are.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Gems [[NoNeedForNames don't really have names]], but are just referred to by what type of gem subspecies they are--for example, all [[BeautifulSlaveGirl Pearls]] are named Pearl, all [[RedShirtArmy Rubies]] are named Ruby, etc. Technically individuals have a long designation for facet and cut, but that's only for official records. It doesn't help that members of each type [[CloneArmy tend to be largely identical]]. This, however, is ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' the case with [[FusionDance gem fusions]] of different types of gems. They're not part of the HiveCasteSystem that classifies other gems, so they just take the name of some type of gem they resemble.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Gems [[NoNeedForNames don't really have names]], but are just referred to by what type of gem subspecies they are--for example, all [[BeautifulSlaveGirl Pearls]] are named Pearl, all [[RedShirtArmy Rubies]] are named Ruby, etc. Technically individuals have a long designation for facet and cut, but that's only for official records. It doesn't help that members of each type [[CloneArmy tend to be largely identical]].

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Vegeta routinely called Piccolo 'Namek' in the English dub, interchangeable with Namekian as even Piccolo describes himself as 'a Namek' to others.

* ''Manga/Overlord2012'': While named characters refer to each other by, well, name, some of Ainz' summons aren't so lucky and are referred to/refer to themselves y their species, such as Death Knight-kun (a Death Knight given to Hamsuke as part of an experiment, who treats it as a pet of her own). One of the EliteMooks is capable of intelligent speech, but doesn't think up a name for itself.
--> This one ― forgive me, this one does not bear a name, so please allow this one to introduce itself by the name of its species. This one is a Death Cavalier!

[[folder: Film ]]

* The villainous Steel often calls the titular ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' "wolf-dog" to his face, to disparage Balto's [[MixedAncestry mixed parentage]].
* The arrogant and pretentious Cat R Waul knows Fievel Mousekewicz's name in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail: Fievel Goes West'', but calls him "mouse" to emphasize his FantasticRacism that mice are hopelessly inferior to cats.
-->'''Cat R Waul:''' Listen, mouse: ''I'' am the law here, and ''you'' are a mere ''hors d'oeuvre''.

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Judy Hopps is called "Rabbit" several times and and Nick Wilde is addressed as "Fox".

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The Franchise/StarWarsLegends has a race that does this to ''themselves''. The Gand earn names as they gain status in life, and are all [[ThirdPersonPerson Third-Person People]]--they call themselves by the family or personal name they've earned. A young Gand, or one who hasn't achieved anything in life, can only call himself "Gand."

* Happens to Ransom in OutOfTheSilentPlanet. Well, he ''is'' the only human on Mars...

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
** Neelix calls everyone by their rank and surname except for Tuvok, whom he calls "Mr. Vulcan". This originates from a conversation when they first met, where Neelix took "I am Vulcan" to mean "my name is Vulcan" (text quoted below), but has since apparently become a private joke between the two of them that only Neelix finds funny.
--->'''Neelix:''' Astonishing! You Federations are obviously an advanced culture.\\

** In the pilot episode, when B'Elanna and Harry first meet while captured by the Ocampa she keeps calling him "Starfleet." He responds in kind: "What's your name, Maquis?"
** In another early episode, Chakotay is captured by a group of Kazon, one of whom has to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill someone to become a man]]. The youngster refers to Chakotay as "Starfleet" to dehumanize (or rather, de-sapient-being-ize) him in his own mind, and/or to show Chakotay and by extension the Starfleet crew contempt. Chakotay threw it back in his face, calling him "Kazon" to show he's not being intimidated.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E11FridaysChild Friday's Child]]" has a Klingon character named Kras. Kirk calls him "Klingon" twice, Maab calls him "Klingon" six separate times and Eleen calls him "Klingon" once. This is because Kras' real name is never spoken during the episode. The only way the viewer learns it is by [[AllThereInTheScript reading the end credits]].
* Occurs in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E14Tapestry Tapestry]]", when an arrogant Nausicaan challenges a known and skilled Starfleet cadet to "Play dom-jot, hu-man."
** In some of her early episodes, Dr. Pulaski would refer to Data as "The Android" or "It" rather than his actual name. [[TheScrappy This did not win her over many fans.]] Likewise, the film ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'' had the Ba'ku often refer to Data as "The Artificial Life Form" since his existence was at odds with their stance of the rejection of all advanced technology.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* ''Warhammer40K'': Omnipresent among every species, as they all hate each other and rarely have reason to be diplomatic about it.

[[folder: Toys ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomic ]]

** Miko Miyazaki also refers to Vaarsuvius as "elf," even as she calls Durkon by his name in the same breath. This further cements V's dislike of her, to the point that he eventually stops her from killing Belkar, whom he loaths.

[[folder: Web Original]]

* The Dwarf, Elf, and Ogre from ''AudioPlay/LeDonjonDeNaheulbeuk''. Other party members are called by their classes (Barbarian, Bard, Enchantress, Ranger, Thief).

The reasons for referring to one by their race tend to be more varied in fantastical settings than they are in [[RealLife reality]]. It could be a sign of respect, or [[FantasticRacism lack of it]]. Maybe they haven't yet been properly introduced. Maybe the other character's name is simply [[AerithAndBob too strange to pronounce]]. Maybe the racial term ''is'' the character's [[SpeciesSurname last name]], or [[ADogNamedDog his only name]]. This is particularly common among TokenNonhuman characters. Legolas and Gimli are, for example, the token elf and dwarf in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.

* Teedo, a minor character in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', is actually from a race in which nobody has individual names and everyone just uses their race's name.

* At the end of ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'', Ahmad is sailing away after having helped the Vikings. One of the Vikings shouts to him, "Good-bye, Arab." To which he replies, "Good-bye, Northman." It was a simpler, and less PC time.

** In another early episode, Chakotay is captured by a group of Kazon, one of whom has to [[ARealManIsAKiller kill someone to become a man]]. The youngster refers to Chakotay as "Starfleet" to dehumanize (or rather, de-sentient-being-ize) him in his own mind, and/or to show Chakotay and by extension the Starfleet crew contempt. Chakotay threw it back in his face, calling him "Kazon" to show he's not being intimidated.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Gems don't really have names, but are just referred to by what type of gem subspecies they are--for example, all [[ServantRace Pearls]] are named Pearl, all [[RedShirtArmy Rubies]] are named Ruby, etc. Technically individuals have a long designation for facet and cut, but that's only for official records. It doesn't help that members of each type tend to be largely identical.

The reasons for referring to one by their race tend to be more varied in fantastical settings than they are in [[RealLife reality]]. It could be a sign of respect, or [[FantasticRacism lack of it]]. Maybe they haven't yet been properly introduced. Maybe the other character's name is simply [[AerithAndBob too strange to pronounce]]. Maybe the racial term ''is'' the character's [[SpeciesSurname last name]], or [[ADogNamedDog his only name]]. This is particularly common among TokenNonhuman characters. Legolas and Gimli are, for example, the token elf and dwarf in the TheLordOfTheRings.

* At the end of ''Literature/The13thWarrior'', Ahmad is sailing away after having helped the Vikings. One of the Vikings shouts to him, "Good-bye, Arab." To which he replies, "Good-bye, Northman." It was a simpler, and less PC time.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' has a race that does this to ''themselves''. Teedo, minor character in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', is actually from a race in which nobody has individual names and everyone just uses their race's name.

* In the first few ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' books, the human protagonists continue to refer to the alien who [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin gave them the morphing power]] as "the Andalite," despite [[BigBad Visser Three]] offhandedly addressing him as "Prince Elfangor." Apparently they couldn't remember it. This ends when they meet [[BewareTheSillyOnes Ax]], Elfangor's brother, who winds up [[TokenNonHuman joining their team]].
** There is also the FantasticSlur version: anytime an Andalite (or "Andalite bandit") attacks, [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerk]]s scream "Andalite film!" And, inversely, "Yeerk scum!"

* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Neelix calls everyone by their rank and surname except for Tuvok, whom he calls "Mr. Vulcan". This originates from a conversation when they first met, where Neelix took "I am Vulcan" to mean "my name is Vulcan" (text quoted below), but has since apparently become a private joke between the two of them that only Neelix finds funny.
-->'''Neelix:''' Astonishing! You Federations are obviously an advanced culture.\\

'''Neelix:''' (''gestures to himself'') Neelix! Good to meet you! (''hugs Tuvok around the middle'')
** In the pilot episode, when B'Elanna and Harry first meet while captured by the Ocampa she keeps calling him "Starfleet". He responds in kind: "What's your name, Maquis?"

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Vaarsuvius refers to Belkar as "the halfling". This is less because of any general contempt for other races and mostly because it's [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]]; Roy, Haley, and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Durkon]] are "Sir Greenhilt", "Miss Starshine" and "Master Thundershield" respectively (Elan has OnlyOneName, but sometimes just gets called "the bard"). Belkar has also been known to refer to Vaarsuvius as "elf".

* In ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', Bowen calls the dragon "Dragon" mainly for lack of anything else to call him. Eventually, Dragon gets tired of it, and declares he has a name, but admits that Bowen would never be able to pronounce it. Later, Bowen decides to call him Draco instead, basically calling him Dragon in another language. Draco {{lampshades}} the irony, but decides to go along with it.

See also FirstNameBasis, and LastNameBasis. Related to HeyYou. Compare EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep when this is done with professions rather than race, and NWordPrivileges where a certain term (normally those found in RealLife) is "derogatory without permission". If doing this doubles as FirstNameBasis then you're probably on a PlanetOfSteves. In works involving animals this will likely be a case of SpeciesSurname, or its more extreme SisterTrope, ADogNamedDog.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* The Dwarf, Elf, and Ogre from ''Franchise/LeDonjonDeNaheulbeuk''. Other party members are called by their classes (Barbarian, Bard, Enchantress, Ranger, Thief).

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', Judy Hopps is called "Rabbit" several times.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', gems are referred to by their gem type, although they do have "names," or rather long serial numbers describing their facet and cut. This means that all Rubies are referred to as Ruby, all Peridots as Peridot, all Pearls as Pearl, etc. Doesn't help that each member of each type is nearly identical.