History Main / TakeAwayTheirName

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/taboo "Taboo"]] revolves around an '''extradimensional space resembling an endless forest''' filled with '''curious anomalous beings''' that can't be referred to by any consistent name or else [[BodyHorror horrible things will happen to the namer]]. The entity in the interviews with the Foundation scientist reveals that [[spoiler: all the entities of the '''nameless grove''' were the faeries referred to in Bright's SCP-001 proposal who had their names stolen when they were driven from Earth by the Foundation. The '''rabbitlike historian''' then steals Dr. Japers' name and identity by giving him the new name of "fellow scholar"]].
* Seen in [[https://www.tiktok.com/@ourlastbraincell/video/6762313212227587334?language=en&preview_pb=0&share_app_name=musically&timestamp=1577903001&u_code=d3b058jallkcg1&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=android&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6810631617753826821&is_from_webapp=1 this]] [=TikTok=] video.

* In ''Comicbook/MightyAvengers'' it's revealed there was a previously unmentioned king of Comicbook/TheInhumans between Agon and Black Bolt, whose EvilChancellor convinced him Black Bolt and Maximus were plotting against him. When Black Bolt took the throne, he decreed that this king's deeds would be entirely forgotten. Even when he returns, he's only referred to as "the Unspoken".
* ''{{Franchise/Transformers}}'': In Dreamwave's comic series ''ComicBook/TransformersGenerationOne'', a character is introduced who is only ever referred to as "the Fallen," as his name/identity was taken away from him by his fellow Transformers after he betrayed Primus and sided with Unicron.

* In the original version of ''Fanfic/YuGiOhTheThousandYearDoor'', the Shadow Queen explains her origin story. She was once a girl named Josephine, and she gained her powers after a DealWithTheDevil with a nameless demon. Part of her payment was to relinquish her name to the demon. Though she remembers her original name, she can feel it doesn't belong to her anymore.
* In ''Fanfic/NotAsSimpleAsAHappyEnding'', an ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fanfiction, this is a side effect of capturing someone's soul. It happens to the six fallen humans, and with Integrity and Perseverance, it deeply affects [[Characters/UndertaleSans Sans]] and [[spoiler:Gaster]], respectively.
* ''Fanfic/{{Enlightenments}}'': "Wander" isn't actually used in the fic because it isn't a name so much as what you call a nameless person. The man in question considers his original name to have been killed a long time ago by the god he followed before Dormin. Everyone around him but his wife agrees, and ''she'' has [[ObliviouslyEvil a questionable grip on reality]].

* In ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'', Daffy Duck is told by Warner Bros. executives that they own his name. He claims this is absurd and tries to identify himself, but he can only gasp when he tries to say his name.

* In John [=DeChancie=]'s ''Literature/CastlePerilous'', this was part of the spell which transformed the demon Ramthonodox into the eponymous castle. Remembering his name is the key to him transforming back.

-->That was what Rawneth had done to the cadets who had failed to kill her son's rival: she had taken away their names. Without a name, soul and body crumble. No wonder they had been too wasted even to cast proper shadows. Soon, it would be as if they had never been born, except for an aching, nameless void in the lives of those who had loved them.
* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' novel ''Pool of Radiance'', the Nameless Bard is introduced. Formerly an arrogant and reckless bard named Finder Wyvernspur, he had been condemned to exile and had his name and music wiped from the memory of nearly everyone who'd known them after he'd caused the death of two of his apprentices in an ill-judged attempt to preserve his music magically in a clone of himself.
* The fae boy in ''Literature/AnEncounterAndAnOffer'' had his name stripped from him.
* In ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', this happens to humans who come to Fantasia and overuse their inherent RealityWarper abilities, which are powered by their own memories. When this occurs, the last memory that is consumed is that of their own name, after which they usually end up in the City of Old Emperors, left to wander it for all eternity with no way to return home. [[spoiler:This happens to Bastian in the final chapters, but fortunately for him, Atreyu is able to find him there to at least give him his name back.]]
* In ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' story, "Devil's Back", the Manager of the Culdee Fell Railway takes Lord Harry's name away as punishment for blocking both lines in a switch as a result of being careless with his coach in the previous story, "Danger Points". When he is put to work again, Lord Harry ends up going by his number, 6, until he rescues some injured mountain climbers on Devil's Back mountain. When one of the passengers suggests naming Number 6 after Patrick, a friend of his rescued by him, Number 6 agrees to this new name.
* Servants of Kalzidar, the dark god of ''Literature/SpellsSwordsAndStealth'' forgo their very names as part of their service to him. One such nameless priest is the primary antagonist of the second book. Because of that, the NPC protagonists are immediately on edge when Elora initially refuses to give her name. In the fourth book, a priestess of Kalzidar describes the process as a trade, in which their name, and all the identity that goes with it, is taken by Kalzidar and returned as a form of PersonalityPowers related to their old life.
* ''{{Literature/Tigana}}'': This is done to a whole region rather than a person. During his conquest of the eastern Peninsula of the Palm, Brandin's son was slayed in a battle in the province of Tigana. Brandin is a sorcerer, and a father who ''dearly'' loved his son. In retaliation, he razed the province flat, and put a curse on it that no one who wasn't born in Tigana could remember its name.
* In ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', it's revealed that the dragons of [[BigBad Galbatorix's]] Forsworn had their names erased by the combined magic of the other dragons as revenge for taking part in the destruction of the Riders and dragonkind. People forgot their names, and any attempt to read or say their names aloud from written words would not work. This ended up driving said dragons and their Riders insane or at bare minimum dangerously unstable due to the mental trauma of the loss, which made it much easier to kill them in the years following the act.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' this happens to [[spoiler:Nicol Bolas after his defeat in War of the Spark.]] This was done [[spoiler:by Nicol Bolas' brother Ugin]] to ensure that the now nameless being cannot be summoned away from their eternal prison (summoning magics require one to know the names of the ones they want to summon). It is somewhat poignant [[spoiler:since Ugin was the one who first named Nicol (and vice versa) when they were born.]]

* The "Seeking Mr. Eaten's Name" questline in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' [[MotiveDecay starts off]] as about finding the eponymous character's true name, which was taken from him. Mr. Eaten is a nickname used to refer to his vengeful spirit. The name itself [[ItWasHisSled isn't much of a secret out-of-universe]], as anyone with a single point of the relevant stat can learn it during Neathmas -- your character will forget it quickly, but the fourth wall ''can'' protect you this time.
** And over the course of the standard story, it's revealed that most of London has had their names stolen and replaced with their strange fancy titles, using reality-warping research called the Red Science. Part of this is for the purposes of natural segregation - when the names of London's streets were stolen with Red Science, it also hid the metaphysical identities of those streets; unless the player does metaphysical research to unlock the street (using a combination of physical tributes and metaphysical favors), no amount of regular walking is going to lead them to that street. To put it simply, the ability to judge the nature a person at a glance has been stolen along with their names, and you can't understand more about them than what their titles imply unless you dig deeper with riskier stalking and stranger science.
* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', the Chapter 4 boss robs Mario of both his name and identity, leaving him as nothing more than a shadow. It's implied that Mario is also unable to speak his own name while it's "stolen." The only way to break the curse is to guess the boss's name, [[spoiler: Doopliss. Though it [[YouShouldntKnowThisAlready won't work]] if you already know his name beforehand, because [[ImpossibleTheft he also stole the letter "p" from the game's keyboard.]]]]
* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', several [=NPCs=] note that knowing someone's true name gives you power over them, and not having a name or never sharing it keeps you safe. Notably, there's an NPC in Hive who goes by the title of Reekwind and can tell you the story of how he once met a magician. When Reekwind told him his true name, the magician ended up stealing it and putting a curse on Reekwind, which made him attract dirt and horrible smells, hence his current title of Reekwind. Ever since, Reekwind keeps advising people against sharing their names, so that they can stay safe from such terrible events.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', Junko's special ability is the ability to purify beings to a primordial state by removing their TrueName. She used this power on herself, too, in order to turn herself into an AnthropomorphicPersonification of pure resentment, which is why she's the only character with no BossSubtitles.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', the hyena Ed had his original name "eaten" when he was cast out of his tribe for [[spoiler:killing his wife because she was abusing their child]]. He considers his name to be gone, and we never find out what it was; however, the protagonist gives him the new monicker "Ed", which he gratefully receives. In an unusual twist, he still remembers his name perfectly well -- there was no supernatural process to make it unrememberable or unpronounceable -- but still considers it eaten and gone.

* In ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'', Mori's family name was "destroyed" after her parents' trial, a process after which not even she could remember it. Even after the accusers make peace with Mori her decades later, they say they have no way to undo it.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Whither}}'', the town's guardian witch needed TheNameless child for the fabrication of MagicMirror. So she had someone steal a baby's name. [[spoiler: But Frost also replaced that baby with a changeling, for his own reasons, and the changeling grew up to be our protagonist, Emelind]].

* One of the attributes of [[https://jennyeverywhere.fandom.com/wiki/Jenny_Nowhere "Jenny Nowhere"]] in the ''WebOriginal/JennyEverywhere'' mythos — she "lost" her name ages ago in mysterious circumstances, and it remains a sore subject with her. The title of "Jenny Nowhere" simply emphasises her EvilCounterpart nature to Jenny Everywhere, but it's not actually her name.

* In the Website/QuestDen adventure ''Tobak Quest'', we're introduced to protagonist Dowser and his roommate Lyvy. Then it's revealed 'Lyvy' used to be Dowser's name, until he lost it to his current holder in a bet (in fairness to Lyvy, he didn't ''have'' a name before challenging Dowser for his, having [[RogueDrone suddenly found himself in need of one]]).

* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Threat Levels", where Stan is organised into a bum fight with an enormous brutish bum. Apparently he is so savage that they can't even direct a name for him:

* In ''WesternAnimation/FrankeldasBookOfSpooks'' this is how Gnomes operate. The offer a service in exchange for the victims names, unawares that this is how they trade places with them. The gnome steals that persons life, and the victim becomes a gnome themselves.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/taboo "Taboo"]] revolves around an '''extradimensional space resembling an endless forest''' filled with '''curious anomalous beings''' that can't be referred to by any consistent name or else [[BodyHorror horrible things will happen to the namer]]. The entity in the interviews with the Foundation scientist reveals that [[spoiler: all the entities of the '''nameless grove''' were the faeries referred to in Bright's SCP-001 proposal who had their names stolen when they were driven from Earth by the Foundation. The '''rabbitlike historian''' then steals Dr. Japers' name and identity by giving him the new name of "fellow scholar"]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/taboo "Taboo"]] revolves around an '''extradimensional space resembling an endless forest''' filled with '''strange nameless creatures''' that can't be referred to by any consistent name or else [[BodyHorror horrible things will happen to the namer]]. The entity in the interviews with the Foundation scientist reveals that [[spoiler: all the entities of the '''nameless grove''' were the faeries referred to in Bright's SCP-001 proposal who had their names stolen when they were driven from Earth by the Foundation. The '''gentleman with the rabbit head''' then steals Dr. Japers' name and identity by giving him the new name of "fellow scholar"]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Whither}}'', the town's guardian witch needed TheNameless child for the fabrication of MagicMirror. So she had someone steal a baby's name. [[spoiler: But Frost also replaced her with a changeling, for his own reasons, and the baby grew up to be our protagonist, Emelind]].

-->'''Barista:''' Hi, my name's Katy, how can I help you today?
-->'''Customer:''' Uh, can I just get a large almond milk latte?
-->'''Barista:''' Sure! Uh, [[ExactWords can I have your name?]]
-->'''Customer:''' Chloe.
-->'''Barista:''' ''(writing)'' Is that with a "C" or a "K"?
-->'''Customer:''' Uh, it's a C.
-->'''Barista:''' [[ShameIfSomethingHappened That's a beautiful name, by the way]].
-->'''Customer:''' Thank you! It's my grandmother's.
-->'''Barista:''' ''(reveals she's been writing "Chloe" on a name tag, which she uses to replace her old name tag reading "Katy")'' Uh, I'll get that latte started for you and it should be ready at the end of the bar in like, just a minute or so.
-->''(Long silence.)''
-->'''Customer:''' ...Did—
-->'''Barista:''' Have a good day!
-->''(Another long silence. TwitchyEye from Barista.)''
-->...
-->'''Barista:''' [[BookEnds Hi, my name's Chloe, how can I—]]

* Taken UpToEleven in ''{{Literature/Tigana}}'', where this is done to a whole region rather than a person. During his conquest of the eastern Peninsula of the Palm, Brandin's son was slayed in a battle in the province of Tigana. Brandin is a sorcerer, and a father who ''dearly'' loved his son. In retaliation, he razed the province flat, and put a curse on it that no one who wasn't born in Tigana could remember its name.

* In ''Comicbook/MightyAvengers'' it's revealed there was a previously unmentioned king of the Comicbook/{{Inhumans}} between Agon and Black Bolt, whose EvilChancellor convinced him Black Bolt and Maximus were plotting against him. When Black Bolt took the throne, he decreed that this king's deeds would be entirely forgotten. Even when he returns, he's only referred to as "the Unspoken".

* In the the ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' story, "Devil's Back", the Manager of the Culdee Fell Railway takes Lord Harry's name away as punishment for blocking both lines in a switch as a result of being careless with his coach in the previous story, "Danger Points". When he is put to work again, Lord Harry ends up going by his number, 6, until he rescues some injured mountain climbers on Devil's Back mountain. When one of the passengers suggests naming Number 6 after Patrick, a friend of his rescued by him, Number 6 agrees to this new name.

* In the ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' story, "Devil's Back", the Manager of the Culdee Fell Railway takes Lord Harry's name away as punishment for blocking both lines in a switch as a result of being careless with his coach in the previous story, "Danger Points". When he is put to work again, Lord Harry ends up going by his number, 6, until he rescues some injured mountain climbers on Devil's Back mountain. When one of the passengers suggests naming Number 6 after Patrick, a friend of his rescued by him, Number 6 agrees to this new name.

-->--'''Yubaba''', ''Anime/SpiritedAway''

!Examples

* In ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', it's revealed that the dragons of [[BigBad Galbatorix’s]] Forsworn had their names erased by the combined magic of the other dragons as revenge for taking part in the destruction of the Riders and dragonkind. People forgot their names, and any attempt to read or say their names aloud from written words would not work. This ended up driving said dragons and their Riders insane or at bare minimum dangerously unstable due to the mental trauma of the loss, which made it much easier to kill them in the years following the act.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' this happens to [[spoiler:Nicol Bolas after his defeat in War of the Spark.]] This was done [[spoiler:by Nicol Bolas' brother Ugin]] to ensure that the now nameless being cannot be summoned away from their eternal prison (summoning magics require one to know the names of the ones they want to summon).

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' this happens to [[spoiler:Nicol Bolas after his defeat in War of the Spark.]] This was done to ensure that the now nameless being cannot be summoned away from their eternal prison (summoning magics require one to know the names of the ones they want to summon).

* In ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', the hyena Ed had his original name "eaten" when he was cast out of his tribe for [[spoiler:killing his wife because she was abusing their child]]. He considers his name to be gone, and we never find out what it was; however, the protagonist gives him the new monicker "Ed", which he gratefully receives. In an unusual twist, he still remembers his name perfectly well -- there was no supernatural process to make unrememberable or unpronounceable -- but still considers it eaten and gone.

[[folder:Webcomic]]

After the name is taken, the name thief may rename their victim, or they may leave them as TheNameless. If someone's name is taken away or changed in a non-magical way, you're looking at a MeaningfulRename. SubTrope to NameAmnesia.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has the Name Hunt Station, a legally sanctioned part of the Tower where Regulars are encouraged to fight each other. Anyone who has their backed touched for ten seconds will have their name stolen by the one who touched them, are are forced to be subservient to them. unless they can get it back from them or steal someone else's name. The rules of the Name Hunt Station apply even after leaving, as the Tower will recognize the victim as a Nameless.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has the Name Hunt Station, a legally sanctioned part of the Tower where Regulars are encouraged to fight each other. Anyone who has their backed touched for ten seconds will have their name stolen by the one who touched them, are area forced to be subservient to them. unless they can get it back from them or steal someone else's name. The rules of the Name Hunt Station apply even after leaving, as the Tower will recognize the victim as a Nameless.