History Main / TheTropeFormerlyKnownAsX

* In one episode of ''[[{{ptitle7t3dj2vs}} HappilyEverAfter: Fairy Tales For Every Child]]'', Mother Goose's decision to fly the coop leaves all the nursery rhyme characters in a muddle, and Humpty Dumpty starts referring to himself as "the egg formerly known as Dumpty."

* EightBitTheatre: After the gang learns that [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/02/25/episode-253-ive-been-waiting-a-long-time/ Thief is actually the prince of the elves:]]

* Used twice by ''TheSimpsons''; one of the puppies in the ''101 Dalmatians'' parody is called "The Puppy Formerly Known as Prince", while "Lisa's Wedding" calls him "The Artist formerly known as [[http://z.about.com/d/altreligion/1/0/h/S/2/stafkap.jpg *unpronounceable symbol*]]".

* In the movie ''{{Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth}}'':

* Also used in ''Series/GoldDigger'', though it might have been topical when it was printed. Galford, a member of the Quirky Miniboss Squad, after getting some augmentations, changes his name to "大死". His boss's reaction:

** The fact that ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' came out in the late 1970s, over a full decade before Prince changed his name, makes this the [[{{TropeMaker}} Trope Maker]] and/or the [[{{UrExample}} Ur Example]] of the trope.

* In an episode of ''HouseOfMouse'' Donald tries to become a celebrity and changes his name to the Artist Formerly Known as Donald.

* Celebrities that have converted to a different religion will sometimes legally change their names. In some cases, the media will still refer to them by their given name, even decades later:
** Boxing great Muhammad Ali (converted to Islam in 1964) is stubbornly referred to as Cassius Clay by some ([[DoNotCallMePaul even though Ali refuses to acknowledge it's mention]]).
** Basketball superstar Kareem Abdul Jabbar (converted to Islam in 1971) is listed in many record books as "formerly known as Lew Alcindor".
** Legendary folk/psychedelic/soft/pop rock singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (converted to Islam in 1977), he changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Both names are frequently listed, though which one is in parentheses varies.
** You'll notice that the examples given here narrow the definition of 'a different religion' quite specifically to Islam. This is because Islam is a religion of Arab supremacy, and these names are roughly Arabic. Gurmit Singh [[UsefulNotesOnSingapore (check out Phua Chu Kang)]] and Richard Gere, for instance, retain their ethnic/given names despite being Christian and Buddhist respectively.

* Used twice by ''TheSimpsons''; one of the puppies in the ''101 Dalmatians'' parody is called "The Puppy Formerly Known as Prince", while "Lisa's Wedding" calls him "The Artist formerly known as [[http://z.about.com/d/altreligion/1/0/h/S/2/stafkap.jpg *Funny Symbol goes here*]]".

* Used in the ''KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'' strip "A Character With No Name" where Dave refuses to name his new character, and eventually ends up creating an unpronunceable symbol to designate the character. B.A. eventually tires of the whole thing and has the character smote by the gods.

* In the movie ''Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth'':

* From Digimon: The Movie

* ''Roundhouse'' had a ''Cinderella'' parody with TAFKAP as the Prince. His name was announced as holding a cardboard sign with the symbol up and the sound effect of the first electronic riff plus 'uhn' in Prince's "Kiss".
* On an episode of ''The Drew Carey Show'' Ryan Stiles was pretending to be a frog: "The frog formerly known as Prince."

* In HomestarRunner, when Marzipan is dressed as Prince for Halloween:

* In an episode of HouseOfMouse Donald tries to become a celebrity and changes his name to the Artist Formerly Known as Donald.

In 1993, the musician {{Prince}} changed his name to an [[LuckyCharmsTitle unpronounceable symbol]] as part of a TakeThat at the record company that could legally prevent him from recording under the name "Prince", which is his legal [[OneNameOnly given name]]. The phrase "the artist formerly known as Prince" was coined by a public that had no idea what else to call him. Seven years later, his contract with that recording company expired and he went back to being known as simply Prince, making him the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, if you're being technical.

In 1993, the musician {{Prince}} changed his name to an [[LuckyCharmsTitle unpronounceable symbol]] as part of a TakeThat at the record company that could legally prevent him from recording under the name "Prince", which is his legal given name. The phrase "the artist formerly known as Prince" was coined by a public that had no idea what else to call him. Seven years later, his contract with that recording company expired and he went back to being known as [[OneNameOnly simply]] Prince, making him the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, if you're being technical.

In 1993, the musician {{Prince}} changed his name to an [[LuckyCharmsTitle unpronounceable symbol]] as part of a TakeThat at the record company that could legally prevent him from recording under the name "Prince", which is his legal given name. The phrase "the artist formerly known as Prince" was coined by a public that had no idea what else to call him. Seven years later, his contract with that recording company expired and he went back to being known as simply Prince, making him the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, if you're being technical.

In 1993, the musician {{Prince}} changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol as part of a TakeThat at the record company that could legally prevent him from recording under the name "Prince", which is his legal given name. The phrase "the artist formerly known as Prince" was coined by a public that had no idea what else to call him. Seven years later, his contract with that recording company expired and he went back to being known as simply Prince, making him the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, if you're being technical.

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[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[folder:RealLife]]
* {{Prince}} is obviously the TropeNamer.
* Celebrities that have converted to a different religion will sometimes legally change their names. In some cases, the media will still refer to them by their given name, even decades later:
** Boxing great Muhammad Ali (converted to Islam in 1964) is stubbornly referred to as Cassius Clay by some ([[DoNotCallMePaul even though Ali refuses to acknowledge it's mention]]).
** Basketball superstar Kareem Abdul Jabbar (converted to Islam in 1971) is listed in many record books as "formerly known as Lew Alcindor".
** Legendary folk/psychedelic/soft/pop rock singer-songwriter Cat Stevens (converted to Islam in 1977), he changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Both names are frequently listed, though which one is in parentheses varies.

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[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

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'''[[RalphWiggum Fighter]]:''' Wait, LetMeGetThisStraight. So Thief is the elf formerly known as prince?\\

* EightBitTheatre: After the gang learns that Thief is actually the prince of the elves, [[RalphWiggum Fighter]] asks: "Wait, so thief is the elf formerly known as prince?" Black Mage promptly declares that "Killing you is going to be the greatest moment of my life."

* In one episode of ''HappilyEverAfter: Fairy Tales For Every Child'', Mother Goose's decision to fly the coop leaves all the nursery rhyme characters in a muddle, and Humpty Dumpty starts referring to himself as "the egg formerly known as Dumpty."

-->'''Head Knight''': Shh. We are now The Knights Who Say... Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-pikang-zoom-Boing-z'nourrrwringmm.