People only known by their titles in western animation TV.
- Adventure Time:
- Nearly all of the many, many princesses are simply referred to as "(Whatever) Princess." Princess Bubblegum is named "Bonnibel Bubblegum" (no one calls her by her first name but Marceline, which she seemingly does to annoy her) and "The Cooler" reveals that Flame Princess' real name is Phoebe, but the others may not even have other names.
- The Ice King's real name is Simon Petrikov, but it's only occasionally used by others since he can't remember it himself.
- Arthur: In his guest starring role, Art Garfunkle is called by what the show's version of him resembles, Singing Moose.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender:
- The Earth King is never called anything other than "The Earth King." According to Nickelodeon site he was born "Kuei," but was never referred as anything other than his title after being crowned at age four, which apparently was the same with all of the other kings. If a previous monarch needs to be mentioned specifically, they're simply referred to by number.note Book 3 of the Sequel Series The Legend of Korra repeats this with his daughter, the then-Earth Queen (apparently the only one so far), named in the credits as Hou-Ting. Averted in Book 4 with her nephew Wu, who doesn't become a king due to the Earth Kingdom being dissolved and Wu choosing not to continue the kingdom in the finale.
- Avatar actually does this for quite a few people; Longshot, Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, Sneers, The Duke, The Foamy Mouth Guy, Sparky Sparky Boom Man,note The Cabbage Guy, The Mechanist.
- For that matter, the spirit the Avatar is the host for has never been called anything but "The Avatar Spirit" even though all the other spirits have names. It has since been revealed in The Legend of Korra that the Avatar Spirit's name is Raava.
- Bandolero: Justified, as the titular character has to remain his true identity (Juan) a mystery to both governor Campomayor and Don Rodrigo.
- The Batman only refers to the Flash and Hawkman by their codenames, not their real ones. Word of God stated the Flash was Barry Allen and comments made by Hawkman confirm him to be Katar Hol.
- Batman: The Animated Series: In his first two appearances, ''Read My Lips'' and ''Catwalk'', The Ventriloquist is only known by his job title, justified to reinforce his Extreme Doormat personality (Scarface, his dummy, has a name. He is the only one who deserves a name). Only in ''Double Talk'' is revealed his name, Arnold Wesker, foreshadowing his Earn Your Happy Ending.
- The Berenstain Bears has Brother, Mama, Papa,note and Sister. Both family and friends refer to them as such, which — if you consider the fact that Mama and Papa are husband and wife — makes things decidedly Oedipal.
- Papa's "full" name was eventually revealed to be "Papa Q. Bear", also making him an example of His Name Really Is "Barkeep".
- Blackstar's Big Bad is The Overlord.
- BoJack Horseman's title character is the former star of the sitcom Horsin' Around, where he played a horse who adopted three human children. His character was only ever referred to as "(The) Horse", even in the opening credits.
- Bravestarr:
- Shaman, the title character's adviser and father figure.
- Quick, what's the full name of JB? J.B. Mc Bride. Your guess for J.B. is as good as mine, which is "Judge Bride". Poor girl.
- Carmen Sandiego's Mission Control in Carmen Sandiego, a male teenage Playful Hacker, is only ever referred as "Player".
- Clone High:
- "Cleo's Drunk Foster Mom" - even her boyfriend, Joan's foster father Toots, calls her that.
- Happens again with "Ashley Angel from O-Town" in "Plane Crazy: Gate Expectations," to the point that Cleo referring to Ashley by just his first name causes Abe to react with horror ("You call Professor Angel by his FIRST NAME?!"). Even Ashley Angel refers to himself by his full title in his introduction.
- In Code Lyoko, the principal of the school was simply called "Sir" in the first season when addressed; his last name (Delmas) was not revealed until the second season, while his first name (Jean-Pierre) was not used until the third.
- Eustace Bagge from Courage the Cowardly Dog is often referred to as "The Farmer" by everyone other than Muriel and his mother (who usually calls him "stupid boy").
- Cow and Chicken features this trope, most commonly with the parents being known as "Mom" and "Dad". Perhaps the most blaring example is when we see Cow and Chicken's schoolteacher at her home, where the mailbox is marked "Teacher".
- The Critic: The kid's name is actually "Pizzaface" on his name tag at some point.
- The General from Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines. A comic book story (Fun-In #2's "It's Flop And Go-Go", an adaptation of the TV episode "Camouflage Hoparoo") identifies him as General Gibberish.
- Dinosaur Train: The Conductor who operates the titular train doesn't have a known given name.
- Dora the Explorer:
- "SWIPER, NO SWIPING!!!"
- The music teacher is always called "La Maestra".
- "Dora's Big Birthday Adventure" had a witch named "La Bruja".
- The Eager Young Space Cadet in Duck Dodgers. Though his name is probably "Porky Pig".
- Dungeons & Dragons (1983) has Dungeon Master and Shadow Demon. For that matter, Dungeon Master almost always addresses the heroes by the titles he gave them, rather than their names: "Fear not, Ranger! Barbarian! Magician! Thief! Cavalier! And Acrobat!"
- The Fairly OddParents!:
- Timmy's parents, well, do actually have names, but every time they tell their real names there is a loud sound muting their voices, afterward comes the "but everyone just calls me mom/dad/Timmy's mom/dad." Apparently they were called this even when they were children themselves.
- The head of the Pixies is literally called Head Pixie, or HP for short.
- Family Guy: Evil Monkey, Greased Up Deaf Guy, etc., etc.
- The Professor on Felix the Cat (Joe Oriolo) was identified as Professor Nutmeg in an episode where he develops an invisibility paint.
- Futurama:
- "Mom," a company CEO with a lovable sweet image who is in fact a Corrupt Corporate Executive, her real name was not revealed for much of the series. It's Carol.
- Also That Guy, a cryogenically frozen stock-broker from The '80s whose name only appears in the credits (Steve Castle); through the episode he's just called That Guy.
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: Billy's dad's name is Harold and that was already established before a flashback episode showing him as a kid wearing a shirt with "Billy's Dad" written on it.
- The following line from Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law:Judge Hiram Mightor: State your first name, last name, and occupation.
Lizardman: Lizardman, Lizardman, and uh... Lizardman.- Though immediately after his testimony, the other Lizardmen in the courtroom call him "Bill."
- "Man-At-Arms" from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983) is only referred to by his actual first name (Duncan) a handful of times.
- Hey Arnold! has several examples: Chocolate Boy (chocolate addict, who's still referred to as such without object even after he stops eating chocolate), and Peapod Kid (appeared in a pea pod costume in the first episode), Stoop Kid (guy who sits on his stoop at all times). Stoop Kid is a description/title, as Arnold and friends don't actually know him (at least at the beginning).
- The Big Bad Duumvirate of Invader Zim are referred to exclusively in the show as The Almighty Tallests, or The Tallests for short. Their names (Red and Purple) are only shown in the script.
- On Jackie Chan Adventures, nobody knows what Uncle's real name is. Or, for that matter, whose uncle he is. For example, Jade's father believes Uncle to be his cousin and he's not sure of it either. This notably extends outside of the family, too. EVERYONE calls him Uncle.
- Jade Armor: The Big Bad is only known by his title "the Crimson Lord". His real name is never mentioned.
- In Jane and the Dragon we have Jester and Smithy. And Pepper and Rake are only known by nicknames related to their occupations (which are cook and gardener respectively).
- Jellystone!: Apparently, Doggie Daddy was called that even before he became an actual father. It "just feels right" as a nickname for him.
- The Awe Guy from Jimmy Two-Shoes, a Recurring Extra whose sole purpose is to be a one-man Cherubic Choir. Lucius explicitly calls him this in a Season 2 episode.
- Jorel's Brother has the titular character, who is so overshadowed by his insanely popular older brother that everyone outside the family simply calls him "Jorel's brother". On rare occasions, he's also referred to as "Nico's brother", as both he and Jorel have an older brother, as well as "Edson's son". Within the family, he has various other nicknames, and he is always cut off whenever he tries to say his actual name.
- King of the Hill: There is a short character known for dressing as a Christmas elf known only as the "Arlen Midget".
- Lilo & Stitch:
- Experiment 625 was never given a "true name" until the Grand Finale of The Series, Leroy & Stitch, when Lilo finally "caught" him and then helped him decide on a name. They chose Reuben,note because he's good at making sandwiches.
- Likewise, Experiment 627, the first experiment made after Stitch, was never named due to being too evil to turn good.
- On Little Princess, amusingly enough, the only regular characters that have actual names are Little Princess' pets, the dog Scruff and the cat Puss. The title character is called either "Princess" or "the Princess" on the show itself. There's also the King, the Queen, the Chef, the Prime Minister, the Admiral, the gardener and the general.
- From the Looney Tunes short "Deduce, You Say", a Daffy Duck/Porky Pig cartoon parodying Sherlock Holmes:Porky: Name?
Killer: Shropshire Slasher.
Porky: Occupation?
Killer: Shropshire Slasher. - My Little Pony:
- My Little Pony 'n Friends: The ruler of the Purple Mountains, a sapient mountain peak, is only ever referred to as His Elevated Eminence.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The mayor of Ponyville is only ever referred to as Mayor. The Expanded Universe refers to her as Mayor Mare.
- The Powerpuff Girls:
- The Mayor (going so far that, when running for re-election, his slogan is "Vote Mayor for Mayor"), though in one episode his wife refers to him as Barney.
- "Him" (a caricature of Satan) is always referred to as "Him", regardless of the context or situation. Justified in that his real name is a Brown Note.
- Everyone refers to Professor Utonium as "the Professor" or "Professor", including his own daughters.
- Recess does this a lot, with most of the kids outside the main gang known by descriptions such as "Swinger Girl" or "The Diggers". In one episode it was revealed that the kindergartners don't know the names of ANY "big kid" (those in 1st Grade or higher.) To them TJ was "Crazy Monkey Boy", Gretchen was "Smart Girl", Mikey was "Large Thoughtful Boy", Vince was "Kid Who Always Wins", Gus was "Friend Of Smart Girl", and Spinelli was "Girl Who Runs With Fists".
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Velma apparently had an acquaintance known only in name by her body odor: Hot Dog Water. She had since been identified as Marcy Fleach, but Velma, after becoming friends with her between seasons, is the only one who calls her that.
- Shaun the Sheep's owner is only known as The Farmer.
- The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show: Schnookums and Meat's owners are only known as Husband and Wife.
- The Simpsons:
- Comic Book Guy and Sea Captain both have real names that are rarely used (Jeff Albertson and Horatio McAllister, respectively); the latter had a name before gaining the more popular nickname. There are also a number of other examples who show up less frequently, including the Squeaky Voiced Teen, Bumblebee Man, Blue Haired Lawyer, Rich Texan, et cetera.
- One of Springfield's tourist attractions is Carl's Dad Caverns, with a sign stated they've been discovered by "Carl's Dad". Lenny's grandmother has a tombstone labeled "Lenny's Grandma".
- Even official government documents refer to them as Comic Book Guy, Blue Haired Lawyer, etc.
- South Park:
- Chef, although a throwaway line in "Chef Aid" revealed his full name: Jerome "Chef" McElroy. Even his parents call him "Chef".
- Gerald once referred to himself as "Kyle's Dad" in a commercial advertising his lawyer services. While not completely fitting the trope because the other adults still call him Gerald, the joke was still used with the same intent.
- Ever since becoming President of the United States in Season 20, Mr. Garrison has always been called "the President" or "Mr. President", but never by his actual name. In fact, the last time anyone actually called him Mr. Garrison was in "Not Funny". This is part of an attempt to prevent Continuity Lockout for newcomers, as Mr. Garrison is acting as a stand-in for Donald Trump (a name he's obviously never been called even before he became President).
- Glenn's wife from Squidbillies is never referred to as anything other than "Glenn's Wife".
- Star vs. the Forces of Evil has Buff Frog, a muscular amphibian, real name Yvgeny Bulgoyaboff
- Star Wars Rebels: The Inquisitor is generally just called the Inquisitor, though he was once posthumously refered to as... the Grand Inquisitor, which is roughly equivalent to getting called "Barkeep" except by those who call you "Head Barkeep".
- Snack Shack from Stōked, nicknamed after where he works.
- Superjail!: The Warden, The Doctor, The Mistress.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) characters native to the Battle Nexus are all referred to in this manner — "Daimyo", "Gyoji", "Healer", etc. — and it's not clear if they even have proper names.
- There's also the Professor, a homeless man who's a friend of the Turtles.
- The Fat Controller in Thomas & Friends is hardly ever referred to by his real name (Sir Topham Hatt) in the original (British) version of the series, although he is always called Sir Topham Hatt in the North American version. Most of the engine's crew have unknown names, too, as the engines just say Driver and the firemen are mostly referred to as Fireman.
- Total Drama's Chef. His full name seems to be Chef Hatchet, though. So it's a very convenient first name?
- In Toxic Crusaders, Toxie's mother is called Mom by Toxie and "Toxie's Mom" by everyone else.
- Berk's boss on The Trap Door is known only as "The Thing Upstairs" or "Him Upstairs".
- The Venture Bros. has a few in the Pirate Captain, the Monarch henchmen (except for #21,) the Alchemist (who is sometimes just called "Al", it is unknown if that is just short for the Alchemist or his real name), Orpheus' Master is just referred to as "Master", and the Outrider.
