List of legally mononymous people

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This is a list of notable people whose full legal name is (or was) a mononym, either by name change or by being born mononymic (e.g. Burmese, Indonesian, or Japanese royalty). Titles (e.g. Burmese honorifics) do not count against inclusion, because they are not part of the name itself.

This list does not include people who are mononymous only as a stage name, pen name/pseudonym, in certain contexts, or by dint of fame.


Legally monomymous persons
ReasonSourceMononymTitle(s)Other nameBornDiedDescriptionRef.
BirthJapanese royalty Aiko Princess Toshi2001-daughter of Emperor Naruhito
BirthJapanese royalty Akihito Emperor Emeritus 1933-former Emperor of Japan (abdicated 2019)
BirthBurmese Ba Sir U 18871963Burmese president and Supreme Court justice
BirthNepali Balkrishna Acharya c. 1972–1973-Nepali billionaire businessman and chairman of the consumer goods company Patanjali Ayurved
BirthArakanese royalty Bin Min 14931554King of Arakan in Myanmar from 1531 to 1554
BirthIndonesian Boediono 1943-former Vice President of Indonesia
Name change Cher Cherilyn Sarkisian1946-American singer and actress [1] [2] [3]
Name change Chyna Joan Marie Laurer19702016American professional wrestler and actress [4]
Name changereligious Dhammaloka U Laurence Carroll18561914Irish-born Buddhist monk, celebrity preacher and editor in British Burma
Name changepromotion DotComGuy Mitch MaddoxAmerican computer specialist; changed to mononym as promotion, later reverted to birth name
BirthJapanese royalty Fumihito Prince Akishino1965-heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito
Name changereligious Gambira U Nyi Nyi Lwin1979-Burmese Buddhist Monk leader of All Burma Monks' Alliance during the 2007 Saffron Revolution
BirthIndian Govindjee 1932-Indian-American biochemist
BirthJapanese royalty Hirohito EmperorShōwa19011989former Emperor of Japan
BirthVietnamese Hổ 1998-footballer of Sedang ethnicity [5]
Name change Indrani Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri1983-Indian-British-Canadian director, photographer, girls' empowerment activist and author [6]
Name change iOTA Sean Hape1968-Australian musician and actor
BirthBurmese Kyan Binnya 1538senior minister at the court of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy
BirthAustralian aboriginal Loongkoonan 19102018Australian aboriginal artist
BirthJapanese royalty Mako former PrincessMako Komuro1991-Daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, lost royal status and gained surname by marriage to commoner Kei Komuro
BirthIndian Mayawati 1956-Indian politician who formerly served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Name changeJapanese royalty by marriage Michiko EmpressMichiko Shōda1934-Japanese empress consort
BirthJapanese royalty Naruhito Emperor1960- Emperor of Japan
Name change Nenê Maybyner Rodney Hilario1982-Brazilian basketball player
BirthBurmese Nu U or Thakin 19071995leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician
BirthBurmese Ponnya U 18121867 Burmee dramatist
Name changetransitioning Quinn Rebecca Quinn1995-Canadian soccer player [7]
Name changereligious Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain19311990Indian mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement
Name changereligious Ramdev Swami Ram Kisan Yadav1965-Indian ayurvedic and yoga practitioner
BirthPakistani Riazuddin 19302013Pakistani physicist
Name changeBurmese San Saya Yar Kyaw18761931Leader of the 1930–1932 Saya San Rebellion in British Burma
BirthBurmese Saw U or Galon U19001948Burmese politician who served as Prime Minister during the colonial era before WW2
Name change Shez Efrat Yerushalmi1959-Israeli poet
BirthIndian Siddaramaiah 1948-Indian politician who served a full-chief ministerial term of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018
BirthIndonesian Sjumandjaja 19341985Indonesian director, screenwriter, and actor
BirthIndonesian Sudirman 19161950 Indonesian National Hero and the first commander of Indonesian Armed Forces
BirthIndonesian Suharto 19212008former President of Indonesia
BirthIndonesian Sukarno 19011970former President of Indonesia
BirthIndonesian Supriyadi 1923c. 1945 Indonesian National Hero and the first appointed Minister of Defense of Indonesia
Name change Teller Raymond Joseph Teller1948-American magician [8]
BirthBurmese Thant U 19091974Burmese diplomat and longest-serving Secretary-General of the United Nations
BirthIndonesian Triyatno 1987-Indonesian weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist
BirthMon royalty U Binnya 13231384King of Hanthawaddy in Myanmar from 1348 to 1384
Name change Warrior James Hellwig19592014American professional wrestler [9] [10]
Name change Winter Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr.1972-American software programmer best known for his goal to visit every company-owned Starbucks location in the world; changed name first to John Winter Smith, then to mononym Winter [11]
Name change Ye Kanye Omari West1977-American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer [12]
BirthIndian Zoramthanga 1944-Indian politician and current Chief Minister of Mizoram

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Turning Back Time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  2. ↑ @cher (1 March 2017). "@KBetter52 I Don't Have A Last name.Went to court...& Let me tell you it wasn't easy.They don't want Ppl running around with no last names🤣" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Cher". IMDb.
  4. ↑ "Copy of Name Change Document" (PDF). 2007-11-07. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  5. ↑ "Hổ là ai? Vì sao cầu thủ của Đắk Lắk chỉ có tên, không có họ?" (in Vietnamese). ithethao. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Watch This Rad Feminist Short Film of Girls Playing Soccer in Jodhpur".
  7. ↑ McElwee, Molly (9 September 2020). "Canada international Quinn comes out as transgender". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Bad Boys of Magic". Pennandteller.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Teller's full legal name is just Teller. He has one of the few US passports that has been issued with a single name.
  9. ↑ Grasso, John (6 March 2014). Historical Dictionary of Wrestling – John Grasso – Google Books. ISBN   9780810879263 . Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  10. ↑ Reynolds, R.D.; Alvarez, Bryan (2014). The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Bestselling Classic — Revised and Expanded. ECW Press. ISBN   978-1770411753.
  11. ↑ "Starbucks Everywhere". starbuckseverywhere.net. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  12. ↑ Aubrey, Elizabeth (October 18, 2021). "Kanye West officially changes his name to 'Ye'". The Independent . Retrieved October 19, 2021.
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