Mononymous person Facts for Kids

Molière was the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Nicolas Mignard painted this portrait in 1758

Akihito, a former Emperor of Japan, uses a single name.

Have you ever heard of someone famous who only uses one name? That's what we call a mononymous person. Their single name is known as a mononym. Sometimes, people choose a single name. This is often the case with artists who pick a stage name.

What is a Mononym?
Mononyms Through History
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What is a Mononym?

A mononym is a single name that a person is known by. It's like having just a first name, but it's the only name people use for you. For example, the famous singer Madonna is known by only one name.

Sometimes, people might have had a longer name before. Then they choose to use just one part of it. This often happens with performers. They pick a stage name that is easy to remember.

Mononyms Through History

Using only one name is not a new idea. It has been common in many cultures for a long time.

Ancient Times

In Ancient Greece, most people had only one name. If two people had the same name, they might add where they were from. This helped people tell them apart. For example, there were two famous philosophers named Zeno. To avoid confusion, people called them Zeno of Elea and Zeno of Citium.

In Ancient Rome, people usually had longer names. These names included a family name. For instance, the famous speaker we call Cicero had the full name Marcus Tullius Cicero. Sometimes, he was even called Tully in English. Another example is Nero, a Roman emperor. His full name was Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

Later Periods

After the Roman Empire, longer names became more common. But in some parts of the world, like the Americas, single names were still used. This continued until the early 1900s.

Pocahontas (1595-1617) was a Native American woman. She is known by her single name. After she married an English settler, she took the name Rebecca Rolfe.
Geronimo (1829-1909) was a famous Apache leader. He was also known by just one name.

Royals and Popes

Many royals also use a single name. They often add a number to show which one they are. For example, Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and Elizabeth II (born 1926) both used "Elizabeth." Even though they had family names, these were not used.

Similarly, popes choose a single name when they are elected. The current pope's birth name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio. But since he became pope, everyone calls him Pope Francis.