Uninomial (adj.) is the winner, but most of what Google finds is noise -- typos for "uninominal." posted by booksandlibretti at 9:20 AM on July 12, 2006
I think mononymous might "be the winner" because it's the only with a definiton, so far as I can see, though uninomial is listed as a synonym in both def.'s I found. And by I, I mean teg. posted by Cochise at 9:23 AM on July 12, 2006
...lucky?...
I wish I had just one name... posted by svdodge at 9:34 AM on July 12, 2006
Dang it, lemonfridge beat me to the joke.
Well, here's what the OED has to say:
mononymic means "of, relating to, or designating technical names that consist of one word only". It also says it's an obsolete biological term. There's no entry for "mononymous".
uninominal means "having or involving one name, specifically in Nat. Hist." It seems to be more related to systems of taxonomy than the names themselves, though.
mononomial means "designating a name or expression consisting of one word only." What's more, they quote a few sources using "mononomial" in exactly this sense, e.g., "The Brazilian Careca (Brazilian soccer stars, like some actresses, affect the mononomial) ..."
Given the choice, I'd go with "mononomial". posted by Johnny Assay at 9:51 AM on July 12, 2006
Pretentious. posted by Merdryn at 9:51 AM on July 12, 2006
If I didn't believe that people should be called by whatever name(s) they wish, I'd say that when I think of pretentious the first thing that pops to mind are people who use middle initials. posted by dobbs at 10:38 AM on July 12, 2006
Primadonna-ish? :) posted by DrtyBlvd at 12:28 PM on July 12, 2006
If I didn't believe that people should be called by whatever name(s) they wish, I'd say that when I think of pretentious the first thing that pops to mind are people who use middle initials.
I wish I didn't have to. But if I don't, then people think that "Den" is my middle name. posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:07 PM on July 12, 2006
If I didn't believe that people should be called by whatever name(s) they wish, I'd say that when I think of pretentious the first thing that pops to mind are people who use middle initials.
I have a common first and last name (First is "Elizabeth"). The middle initial helps to distinguish which one of us is me without using an address or SSN. :) (So does the revised spelling of my nickname which I've been using since I was 13, but I can't use that for formal things.) posted by Meep! Eek! at 5:07 PM on July 12, 2006
On this subject, does anyone remember a 1980s monologist who had a routine about going from the land of people with three names, like James Earl Jones, to the land of people with one name, like Cher, and then ending up in the land of people with a pretentious initial, like F. Lee Bailey? I'm not sure the names are right, except for Cher.... posted by brianogilvie at 9:01 PM on July 12, 2006
I don't use my middle initial unless I have to, but it is a very handy form of differentiating people who have fairly common first and last names, as Meep! Eek! pointed out. posted by lhauser at 10:26 PM on July 12, 2006
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posted by piratebowling at 9:09 AM on July 12, 2006