Does 'NLN' stand for "No Last Name"?
June 18, 2010 7:00 AM   Subscribe

Does my client's listed last name (NLN) stand for "No Last Name"?

So I have a client who's email address is Michigani.nln@client.net. I had to place a call to this client, so I asked immediately: "How do you pronounce your last name", to which the response was "N L N".
So fine, we continue the conversation, no problem, strange name, but whatever.

Well, I was talking to some co-workers about it, and someone suggested that NLN stands for "No Last Name". Well. So maybe this person just goes by one name: "Michigani".

This client works at a large organization, and it might be their policy that people with one name automatically get NLN in the system for their last name. But if that was the case, why didn't the person just say, "I have no last name, they just put that in the system"?

Confused. Thoughts?
posted by joecacti to Society & Culture (11 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
It could easily be that Michigani no last name, but actually describing this unusual thing to people has long since passed the point where they want to have that conversation - "Was it your parents that did it to you!?" - YET AGAIN, so they just pretend that "NLN" is their last name to get on with business.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:06 AM on June 18, 2010


a few internet sources seem to agree.
posted by soma lkzx at 7:07 AM on June 18, 2010


Could be anything, really. Maybe she's chosen to drop her family name for personal reasons but doesn't like talking about it. Maybe she's changed her legal name to NLN for aesthetic reasons. Maybe her parents are hippies who thought that having two names just propagates the patriarchy or some bullshit. Maybe she's deliberately concealing her identity out of well-grounded fears for her personal safety. Who knows?

I'm of the opinion that people should respect the ways in which others desire to be referred to in most situations. So unless there's some professional reason that you need to understand the nature or origin of her name it's none of your business and you should refer to her in the manner in which she has expressed a desire to be referred.

Now if you are providing services for which knowing her precise legal name is essential--her lawyer, her accountant, maybe even her doctor--yeah, clarify that with her. But otherwise, I'd say leave well enough alone.
posted by valkyryn at 7:11 AM on June 18, 2010


I have never encountered this before, but by extension from the standard abbreviation for no middle initial -- NMI -- I would say you have it right.

It is unusual, but certainly not unprecedented. When I used to do the hiring at my workplace a decade ago, a friend of one of the then-employees dropped off a resumé on which she listed no last name, only an initial. I did not interview her for other reasons, but I still see her listed as a friend of this same ex-employee, still going by the family name "T."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:28 AM on June 18, 2010


Best answer: But if that was the case, why didn't the person just say, "I have no last name, they just put that in the system"?

They're probably just tired of explaining it.

I work for a membership organization and handle some of our international programs. It's unusual to not have adopted a last name even if you weren't given one, but it's by no means unheard of. I've had several applicants for research-related awards and such who had no last name, expressed in a variety of ways including NLN.
posted by desuetude at 7:51 AM on June 18, 2010 [1 favorite]


At the veterinary hospital, when people book appointments for as-yet-unnamed pets, the name slot is filled out NNY, which stands for no name yet. I still forget this sometimes and get all excited thinking it's a Jhonen Vasquez reference.
posted by troublewithwolves at 9:28 AM on June 18, 2010 [2 favorites]


It could be that they are from Indonesia where there are a bunch of people with no last name. I've seen people who just have the same name for their surname to get around the Western convention for Firstname Lastname.
posted by arcticseal at 9:42 AM on June 18, 2010


Hehe. Could the name possibly be Ennilin? Enaline?
posted by functionequalsform at 10:37 AM on June 18, 2010


Not really that uncommon, I remember doing some work for a company which had a very diverse and varied workforce.

Usually I saw this on Arabic-sounding names (at least to me ears, but that is a pretty uninformed call, could be wrong).

I remember dealing with quite a few people who had only one name. Usually to work around on things like network accounts they would repeat their first name twice.
posted by Intrepid at 12:15 PM on June 18, 2010


Usually I saw this on Arabic-sounding names

Afghanistan and Malaysia/Indonesia -- heavily though not exclusively Islamic -- are both regions where single names are common.
posted by dhartung at 1:04 PM on June 18, 2010


You have a best answer so I'm going to add this, not strictly an answer, but amusing:

I collect great newspaper corrections, and this is one of my faves:


From Virginia's Newport News Daily Press:
"An article in Saturday's Local section incorrectly reported that a suspect identified as "Fnu Lnu" had been indicted by a federal grand jury. "Fnu Lnu" is not a name. FNU is a law enforcement abbreviation for "first name unknown," LNU for "last name unknown." Officials knew the suspect only by the name 'Dezo.'"

The last line makes it.

I do still periodically see people mistaking "Lnu" for a last name.
posted by CunningLinguist at 9:29 AM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


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