Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34636
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There are several ways to address this. This is really just a matter of picking whichever custom you like the best.

* * *

## Intentionally keep the mononym.

Your character can decide to not take a surname and keep the mononym, to symbolically remember her roots.

If this is the case, then you simply refer to them by that mononym. This happens in real life too; thinks of artists who use a mononym (Eminem, Bono, Cher). They are always referred to by that name, and no one really struggles with using it (except maybe on official documents, which is not the focus of your question).

- Effectively, a mononymn is **both** someone's first name and their surname. But you obviously don't say it twice :-)
- It's still possible that someone who doesn't personally know this character instinctively refers to this person by using a longer name ("Mister Eminem", "Sir Bono", "Lady Cher") simply because they are unaware that it's a mononym. That would in effect be a mistake; but an unavoidable mistake as the character is unaware that the name is a mononym.
- If there are cases where the name is expanded as a matter of protocol (e.g. referring to a knight as **Sir** Galahad, or a monarch as **Queen** Victoria), then you should stick with that protocol ("King Eminem", "Sir Bono", "Queen Cher").

* * *

## Growing the name over time.

There is a precedent here:

> Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons.

This name has grown with every significant victory that she achieved.

The same can happen to your character. If they "rank up" because they killed a troll, Bono could choose to rename himself to Bono Trollslayer. If he then "ranks up" because he kills the previous monarch, he could choose to rename himself Bono Kingslayer.  
It doesn't need to be as elaborate as Daenerys' names.

It's also possible that the character's name is changed by others, without the character's consent.  
A precedent occurs in Lord of the Rings, when King Theoden (still under Saruman's spell) refers to Gandalf as **Gandalf Stormcrow** ([explanation here](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/28100/why-does-theoden-call-gandalf-stormcrow)).

"Stormcrow" is essentially an insult, implying that Gandalf causes trouble wherever he goes. Using it as if it were his given name further implies that Gandalf _always_ does this (it's similar to someone saying "danger is my middle name". It being your name implies that you live by it).

* * *

## Culturally default names

In keeping the mononym, it's possible that a default surname exists for those who have none.

A great example here is bastard names in Game of Thrones. All bastards receive a default surname (Jon Snow, Ramsay Snow, Brynden Rivers, Elia Sand). The name varies per region (Snow = the North, Sand = Dorne, Rivers = the Riverlands), but every region has a given default name.

Similarly, those from a lower caste (in your world) could be given a default name. It's possible that those who hate the character will intentionally keep using that name long after she rose through the ranks, simply to insult her initial lower status.

Original score: 4