List of people known by initials

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of people famous enough to be known unambiguously by their initials. Some of them date from an era when forenames were less commonly used in public, especially in the business world:

Contents

[edit] Famous people known by their initials

  • AI, basketball player Allen Iverson
  • Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson. AJ is a very common initial.
  • BB, French Actress Brigitte Bardot
  • BHL, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy
  • BT, American electronic music artist Brian Transeau
  • CAS, U.S. fantasy author Clark Ashton Smith
  • CDG, French general and president Charles de Gaulle
  • DB, Football Former England football captain David Beckham
  • DC, Formula 1 Racing Driver David Coulthard
  • DFW, American writer David Foster Wallace
  • DJ, former NBA player Dennis Johnson
  • DMR, computer scientist Dennis Ritchie
  • DNA, British author Douglas Noel Adams
  • DSK, French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn
  • EJ, Former owner of a Formula 1 team Eddie Jordan. Also EJ, singer, songwriter, pianist Elton John.
  • EIIR(E2R), Queen of the United Kingdom
  • ESR, Eric Steven Raymond, leading figure in the Open Source movement and maintainer of the Jargon File
  • FDR, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  • FPA, U.S. newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams
  • H.D., U.S. Imagist poet Hilda Doolittle
  • H.R., lead singer of Bad Brains
  • IDS, British politician Iain Duncan Smith
  • J2M, former CEO of Vivendi-Universal Jean-Marie Messier
  • JBL,John "Bradshaw" Layfield, US professional Wrestler
  • JC, Jesus Christ
  • JFK, U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
  • JJSS, French essayist and politician Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
  • JK, Juscelino Kubitschek, President of Brazil
  • JT, Justin Timberlake, singer, dancer, musical artist. JP Jennifer Pereira very hot!
  • JWZ, Free software programmer Jamie Zawinski
  • KG, Basketball player Kevin Garnett
  • KJ, former Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson
  • KK, Zambian head of state Kenneth Kaunda
  • L, Linnaeus, founder of modern systematics, cited by biologists simply as (L) when referenced as author (first official describer) of a species. Note that (L) is truly understood to stand for the man Linnaeus himself, in contrast to an SI unit name like N, which does not stand for the man Newton, but for a physical unit spelled in lower-case that is named in honor of the man Newton.
  • LBJ, U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson (Johnson so liked his initials that his children and dogs all had them. However it is not true that he nicknamed his wife Lady Bird so she could have the same initials - her nickname originated while she was an infant when a nursemaid said of her, "She's as pretty as a ladybird.")
  • LT, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Lawrence Taylor, and LT, San Diego Chargers' record breaking running back, LaDaninian Tomlinson.
  • MJ, U.S. basketball legend Michael Jordan
  • MLK, U.S. civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
  • OJ, U.S. football player, movie actor, and accused murderer O. J. Simpson
  • PPDA, French journalist Patrick Poivre d'Arvor
  • Q, British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch
  • QT, American movie director/actor Quentin Tarantino
  • RAH, U.S. Science fiction author Robert A. (Anson) Heinlein
  • R.A.W., U.S. futurologist and author Robert Anton Wilson
  • REH, U.S. fantasy author Robert E. Howard
  • RFK, U.S. politician Robert F. Kennedy
  • RMS, Free Software advocate Richard M. Stallman
  • TGM, first Czechoslovak president
  • TO, American football player Terrell Owens
  • TP, French basketball player Tony Parker
  • TR, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
  • UKK, Finnish longtime president and strongman Urho Kaleva Kekkonen
  • VGE, former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
  • W.L., fictitious name given to real life Ugandan crime victim that journalist Caroline Moorehead wrote about
  • ZZ, French football player Zinedine Zidane

[edit] Borderline cases

  • AK47, basketball player Andrei Kirilenko, who wears team uniform #47
  • BOD, Irish rugby player Brian O'Driscoll
  • "Dubya", U.S. President George W. Bush (based on his Texan pronunciation of the letter W, the letter distinguishing him from his father)
  • Eminem ("M 'n' M"), U.S. rapper Marshall Mathers
  • Hergé ("R. G." in French), Belgian comics author Georges Remi
  • JEB, Florida Governor John Ellis Bush
  • J. Lo, U.S. pop musician Jennifer Lopez
  • LB, basketball legend Larry Bird, who usually gives autographs using only his initials. This is the same case with MS, Michael Schumacher, Formula 1 legend.
  • LL Cool J, American hip hop artist James Smith, whose stage name means "Ladies Love Cool James"
  • ODB, U.S. rapper "Ol' Dirty Bastard"
  • TAFKAP, U.S. soul singer Prince, abbreviation for The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, which replaced an unpronounceable symbol as his name. He has since reverted to using his first name of Prince.

[edit] Rabbis and other Jewish scholars

There is a tradition of calling renowned rabbis and other Jewish scholars by a vocalized version of their initials :

  • The Besht, Israel ben Eliezer, nicknamed the Baal SHem Tov (Master of the Good Name), Polish rabbi, founder of Hasidism
  • HaRaAYaH, Abraham Isaac Kook, first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine
  • The Chida, CHaim David Azulai, rabbinical scholar and bibliophile
  • Maharal, Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known as "Moreinu HA-RAv Loew" (Our Teacher Rabbi Loew)
  • The Gra, Elijah (Eliyahu) ben Shlomo Zalman "Kremer" (or "Kramer"), known as the Vilna Gaon, rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist
  • Maharam, Meir Lublin, known as "Moreinu HA-RAv Meir" (Our Teacher Rabbi Meir)
  • Ralbag, Rabbi Levi Ben Gershon, better known as Gersonides, medieval French rabbi, mathematician, and philosopher
  • Ramak, RAbbi Moshe Cordovero, Spanish mystical thinker
  • Ramchal or Ramhal, Moshe CHaim Luzzatto, Italian, rabbi
  • Rashal, RAbbi SHlomo Luria (Solomon Luria), rabbi and talmudic commentator
  • Rashbam, RAbbi SHlomo Ben Meir, French rabbi and Talmud commentator, grandson of Rashi
  • Rashi, RAbbi SHlomo ben Isaac, French rabbi and Talmud commentator
  • Rambam, RAbbi Moshe Ben Maimon, Spanish rabbi, philosopher and physician
  • Ramban, RAbbi Moshe Ben Nahman, Spanish rabbi

[edit] Individuals known always or for the most part by initials and surname

[edit] A–F

[edit] G–P

[edit] Q–Z

[edit] Individuals known by first name and an initial as a surname

[edit] Individuals whose use of their middle initial carries special significance

[edit] Fictional characters

[edit] See also

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