Why are some people refered to as their first name rather than last:

Examples (Archimedes is not an example ):

Galileo- His full name was Galileo Galilei.

Tycho- His full name was Tycho Brahe.

Lejeune Dirichlet- That was his nickname! Johann Peter Gustav.

Hannibal- His full name was Hannibal Barca.

Omar- His full name was Omar Khayami.

I think I got more I just cannot remember.
Why does not earn the honor to be called by fist name.

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well, there are others that are known by their last names: einstein, newton etc. I think it has to do with how common one of their names are. if their last names were common during their time, then they will be called by their first names to distinguish them, vice versa if they are called by their first names. but that's just a guess

[quote=ThePerfectHacker;46979]Why are some people refered to as their first name rather than last:

Examples (Archimedes is not an example ):

Galileo- His full name was Galileo Galilei.[\quote]

Not a good example as Galilei is the plural of Galileo, his name is Galileo
of the Galeleos!

Saves time, there is only one Hannibal (worth his salt)

Always known as Omar Khayam here.


But why Michelangelo (di Buonarroti) but (Michelangelo da) Caravaggio?

While the first is a great sculptor, he is over rated as a painter. The second
is one of the great painter but his work still scares the general public. In the
National Gallery in London if you enter the room that has his works among
those of his very inferior contemporaries you usually find groups standing in front
of other's works but generally avoiding Caravaggio's!

Caravaggio is one of the sources for the stylistic conventions uses by
Rembrandt (Van Rijn)

RonL

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Hello, ThePerfectHacker,

your questions have to do with the practice to identify a person by it's name.

In former times the first name was sufficient. After the 17th-century people started in Germany(I'm not informed how this was handled in other countries) to add a family name which refers
to the profession: Smith, Fisher, Miller, Carpenter, Taylor, etc.
to obvious properties: Black, White, Little,
to the father: son of John = Johnson, (I believe the Scots would say McJohn(?)) and you as a born Russian know that you would use Johnovitch
to the place they lived or where they come from: Wiener (=inhabitant of Vienna), most of the Dutch names containing a "van" have a geographical reference.

to Tycho Brahe: He was a Danish astronomer and his Danish name is (I believe) Tyge de Brahe. He was a nobelman so it could be that the "de Brahe" specify the place where he came from or where he was born or the name of the house of his parents.

Later on the family name was used more often as Jhevon pointed out (the unit of force is not called Isaac!) and you will not get Alfred's prize but the Nobel prize

There is a big difference between Russia and Soviet Union.

Just like there is a big difference between East and West Germany. It might insult someone.

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"Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power
over people is to assure the people that they are ruling
themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully
submissive slaves." - Joseph Sobran

Hello,

sorry! I never intended to insult somebody.

EB

My name is already famous. I'm a writer. You might have heard of my book? It's called "The Book of Daniel."

-Dan

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"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - The Litany Against Fear, "Dune" by Frank Herbert

my name is Jonathan Conrad Waxeswithducktape I dont know where I got my last name

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how about danica (i think that is how its spelled) patrick?

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Brazilian footballer like Alex are often called by their first name. Sometimes, they combine some of their ridiculously long names, put it into the Brazilian football name machine, and come out with something like Kaka or Ronaldo or Marcelinho.

He played so bad. Just a single goal. And they were talking about how good he is.

Good preformance but not the best. Only 3 goals. In 2002 he scored 7! But anyways this time the best player was Mirsolav Klose.

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"Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power
over people is to assure the people that they are ruling
themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully
submissive slaves." - Joseph Sobran