Just a quick question.

[on:]

Why are Fry and Leela called by their last names instead of their first names?

But Amy is called by her first name, why is this?

[Reply #1 on:]

They introduced themselves as Fry and Leela instead of Philip and Turanga, so that's how others know them. Amy introduced herself as Amy instead of Wong, so that's how we know her.
There may be a specific reasoning as to why they introduced themselves this way (other than having a catchier surname than first), but I don't know what it is.

[Reply #2 on:]

Leela is actually her first name, the family name is just said first like with some Asian names.

[Reply #3 on:]

"Leela" is her given name -- in many cultures this does come first. "Turanga" is her surname -- in many cultures this comes last, but not always. A surname is also known as a family name, because it is shared within your family.

[Reply #4 on:]

What, you wanna go around calling Amy 'Wong'? What a stupid proposition. You should be ashamed.

[Reply #5 on:]

What, you wanna go around calling Amy 'Wong'? What a stupid proposition. You should be ashamed.

There's nothing wong with it.

Show spoiler

I definitely prefer the name "Amy" to "Wong", but it made for an example.

[Reply #6 on:]

Thanks for the info guys.

[Reply #7 on:]

Well that was easy. Thread over!

[Reply #8 on:]

To continue the thread, why do they call Hubert Farnsworth, the professor instead of Hubert or Farnsworth?  Or why do they John Zoidberg, Zoidberg instead of John?  Or Hermes Conrad, Hermes instead of Conrad?  How about those ones?  Yeah? No?

[Reply #9 on:]

Because you touch yourself at night.

Nobody knows. It's a cartoon.

[Reply #10 on:]

To continue the thread, why do they call Hubert Farnsworth, the professor instead of Hubert or Farnsworth?

Respect, jackass. If you'd spent countless years teaching thankless undergraduates by day and slaving over a hot research bench at night in order to finally be recognised by your fellow academics as having so few peers that you might as well give up hope of anybody else understanding a word you said, people would also call you "Professor" as a sincere honorific rather than presuming to use your first name as though they were somehow on the same level as you.

Fuck me backwards through a hedge with a policeman. How wasn't this obvious to you?

Or why do they John Zoidberg, Zoidberg instead of John?

They call him Dr. Zoidberg when being respectful, and Zoidberg when they just don't give a crap about showing him respect, because that's what he prefers to be called: Zoidberg. He refers to himself as Zoidberg. Many people are referred to by their friends and acquaintances (and even by themselves) using their surname or some variation thereof. For example, I knew a guy at school who was only rarely called anything other than "Filly", even by teachers. It was his preferred name, and was derived from his surname; Fillingham.

Zoidberg's preferred identification is "Zoidberg". He doesn't seem to be bothered about whether or not people address him as "doctor", and so people tend to address him throughout the series as "Zoidberg".

Or Hermes Conrad, Hermes instead of Conrad?  How about those ones?  Yeah? No?

Similarly, Hermes probably prefers to be called "Hermes", and people respect his choice. So they don't call him "Conrad", "Connie", or "Bureaucrat", because that would be somewhat demeaning in light of his preference.

Holy crispy fuckstains, son. I wouldn't have ever thought that something this basic would ever actually require explanation. It's like you've never interacted with humans before. This was a pretty bad idea for a thread to begin with, and that was a spectacularly crappy choice of redirection for it once the initial question was answered. Hopefully some moderator takes a break from licking ambrosia off of the thighs of nubile virgins in the staff room, and gives this thread the old heave-ho*.

*No, that's not a term for masturbation. I'm referring to closing the thread. Most people wouldn't need that explained, I know. But given your track record as far as the comprehension of basics goes, you seemed like you might.

[Reply #11 on:]

One weird thing related to the first question in the thread: the bunk beds the crew sleep in in "The Inhuman Torch" are all labeled with their last names, with the exception of Leela's. Possible error? Who knows.

[Reply #12 on:]

Fry has been going by his last name for quite some time. We know that's what Mr Panucci called him at the pizzeria back in the 20th century ("Fry! Pizza goin' out! Come on!").  Some people do go by their last name or their middle name. I know a Brady and a Jonesy, for example. I've also known people who went by something that wasn't part of their names at all, like Honey and Cricket. And have you ever met a Robert who goes by Bob or Rob, or a William who goes by Will or Bill, or heard of Dwight Eisenhower being called Ike, or Theodore Roosevelt being called Teddy, or Harry Houdini being known by his last name?

Zoidberg also goes by his last name when dealing with people he considers friends, though this may not have always been the case since he and the professor (and Mom/Carol) met long ago and are on a first-name basis. Now it seems like the John is only for formal use, like on his stationery (not stationary by the way, though generally stationery IS stationary) and when he's explaining to an uppity robut that his name is "John BLEEEEP Zoidberg!".

The crew members call Farnsworth the Professor because it's accurate, it's an honorific, and he's not just another coworker. He's in no way a contemporary of the rest of the crew (aside from Zoidberg), being both extremely old AND their employer. Zoidberg and Mom sometimes call him by his first name (and variations of it) because they're around his own age, have known him MUCH longer, and have deeper personal connections to him than mere expendable employees.

As for Leela, it's one of her names and if it's what she likes to go by who cares? In regards to UrinalLegend's picture/question, maybe it was a mistake, maybe the characters were given the choice of what their bunks' plaques would say and Leela went against the grain.

Amy likes to go by her first name. Not really a big deal. She's even shown a little self-consciousness about being associated with her rich family from time to time, such as when she was grudgingly forced to confess that her sorority is Kappa Kappa Wong. Maybe she has a hard time getting people to take her work and academic accomplishments seriously if they know she's from a super-rich family, which could be tough on someone who is pursuing an advanced scientific degree.

Hermes likes to be called Hermes by his coworkers. He might be a bureaucrat but he's not totally aloof. He also gets called "Dad" by his son on several occasions, and "husband" by his wife, possibly because he has a different relationship with those people.

The names characters go by are clues to their character traits and their relationships to people who call them by certain names. It's a big beautiful tapestry teaching us about the relationships between the various characters. Blah blah.

[Reply #13 on:]

I think it's basically with Zoidberg that: On the contrary to "past", when he was respected and good friends with first crew and so called by the first name, people he knows "currently" don't really like him and aren't as close to him and so is called by the last name.