List of people known by initials

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:

Famous people known by their initials

*AI, basketball player Allen Iverson
*ATB, German DJ.
*AJ, 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
*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.
*, 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
*FZ, Composer, guitarist and social critic Frank Zappa
*H.D., U.S. Imagist poet Hilda Doolittle
*H.R., lead singer of Bad Brains
*IDS, British politician Iain Duncan Smith
*JD, J D Rowland, Piece of crap deadbeat who doesn't support his own kids.
*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.
*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.
*MBD, hasidic singer and musician Mordechai ben David.
*MGR, former actor Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, India.
*MJ, U.S. basketball legend Michael Jordan, also poplegend Michael Jackson
*MLK, U.S. civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
*OJ, U.S. football player, movie actor, and accused murderer O. J. Simpson
*, 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
*, 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

Borderline cases

*AK47, basketball player Andrei Kirilenko, who wears team uniform #47
*, 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"
*, U.S. rapper "Ol' Dirty Bastard"
P Peggy Eisenhauer,Tony award winning lighting designer
*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.

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)
*Netziv, Naftali ZVi Yehuda Berlin, Belarusian rabbi and author
*Rabash, RAbbi BAruch SHalom HaLevi Ashlag, Polish rabbi and Kabbalist
*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
*Rema or Rama, Rabbi Moses Isserles, Polish rabbi

Individuals known always or for the most part by initials and surname
A–F

*P. T. Anderson
*V. C. Andrews
*G.E.M. Anscombe
*B. J. Armstrong
*H. H. Asquith
*W. H. Auden
*J. L. Austin
*A. J. Ayer
*J. C. N. Judith-Clair Nockolls
*B. E. D. Blythe-Erin Drake
*C. P. E. Bach
*J. C. Bach
*J. S. Bach
*J. G. Ballard
*P. T. Barnum
*J. M. Barrie
*H. E. Bates
*C. E. W. Bean
*L. L. Bean
*P.G.T. Beauregard
*G. M. Benevelli
*W. A. C. Bennett
*E. C. Bentley
*P. W. Botha
*T. C. Boyle
*J. N. Brønsted
*P.J. Brown
*A. J. Burnett
*A. S. Byatt

*A. J. Cronin
*J. J. Cale
*J. L. Carr
*C. J. Cherryh
*G. K. Chesterton
*C. B. Cochrane
*J. M. Coetzee
*D. B. Cooper
*E. E. Cummings

*R. D. Darrell
*F. W. de Klerk
*AB de Villiers
*E. L. Doctorow
*J. D. Drew
*W. E. B. Du Bois

*T. S. Eliot
*A. K. Erlang
*M. C. Escher

*A. A. Fair
*W. C. Fields
*D. C. Fontana
*T.J. Ford
*C. S. Forester
*E. M. Forster
*A. J. Foyt
*C. L. Franklin
*C. B. Fry
*J. F. C. Fuller

G–P
*J. Geils
*P. George Giri
*H.R. Giger
*W.S. Gilbert
*A. A. Gill
*V.V. Giri
*E. M. Grace
*W. G. Grace
*A.C. Green
*L.C. Greenwood
*W.E.B. Griffin
*D.W. Griffith
*C.Z. Guest

*H.R. Haldeman
*J. G. Hamann
*W.C. Handy
*G.H. Hardy
*H. L. A. Hart
*L.P. Hartley
*P.J. Harvey
*S.I. Hayakawa
*F.A. Hayek
*S.E. Hinton
*C.A.R. Hoare
*W. W. Hodkinson
*J.H. van 't Hoff
*E.T.A. Hoffmann
*P.J. Hogan
*JB Holmes
*T.O. Honiball
*L. J. Hooker
*A.D. Hope
*A.E. Housman
*C.J. Hunter
*E.F. Hutton
*T.H. Huxley

*A.Y. Jackson
*J. J. Jackson
*T.D. Jakes
*P.D. James
*K.W. Jeter
*C.E.M. Joad

*R. Kelly
*A. L. Kennedy
*X.J. Kennedy
*J.M. Keynes
*B.B. King
*H.H. Kung

*R.A. Lafferty
*R.D. Laing
*k.d. lang
*A.J. Langer
*Z.J. Latham
*D.H. Lawrence
*T.E. Lawrence
*V.V.S. Laxman
*J.J. Lehto
*V.I. Lenin
*C.I. Lewis
*C.S. Lewis
*J.C.R. Licklider
*H.P. Lovecraft

*P. P. McGuinness
*R.W. McQuarters
*J.P. McManus
*E.G. Marshall
*Z.K. Mathews
*AJ Michalka
*A.A. Milne
*R.J. Mitchell
*E.J. Moeran
*L.M. Montgomery
*C.L. Moore
*G.E. Moore
*J.P. Morgan

*V.S. Naipaul
*A.S. Neill
*B.P. Nichol
*C. J. Nitkowski

*P.J. O'Rourke
*T. J. O'Rourke

*J.G. Parry-Thomas
*I.M. Pei
*J.C. Penney
*D.B.C. Pierre
*JP Pietersen
*C.C.H. Pounder
*E.J. Pratt
*J.B. Priestley
*P.J. Proby

Q–Z
*
*J. C. Quinn

*A. R. Rahman
*J. J. Redick
*J. D. Roberts, Canadian television host who began using his full name, John Roberts when he joined CBS in 1995.
*B. A. Robertson
*J.I. Rodale
*L. T. C. Rolt
*J. C. Romero
*J.D. Roth
*J. K. Rowling
*A. L. Rowse
*B. J. Ryan

*C. C. Sabathia
*J. D. Salinger
*F. P. Santangelo
*O. J. Santiago
*E. C. Segar
*E. H. Shepard
*R. C. Sherriff
*O. J. Simpson
*B. F. Skinner
*E. E. "Doc" Smith
*F. E. Smith
*G. E. Smith
*O. C. Smith
*W. H. Smith
*C. P. Snow
*J. T. Snow
*P. J. Soles
*A. G. Spalding
*G. Spencer-Brown
*J. I. M. Stewart
*R. L. Stine
*J. J. Stokes
*W. S. Stratton
*J. E. B. Stuart
*B.J. Surhoff
*J. J. Sylvester

*A. J. P. Taylor
*B. J. Thomas
*R. S. Thomas
*W. I. Thomas
*E. P. Thompson
*J. J. Thomson
*J. D. Tippit
*Y. A. Tittle
*J. R. R. Tolkien
*P. L. Travers
*J. M. W. Turner
*W. T. Tutte

*A. E. van Vogt
*B. J. Vorster

*Madam C.J. Walker
*J. T. Walsh
*B. B. Warfield
*E. H. Warmington
*J. C. Watts
*H. G. Wells
*A. D. White
*E. B. White
*T. H. White
*J. P. R. Williams
*R. M. Williams
*J. C. Williamson
*E. O. Wilson
*P. G. Wodehouse
*B. D. Wong

*W. B. Yeats

*L. L. Zamenhof

Individuals known by first name and an initial as a surname
*Melanie B, or just Mel B, pop singer (also known as Scary Spice)
*Melanie C, or just Mel C, pop singer (also known as Sporty Spice)
*Timmy C., American musician, most famous for being the bassist of Rage Against the Machine
*Louis C.K., comedian
*Sheila E., musician
*Andrea F., Slovene TV narrator
*Christiane F.
*Andrew G
*Kenny G
*John K., animator, creator of Ren and Stimpy
*Bill W., pseudonym of a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
*Andrew W.K.
*Malcolm X, civil rights leader
*, Slovene actor and TV journalist

Individuals whose use of their middle initial carries special significance
*Iain M. Banks, Scottish writer. As Iain M. Banks he writes science fiction; as Iain Banks he writes literary fiction.
*George W. Bush, United States President ('W.' used to avoid the confusion with his father, former president George H.W. Bush)
*Philip K. Dick, American science fiction writer
*Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor (the 'J.' is to honor Michael J. Pollard and to distinguish himself from character actor Michael Fox)
*World B. Free, basketball player
*Alex S. Gonzalez, American baseball player ('S.' as in "Scott", to avoid any confusion with fellow baseball player Alex González)
*Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
*Ursula K. Le Guin, American science fiction writer
*Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
*William H. Macy, American actor
*John C. Reilly, American actor
*Edward G. Robinson, American film actor ('G.' as in "Goldenberg", his given surname)
*George C. Scott, American actor
*Peter R. de Vries, Dutch crime reporter with his own television program, and also a politician.
*John Q. Adams, 6th president of the United States.
*Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the United States.

Fictional characters
*BA, - Mr. T's character on The A-Team
*BD, character from Doonesbury originally inspired by Yale football team captain Brian Dowling
*BJ, Billie Joe from B.J. and the Bear
*B.J. Hunnicutt from '
*CC Babcock, Chastity Claire Babcock from the Nanny
*CJ, Reggie's boss in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
*CJ, '
*CJ, Claudia Jean Cregg - White House Press Secretary in The West Wing
*D.J. - Donna Jo Tanner from Full House
*D.J. - the radio operator from The Flying Doctors
*DK, Donkey Kong
*G.O.B., George Oscar Bluth II - Arrested Development
*J.C., J.C. Denton - Deus Ex
*JD, John Dorian - main character in Scrubs
*J.D. Hogg, character from The Dukes of Hazzard
*JJ, who coined the term "Dy-no-mite!" on Good Times
*JR, John Ross Ewing Jr. - fictional shooting victim on television's Dallas
*J.R. Hartley, character in British Yellow Pages commercial that became a cult figure.
*Joseph K., character in Franz Kafka's The Trial
*K., character in Franz Kafka's The Castle
*KP - Kim Possible
* M, from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic and movie.
* , James Bond's boss
* P. D. Q. Bach, Fictional pseudonym of composer Peter Schickele.
* R for Rebecca, in Daphne du Maurier's
* R.A.B., a mysterious character who took the locket in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
* RL, the barely-seen CEO in the comic strip Kevin and Kell.
* TJ, little boy in movie The Champ
* TC, usual appellation for Top Cat, also Theodore Coolege, the black helicopter pilot in the tv series 'Magnum P.I.'
* YT, skateboard Kourier in Snow Crash

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See Also

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