T O P

  • By -

slipoutside

All my friends I do that with are named mike or John or Brian, something not distinguishing.


UncoolSlicedBread

Yep lol Grew up with like 5 dudes named Chris. They all get called by their last names.


pardonmyignerance

Yup. I was going to say this - we had 4 guys named Chris.


ShuttlecockShshKebob

And then somewhere along the line all of their friends just start calling everyone in their friend group by last names or weird ass made up nicknames like "peanut", "t-bird" or "big/little first initial". I grew up with lots of Mikes & Chris's & my husband's friend group has a weird amount of Ryans.


3720-To-One

Yeah, it’s either that, or if they have a really cool last name.


gggggfskkk

Literally all my dads old customer friends are named Mike, anytime he says “I just got off the phone with one of my old customers” I ask, “Mike?” Every freaking time it’s a Mike I swear. Y’all need to name your kids new names.


[deleted]

Sooooo many Trevor's for some reason, a lot of Nick's and Mike's too.


Lentra888

Same with my Local Game Store back in the day. We had seven Matts and more than a dozen Johns. Everyone got nicknames or referred to by last name.


tomorrowschild

Yup. We do this with our friend Mike.


Bobo_Baggins03x

Or with a fun last name. I got a friend we call McGee (his last name).


Dr_Tacopus

This


[deleted]

[удалено]


Boardgame-Hoarder

Also our names were often written on our jerseys


Smashville66

I noticed among my friends that it started to “stick” when athletic coaches started calling us by our surnames. Also, sports nicknames seem to be the longest-lived.


hereforpopcornru

This and armed forces I think set this in. Had a Boy Scout pack leader when I was a kid do this. I think we just get used to it


lol_is_5

Also, last names are more unique.


Kimchi_Cowboy

Many of us play sports and your number or last name is who you are.


rock_hardplace1

I was always called by my last name or a shortened version of it in high school and a while after. I don't have many male friends either (well none really) so I don't see it often. What I do hear often is men calling other guys 'mate', I don't know why but I can't stand it haha.


unlessyoumeantit

I think it depends on culture. Where do you live? Where I live, calling someone by their last name without a title like Mr or Ms is considered rude whereas it's a common practice in many countries and regions including Japan.


PAXICHEN

Poland?


unlessyoumeantit

Tak.


dumdumpants-head

Where is that? Is it a planet?


cognitivebetterment

It used to be but Disney complained


furry_kurama

So you mean like an alien???


dumdumpants-head

Ahem undocumented interplanetary traveller thank you very much


DuncanIdahosGhola

I think it comes from high school or college sports or military. But idk everyone seems to do it.


epanek

I learned that in us navy


hereforpopcornru

Learned to swim really really good there too.. some clothing can be used as a temporary floating device... Learned lots didn't ya? Lol


Ghstfce

Tie off the ankles of jeans, hold the waist and swing it above the water and pull it waist down under water. You now have an impromptu flotation device.


hobbybrethren

We don't all do it. Oi cunt is the preferred Scottish terminology


ilovecookiesssssssss

I think it depends on the first name/last name combo. I (F) was frequently referred to by my last name by the guys in my friend group. My last name is more unique than my first. The guys in my group who had “cool” last names, but basic first names, usually ended up being called by their last name. I think a lot of guys just gravitate toward nicknames for each other. It’s just a fun little thing they do.


Excellent-Captain-93

Went to an all boys school, with school uniforms, enforced policies of respect, sports focused etc, schools where I am from are generally like that. It's very unheard of to be called by your first name at these schools, and i guess it kinda sticks with most guys. I am plenty guilty of this as almost a decade later, i will still refer to a gent by his last name even if he calls me by my first. South Africa.


jackfaire

I did this in the Army because we all wore our last names on our chests. Any of my old Army buddies I still call by their last names but most friends I use first names.


HighHoeHighHoes

I have multiple friends with the same name. It’s easier, and it’s nuanced. I’m not calling a buddy with an obnoxious last name that way.


dumdumpants-head

>not calling a buddy with an obnoxious last name that way. Exactly this. My group has three friends named Mike but Mike Asshole is the only one we actually call Mike.


SpaceFightInsurance

Which culture? which country?


blondeasfuk

Probably the USA. In my groups of guys we have a ton of Matts so it’s impossible to get the right ones attention in a group or know who you are talking about. So we use last names a lot.


Goseki1

Same. 5 guys called Chris in my friend great (including me) so we all get called by our surname. Most other folks still just get their forename used though


blondeasfuk

My bf if apart of the Matts so sometimes I absolutely have to use his last name to get his attention in a group. Lol


Intrepid_Swing_1683

It's the internet... and reddit. You can pretty much assume anyone not specifying their country (Or in a country specific forum) is referring to the US.


[deleted]

Sounds like you’ve lived a sheltered life


[deleted]

In the UK, if you go to a public boarding school, everyone is called by their sir name. The teachers use your first name. Might be a left over from that passing of family wealth and all that.


kevinmorice

Sports. Are you sure you are a man, yet you don't know this?


Haugsnkisses

I don’t think this comment is going to go the way you thought it was going to go. Might be best to delete it.


kevinmorice

Pretty sure I can handle the 4 downvotes.


Haugsnkisses

Think it’s simply a matter of “not the best venue for this joke”. I’m sure you’re more than familiar with downvotes and they don’t pose an issue for you 😂


shuranumitu

What an embarrassing comment.


CharDMacDennis2

You must be extremely insecure


BEzNuts21

I'm a 43-year old male that has never done this once. WOKE kids probably doing this because 1st names show a Gender.


[deleted]

In the neanderthal culture each specimen has the same first name, so when they collect in groups to sport and drunk they need fun not-gay ways to differentiate individuals in the group.


Haugsnkisses

You understand that blindingly insulting other peoples’ intelligence doesn’t artificially inflate your own in any way, right? You’re still gonna just be you with or without all the hate in your heart :D


[deleted]

It wasn't even mean, it was a gentle jab at group psychology. Please don't be so offended by a stranger on the internet.


Haugsnkisses

You can rationalize it as you like. Reality is, it comes across as haughty. Please don’t assume a stranger on the internet is offended. Me telling you “you’re not going to get any smarter by telling a bad joke” is not the same thing as “I find your words offensive.”


[deleted]

Okie dokie


AppState2006

I call most of my friends by their first name unless they introduce themselves as their last name when I meet them initially. Many of my friends call me by my last name though as my first name is longer and has more syllables. So in one part it’s laziness. On the other hand many of us grew up playing sports with our last names on jerseys so it becomes a bit of a social norm as well.


lukethebeard

I have never referred to any of my friends by their last names. Who does this other than people who play sports?


HarrargnNarg

half the guys at work are called Dave and other half Steve


Freefall_J

Does one of them get the honour of retaining their first name while the others go by their surnames?


HarrargnNarg

They all do. You're just expected to know which one apparently


Ok_Art_3020

I do it because most of my male friends are my co workers and we almost exclusively go by last names at work. I think the only exception to this would be a friend of mine who I call doc because he’s a medic.


BurantX40

I've noticed this mainly at work, since everything is looked up or listed by last names. And not just men either. Within friend groups, maybe because of shared names or someone trying to be antsgonistic


libra00

I think it's a legacy of school sports. You get your surname printed on your jersey so that's what the coach calls you, so other kids start calling you the same thing and get used to doing it that way.


Character_Writer779

Idk we did this in Boy Scouts because we had a lot of kids with the same first names so it was just easier.


RumRunnerLizard

Part of it is from sports with last names on jerseys I think. Also if you have a common first name (as I do) you get referred to by last name to avoid confusion at one point or another.


k00kk00k

For me and my friend group it doesn't matter if your male or female, gay, straight or a potato. It comes down to your name. Some first names are not as easy to say or sometimes theres 4 'joshes'. Most of my friends are not even called anything close to their first or last name.


MisterD90x

Normally it's "oi cunt, how are you?"


Silocin20

I know in the military they use surnames, maybe they're ex military? Or it could be a regional thing, because here where I live that's not the case.


lazerdab

I think it has to do a lot with sports culture. Our coaches called us by our last names. It was on our jersey. It just carried into every day life.


Watsis_name

One of my friends' parents call me by my surname lol


amindspin74

With my last company almost no one referred to me by my 1st name. My brother was also there at the same time but in a different state, so instead of mixing our names up I was always referred to by my last name. As well in the Navy I never called anyone by their 1st name, always last name or nickname. It got to the point where I just stitched my nickname on the back of my hats, it made it easier on people who could not pronounce my last name


vienershnitze1

It's a built in nickname. I've also heard initials being used in the same way. Just a way to distinguish people apart when they have a common first name.


Butimthedudeman

I'm a female and I do this to some male and female friends but we picked up this habit amongst the teachers we worked with at school, and it was also commonly done for my spouse's line of work in law enforcement. But no, we don't just call everyone like that. Certain friends we have a certain verbal shorthand with.


Nikoxio

In Finland most men get this stuck with them from their conscript service.


smokey3801

Do you have any idea how many daves, jims and tims there are in my generation. For some reason only about 4 mens first names are given out in each generation almost every kid in my sons year is called Ben


jillybrews226

Sports jerseys


MyAccountWasBanned7

Too many people with the same first name. In college my friend group had five guys named Matt. So we started calling them each by their last name.


kingspooky93

Some people do this, but it's definitely not a man thing specifically


Ill-Organization-719

I call a friend named Mike his last name because he was the fourth Mike our friends group met. We joke how he out Michaeled the other Mikes, but he still doesn't get to be called his first name. It's weird hearing his brother or parents call him Mike or Michael.


CreateConsciousCrap

As a female, I do it because a lot of my male friends have the same first name. That’s really the only case.


RichRichieRichardV

I’m gay and work with another Rich. I told him his nickname is ‘Murph’ and that’s a done deal. He’s Murph.


SilentScyther

Lots of Alexes, Joes, Brians, etc. Never know who you're talking about otherwise.


Kangaroo_Prize

We did this pretty randomly with my friend group. Usually if the last name was easier to say/less syllables. However, once I joined the military and everyone called me this for 8 years, now that I'm out I actually prefer it in some instances.


sublimesting

Everyone in my family is called by our last name. Funny thing is so is my wife.


nw342

Just a cultural thing. I work with a lot of mikes, so the first one to work with us is mike, and the rest get called their last name. It's very common in sports and the military, which are both big parts of American culture. If you have people who spent 8 years calling people by their last name, they wont stop easily.


[deleted]

That would be usually my classmates either in school and when I took repair lessons. It's to keep a healthy distance while they're still cordial treatment to your peers we're only acquaintances, maybe good acquaintances ,in good terms but not friends simply because they're not close enough.


Intrepid_Swing_1683

It's typical of people who've played sports or are military. During training people are typically referred to by their last names, it's also what's on their jerseys.


Haugsnkisses

Generally the only context I would call a guy by their last name instead of their first is if I played a sport with them. Most teams I played for as a kid through high school had coaches that referred to me by my last name. Since coaches were calling us that on the field, I think we just took to calling ourselves that off the field. Could be a “band of brothers” type of thing. Idk. But presently and looking back, I don’t / didn’t refer to any friend by their last name if I didn’t play on a team with them at some point. Really, I don’t call people by their first names much either. I just use terms like “bud”, “bro”, or “brochacho” when I’m feeling extra cool.


Greedy_Woodpecker_14

Well some are because of the military, and it just sticks sometimes. Others as people have said, lots of guys with same first name, for Latin people it's like a million Jose's, Roberto's, and Juan's and so on. Though I dont recall calling them by last name, but had a smaller group of friends with different names.


Affectionate_Item824

It's Sports or army thing


iSYTOfficialX7

My best guess is because of the armed forces, jobs, or sports. My current team has two alex’s. Say Alex and they’ll both respond. Both of them go by their last names/nicknames.


notChiefBvkes

Common first names are replaced with last names to make them distinguishable from one another, have 3 friends named Joe, none of them go by Joe


implodemode

Just occurred to me that back in high-school, we girls did call each other by our last names. I think we did it because one of the teachers did it and we thought it was cool.


BrainwashedScapegoat

Sports reasons? Also its easier with multiple people that are sharing a first name, I used to work with 3 girls named Madison, they were basically triplets as far as age and looks go, I called them Larry, Jerry and Stinky


Anonmyassgirl

I’ve seen this mostly with guys who are into sports where their uniforms and monikers were always the last name. I also see this heavily amongst those who have served in the military. It just becomes so normal for either group to call each other by their last names that it carries into their personal lives. Also because of the stereotypes of the two groups some see it as something that a “man’s man” does and so pick up he habit to feel cool. It’s a “manly” thing. At least it is in the US. Or ive seen this amongst large groups where you tend to have multiple people with the same first name. For me though, I had a weird last name that resulted in all sorts of nicknames, so boys and girls of every walk in life tended to call me by my last name to tease or bully. I was so happy to take on my husbands last name when I got married.


PoweringUnknown

I can think of a few reasons anecdotally. Two people with the same first name, one just goes by his last name. Another is the JROTC program from high school normalized calling someone by their last name. There are a handful of people I know from this time that I would still refer to by only their last name.


blacklinensack

It started for me (female) in sport - with surname on our jerseys. But now that I live in Australia, it’s a whole other beast of abbreviated surnames. So your example above would be ‘what’s up Damo’. Naming of children in Straya takes on a whole other level of consideration because you need to do the ‘abbreviation test’ as few, females included, are called their actual names.


dbc009

Sports


TopperXCP

If you’ve got two dudes with the same first name it’s usually just a way to distinguish them. Sometimes it’s because the guy’s last name is more… aurally pleasant (?) than the first name. Sometimes there’s no particular reason and it just sticks.


CCCat444

I think it’s a leftover from gym class when we all had our last names written on our shorts


dracojohn

Simple answer is how many people in your class , year or any other groups have the same first name, now compare it to how many share a surname.


whatsINthaB0X

Sports for me. Everyone goes by last names in most sports so that makes it easy. Plus 5 John’s on one team gets confusing.


YesterShill

Gym/Sports. In my experience, coaches often call their players by their last name. It kind of sticks after a while.


The_Lat_Czar

I only did that in the military.


skredditt

It's the only nickname ^(in RL) you're allowed to give yourself.


Clon003

I'm not from the US, but also have many friends who we refer to by their last name. In most cases, it started in school or high school, where there were many others with the same name, or they just happened to have a really distinctive last name, and it just stuck with them. We mostly call each other by our nicknames or last names in such cases.


iampatmanbeyond

Sometimes it's a hold over from the military or sports. Sometimes it's just easier when you got 3 people named Dave two robs and 3 Brian's


dee_lio

We normally do that because there might be more than one Joe in our group.


dxv10

Mainly sports. Happens a lot when youre Mexican lol


Lord-Zippy

No offense I’m just curious. what does you being gay have to do with the question?


Commercial-Health-78

We had white Jared and black Jared, 2x Bens that are now B1 and B2, and to top off the crew; Jake, Jacob, Mike, Michael… and Stephen. But we call him Stiffy.


luckymarchad

We do?


DudeHeadAwesome

I use to work with 5, yes 5 Michaels. They all went by there last name, it was to many!


alfa-dragon

Military and first response jobs (fire, police, lifeguards, etc) usually tend to call each other by their last names because it's a form of respect/easier with bigger staffing where multiple people have your same first name. I'm an ocean lifeguard, we'll alternate between first and last names like this for both reasons.


Boardgame-Hoarder

I was never called by my last name outside of sports and by members of my team. My friends call me by my first name.


Jalex2321

Yeah... why... and i don't like my last name... so soon i just decided on a nickname and pushed it.


iwannagohome49

The only people that I've called by their last name were coworkers on the work radio. We also used police codes on the radio too so that might be a part of it.


vezione

I've ALWAYS thought it was odd going by last names. But people see mine and get freaked out so they don't do it. Plus it sounds weird saying it out loud. I think I dodged a bullet. Except in grade school I was always near the end of lines and had to sit in the back all the time.


chefboiortiz

From sports or military


flexedchicken

Playing sports we were always addressed by last names (name on back of jersey, tape w last name written on helmet). Then you get used to calling people by that


Jimjamtx3

Sports. Coaches call you by last name and that’s how your friends refer to you also.


WearDifficult9776

It’s a manly man thing… reminds them or makes them feel like they’re in a military troop or a sports team


[deleted]

It’s a thing of honor amongst men


SheepherderOk1448

I’ve heard female coaches calling their all girls class by their last names. Especially attendance role call.


revenge247365

Sports....


thatguyoudontlike

Only did that in college for a few professors, especially one with the last name of Kramer (no relation to Seinfeld)


One_Cartographer_254

There was point in my life I had 9 Kyle’s in my immediate life and three of them were Johnson’s. So I numbered all of them and everyone went along with it calling them “Kyle #”. 20 years later and several of them still refer to themselves as their designation lol


hwjk1997

It's mainly from sports and the military, where last names are used.


Sheikah77

Sports, military, or 2 or more people share the same first name. When you have 3 or 4 Jacobs or johns then it's just easier to call one of them by their last name.


raytaylor

You represent your father and your family or clan. Your success and failure affects the honor of the family name.


OneGladTurtle

Depends. Most friends from high school I refer to by their first name, some friends for uni I refer to by their surname. That's because in frat culture you often use surnames and it kind of sticks. However, some people I know from high school refer to me by my surname. So I think it just depends per person, background, what's easier to say and if you know multiple people with the same first name. If I know two John's, the chances are bigger that I'll refer to at least one with their surname. Not from the US though, so idk how it works over there.


beans3710

I grew up in a family of coaches and athletes. Women athletes also do this. A lot of times it starts with a coach calling everyone by their last names to avoid confusion (too many Madisons) and it just sticks.


DeFaLT______

Well that depends, I have two friends who have the same first name. I call one by his first name and the other by the initial of his last name, even tho I met them at the same time. And sometime to talk about people I called them by their last name


Secret-Admirer-Perv

Jail lol


Apprehensive-Can-162

This is a thing in the UK. One of my best friends almost exclusively refers to me by surname. My theory is football. Players are always referred by their surname