What is Mononymous person?
[[File:Molière - Nicolas Mignard (1658).jpg|thumb|[[Molière]] was the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. [[Nicolas Mignard]] painted this [[portrait]] in 1758]] [[File:Emperor Akihito cropped Akihito 090710-1600b.jpg|thumb|[[Akihito]], the current [[Emperor of Japan]], does not have a composed name.]] A '''mononymous person''' is a person who is known and addressed by a single name. Such names are called [[wikt:mononym|mononym]]s. In some cases, the person was known by a composed name (''polynym'') before, and selected a single name. Today, this is often the case with [[artist]]s, who select a [[stage name]]. In many cultures, people only had one name. This is the case of [[Ancient Greece]]. Composed names were only used to avoid confusion. Both [[Zeno of Elea]] and [[Zeno of Citium]] were called ''Zeno'', but the origin was added to avoid confusing the two. In [[Ancient Rome]], people had a composed name which included a clan name and a family name, which did not change. While we refer to [[Cicero]] as Cicero, his real name was ''Marcus Tullius Cicero''. Sometimes he is called ''Tully'' in [[English language|English]]. Other people called ''Tullius'' include [[Manius Tullius Longus]], a [[Roman consul]], about 500 BC, and [[Quintus Tullius Cicero]], one of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]s generals. [[Nero]] was known as ''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''. After the Romans, composed names started to be more commonplace in the [[Middle Ages]]. In the Americas, mononyms survived until the early 20th century. Examples include [[Pocahontas]] (1595-1617) and [[Geronimo]] (1829-1909). Pocahontas married and English settler, and took the name ''Rebecca Rolfe'' after her [[marriage]]. [[Royal family|Royals]] usually adopt a single name. Sometimes, a numeral is added. That way, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] (1533-1603) and [[Elizabeth II of England|Elizabeth II]] (born 1926) both have a surname, but it is not used. Similarly, [[pope]]s select a single name, when they are elected. The current pope is c