Aliases of the Doctor

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Revision as of 20:31, 26 February 2018 by 50.249.204.21 (talk) (→‎Other)

Throughout their travels in time and space, the Doctor took on and was called by a number of different aliases, titles and names. Some were fleeting. Others, like John Smith, were used by almost all of their incarnations. The Doctor’s incarnations told few individuals their real name. Instead, they asked others to call them simply, the Doctor.

The Doctor's real name

As the Time Lord's true name was not generally known, "the Doctor" (or "Doctor Who") became an alias. It was implied that his given name was ceremoniously withdrawn and stricken by his Cousins as punishment for a disgrace he brought upon his House. (PROSE: Lungbarrow)

Even when put on trial by the Time Lords, he was only referred to as "the Doctor", (TV: The War Games) although the Valeyard, a culmination of the Doctor's darker side who prosecuted the second trial, acknowledged that this was an alias. (TV: The Mysterious Planet) Even those who had known him in childhood addressed him only as "the Doctor", such as the Master, (TV: Death in Heaven) and the Rani. (COMIC: Weapons of Past Destruction) When the Fifth Doctor was officially inducted as Lord President, he declared that it was "out of the question" for him to be introduced by his true name, stating that he would accept being introduced as 'Lord President Doctor' (AUDIO: Time in Office).

According to one account, during their first incarnation, the Doctor adopted this name in dealing with human colonists on the planet Iwa at the same time that his granddaughter adopted the name "Susan". (PROSE: Frayed) Another account implied that the Doctor's title had been chosen as a Gallifreyan custom, (TV: The Sound of Drums) and that he had been using it before he left Gallifrey. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)

The Doctor's real name has been said to be difficult to pronounce, for humans at least, (AUDIO: Slipback) and certainly for adults, (TV: Twice Upon a Time) possessing thirty eight syllables. (PROSE: Sleepy) The First Doctor once told an interrogator he "wouldn't be able to pronounce the first syllable of [his name]." (PROSE: Salvation) His seventh incarnation likewise told one of his captors that he "doubt[ed] [they]'d be able to pronounce the name [he] was originally given." (PROSE: Illegal Alien) When asked about the Doctor's name, Peri Brown once said that the Doctor had told her she would find it unpronounceable. (AUDIO: Slipback)

The Doctor kept their true name hidden despite numerous "mind-probe" attempts and the effect of a truth field. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace, The Time of the Doctor) The Carrionite Lilith, unable to discover the Tenth Doctor's true name even with the "witchcraft" used by her kind, remarked, "There is no name," and that the Doctor was hiding his true name in despair. (TV: The Shakespeare Code) The psychically-gifted Evelina, who attempted to foretell the Doctor's future, remarked that his "true name" was "hidden" from her. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)

Moments before regenerating into the Thirteenth Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor told his future self that they "mustn't tell anyone your name", before noting "they wouldn't understand it anyway." He acknowledged, however, that "children can hear it, sometimes. If their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too. Children can hear your name. But nobody else, nobody else ever." (TV: Twice Upon a Time)

Significance

The Eleventh Doctor told Clara Oswald that his real name was not important, since he specifically chose the title of "Doctor" to take its place, saying it was "like a promise you make." (TV: The Name of the Doctor) This promise was, as recited by the Tenth and War Doctors; "Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in." (TV: The Day of the Doctor) Despite their hatred of the War Doctor's actions, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors admitted "[he] was the Doctor more than [any of them]." (TV: The Day of the Doctor) When Clara was forced to take on his role for him, the Twelfth Doctor told her that "goodness has nothing to do with [being a Doctor]". (TV: Flatline) The Doctor considered abandoning his name if he felt he had to do something highly immoral (TV: The Beast Below, Face the Raven) The Doctor went by the title of Warrior during the Time War, but proudly called himself the Doctor once he discovered the true outcome of the War. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

The Saxon Master knew of this and implied that the Doctor's title had been chosen because it meant "the man who makes people better", although he found the choice "sanctimonious" for someone who ended millions of lives and ruined many others. (TV: The Sound of Drums) River Song was aware of this contradiction in the Doctor's behaviour: she said that the Doctor was the first to have this title and that the rest of the universe later adopted it, usually to mean "healer" or "wise man". However, she added, in some parts of the universe, such as in the Gamma Forests, it eventually came to mean "mighty warrior". (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)

According to Dorium Maldovar, the Silence had a particular interest in the Doctor's name. He explained that if the Doctor lived long enough, "on the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, [when] no creature could speak falsely or fail to answer", a question that must never be answered would be asked: "Doctor Who?". The Silence wanted to stop the Doctor from revealing his true name. (TV: The Wedding of River Song)

The Doctor was at a later time forced to go to Trenzalore to rescue his friends from the Great Intelligence, which sought to gain access to the Doctor's tomb. The tomb, which was a future version of his own dying TARDIS, would open only to the Doctor's real name. The Intelligence threatened to kill Clara Oswald and the Paternoster Gang if he did not speak his name and open the tomb; the situation was resolved when the data ghost of River Song was able to silently transmit his name to the TARDIS, thus opening the door for the Great Intelligence. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)

The Doctor's real name became important during the Siege of Trenzalore, as it was the signal chosen by the Time Lords to come back to the universe, broadcasting the question 'Doctor Who?' through a crack in reality, simultaneously broadcasting a Truth Field so that they could be sure that it was truly the Doctor responding to them. Despite this, when the Doctor was facing death, Clara told the Time Lords through the Crack that the only name of his that mattered was "the Doctor" and everything he stood for under that name, prompting them to give the Doctor a new regeneration cycle at the cost of closing the crack. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

After meeting his twelfth incarnation, the First Doctor was confronted by the mysterious Testimony Foundation, who claimed that the Doctor was the "Doctor of War". Although the First Doctor initially feared this interpretation of his future, after witnessing his future self's efforts to save Captain Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart, he came to conclude that the "Doctor of War" was not a man who reveled in war, but a man who sought the moments of peace that existed amid open warfare, and who would always try to find another way to end war, and to find resolution, rather than resorting to bloodshed. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)

Ubiquity of the title

The Doctor did possess at least one doctorate. (TV: The Moonbase, The Armageddon Factor, The Mysterious Planet) They sometimes described themselves as a "doctor of many things" (TV: Four to Doomsday) or of "everything". (TV: Spearhead from Space, Utopia) However, their knowledge was limited to anything prior to the Rassilon Era. (TV: Utopia) The Eleventh Doctor claimed that one of his doctorates was in cheesemaking, (TV: The God Complex) but only the "stinky, blue kind". (PROSE: Shroud of Sorrow)

On several occasions, the Doctor stated they were not a medical doctor, (TV: "The Forest of Fear", "Mighty Kublai Khan") though did note that, by their second incarnation, he had studied medicine in the 19th century, (TV: The Moonbase) although the Twelfth Doctor claimed to have graduated in the wrong century.[statement unclear] (TV: Death in Heaven)

Individuals with knowledge of his name

Susan Foreman knew the Doctor's real name, and wrote it on the wrappings of a hypercube she sent to him after she had settled down on Earth. (PROSE: Ghost of Christmas Past)

The Sixth Doctor told his dance instructor, Becky, his name. (PROSE: Teach Yourself Ballroom Dancing)

The Eighth Doctor's companion, Samantha Jones, overheard his real name being said. She found it quite alien and virtually unpronounceable. (PROSE: Vanderdeken's Children)

When the Tenth Doctor first encountered her, River Song claimed to have known him at some point in his future, (TV: Silence in the Library) and, to prove her "credentials", she whispered his name in his ear, and apologised for having to do so. The Doctor was shocked at this, as "there [was] only one reason [he] would ever tell anyone [his] name, [and] only one time [he] could." (TV: Forest of the Dead) River indicated to Clara Oswald that she "made" the Doctor tell her his name and that "it took a lot of effort". (TV: The Name of the Doctor)

Near the end of his tenth incarnation, despite believing there was no one left in the universe who knew it, the Doctor encountered members of an unidentified pan-dimensional race that knew his real name. (AUDIO: The Last Voyage)

While separated from the Eleventh Doctor, Clara Oswald read his name in The History of the Time War. That timeline was later averted, however, leaving her with no memory of it, (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS) though she later began to recall certain moments of the timeline, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) and claimed to know the Doctor's name when bluffing to the Cybermen about being the Doctor. (TV: Death in Heaven)

Missy claimed to know the Doctor's real name from their time together on Gallifrey. She said it was "Doctor Who", and the Doctor had chosen it to be mysterious, but dropped the "Who" when he realised it was too on-the-nose. The Doctor said she was just teasing Bill, but he never answered if it was true. (TV: World Enough and Time)

Commonly used aliases

John Smith

John Smith was an alias the Doctor frequently used on Earth and around humans when a "standard" name was needed. It was often preceded by the title "Doctor", though not always — for example, when he was undercover as a teacher at a school or a patient in a hospital. (TV: School Reunion, Smith and Jones) As "John Smith" was considered a generic name in some Earth cultures, the Doctor's use of the alias was occasionally treated with scepticism. (TV: Midnight)

During their first incarnation, the Doctor used a library card with the name Dr J. Smith while living at 76 Totter's Lane, (TV: The Vampires of Venice) as well as for identification when renting the junkyard. (PROSE: The Rag & Bone Man's Story) The inspiration for the alias was John Smith of John Smith and the Common Men, with which he was familiar through Susan. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)

In their second incarnation, the name was independently used by his companion Jamie McCrimmon while the Doctor was being treated for concussion, as he saw it being used as a brand name on a metal container. (TV: The Wheel in Space) Likewise, Chang Lee chose to register the name for the Seventh Doctor while he was en route to get his bullet wounds healed. (TV: Doctor Who)

The Doctor adopted it on a semi-regular basis during their third incarnation while exiled on Earth, when he served as unpaid scientific advisor to UNIT. (TV: Spearhead from Space, Inferno, The Time Warrior)

The Doctor twice changed himself into a human who used the name John Smith. This occurred in their seventh incarnation, (PROSE: Human Nature) and in their tenth incarnation. (TV: Human Nature)

Often, the Doctor would use variations of the name, like the online handle "jsmith", jsmith8", (PROSE: Blue Box, Lonely) the French variation "Jean Forgeron", (COMIC: The Forgotten) or the German translation "Johann Schmidt". (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass, AUDIO: Storm Warning, et al.)

Known uses of John Smith

First Doctor
Second Doctor
Third Doctor
Fourth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
Seventh Doctor
Eighth Doctor
War Doctor
Ninth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
Twelfth Doctor

Doctor Who

The name "Doctor Who" was applied to the Doctor on several occasions. When the First Doctor was using the name "Doctor Caligari" and someone remarked "Doctor who?" he replied "Yes, quite right." (TV: The Gunfighters) The computer WOTAN repeatedly referred to the First Doctor as "Doctor Who". (TV: The War Machines) Both Ian Chesterton and Vicki occasionally called the Doctor "Doctor Who". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Zarbi)

The Second Doctor briefly used the name Doktor von Wer (literally, "Doctor [of] Who") during his visit to Scotland on 16 April 1746 (TV: The Highlanders) and once signed a message as "Dr W." (TV: The Underwater Menace)

Bessie's license plate during the Third Doctor's time at UNIT read WHO 1; (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians) in the Doctor's seventh incarnation it read WHO 7, (TV: Battlefield) and WHO 8 in his eighth incarnation. (PROSE: The Dying Days) Miss Hawthorne referred to the Third Doctor as "the great wizard Qui Quae Quod"; those three words all mean "who" in Latin. (TV: The Dæmons)

The Fourth Doctor wrote a series of children's books during his time with UNIT which were mistakenly published under the name "Doctor Who": they were intended to be "The Doctor, Who Discovers Historical Mysteries", but the publishers presented it as "Doctor Who Discovers Historical Mysteries". (AUDIO: The Kingmaker) The Curator tapped his own nose when saying, "Who knows." (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

K9 was heard on occasion making playful remarks related to the Who name. (TV: A Girl's Best Friend, Invasion of the Bane) Clive Finch's website called him "Doctor Who". (TV: Rose) Upon reading the Tenth Doctor's mind, Reinette remarked that "Doctor Who" was "more than just a secret". (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace) The oldest question in the universe was "Doctor Who?" (TV: The Wedding of River Song)

The Master addressed a postcard to the Third Doctor as "Dr Who". (COMIC: Fogbound) Missy later told Bill Potts that the Doctor's real name was "Doctor Who", before correcting herself to say that he had picked it in his childhood as an attempt to be mysterious, but that he had dropped the "Who" because it was "too on-the-nose". The Twelfth Doctor told Bill she was just trying to wind her up. He later identified himself as "Doctor Who" to Jorj. (TV: World Enough and Time)

The version of the Doctor in the Land of Fiction was known as Dr. Who. (PROSE: Prelude Conundrum, Conundrum, Head Games)

Theta Sigma

Theta Sigma, informally Thete and occasionally spelt "ΘΣ", was a nickname of the Doctor at the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey. (TV: The Armageddon Factor, The Happiness Patrol; COMIC: Flashback) It identified him uniquely amongst the Time Lords and was not to be spoken outside of the Academy. (PROSE: Falls the Shadow)

When the Doctor's final incarnation permanently died during the first battle of the War, his coffin had the symbols for "Theta" and "Sigma" on it. (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

In an alternative timeline in which Rassilon failed to finish the Eye of Harmony before his death, the Doctor never left Gallifrey and became a commentator rather than a renegade Time Lord. He was known as Commentator Theta Sigma. (AUDIO: Forever)

Theta Sigma was part of River Song's message to the Doctor on the universe's oldest cliff-face. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

K9 was improved by Time Lord Theta Sigma. (PROSE: K9 and the Beasts of Vega)

Oncoming Storm

The Doctor was referred to as the "Oncoming Storm" by the Draconians, (PROSE: Love and War) and in "the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld". (TV: The Parting of the Ways) In Draconian, the title was pronounced "Karshtakavaar". (PROSE: Love and War) After being told of the title by the Ninth Doctor, (TV: The Parting of the Ways) Rose Tyler called the Tenth Doctor by the "Oncoming Storm" when she and Mickey Smith were being prepared for dissection by the Clockwork Droids. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace)

The Tenth Doctor later introduced himself as the "Oncoming Storm" to a Dalek aboard of the Wayfarer, (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks) and referred to the title when confronting a rabbit he thought was a Zygon. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

The Eleventh Doctor began calling himself the "Oncoming Storm" when he misinterpreted Sean's request to help the King's Arms football team "annihilate" another team at a match. (TV: The Lodger) He later referred to the title when the Daleks forgot him. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks)

As early as their second incarnation, the Doctor knew that the Daleks had also given them the epithet "Ka Faraq Gatri", (COMIC: Bringer of Darkness) which translated as "Destroyer of Worlds". (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation) or possibly "Nice guy, if you're a biped". (PROSE: Continuity Errors) He had been awarded the name upon orchestrating the destruction of the Dalek home planet Skaro in his seventh incarnation, (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) though the Daleks also used it prior to Skaro's destruction. (COMIC: Bringer of Darkness) Davros also referred to the Doctor as "the Destroyer of Worlds" after the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor destroyed the New Dalek Empire on the Crucible. (TV: Journey's End)

Other aliases

The following is a list of aliases used by the Doctor in each of their incarnations.

First Doctor

  • Wissfornjarl: While on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney in 1956, the Doctor was given this name by the spaywife Janet McKay. After seeing his arrival in the TARDIS, she mistook him for the island's protector from Norse mythology. He believed that it was simplest to accept the name. The name meant "Wise Old Chieftain," which Ian thought was appropriate. (AUDIO: The Revenants)

Second Doctor

  • The Examiner: Still not sure if he was the Doctor after his first regeneration, the Doctor took on the identity of an Examiner from Earth after the original one was assassinated by Bragen. (TV: The Power of the Daleks) Near the end of his life, he masqueraded as another Examiner, this time of a non-existing War Prison in an attempt to liberate Jamie from said prison. (TV: The War Games)

Third Doctor

Fourth Doctor

Fifth Doctor

  • The Supremo: The Doctor called himself "the Supremo" while leading the alliance against the army of the renegade Time Lord Morbius. Originally, his title was "Supreme Controller", but the Ogrons of his personal guard could not pronounce it and shortened it to the simpler "Supremo". (PROSE: Warmonger)

Sixth Doctor

  • The Sandman: Adopted as part of a plan to stop an alien race attacking others by inspiring the idea of him as a monster. (AUDIO: The Sandman)
  • Mr. Nocturne: Used when he arrived a few days early after receiving a message from Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot. In order to preserve time, he couldn't let them meet him before they sent the message. A variation on the name "Dark". (AUDIO: Masterpiece)

Seventh Doctor

Eighth Doctor

  • John Doe: In a continuation of the circumstances described above for the Seventh Doctor, the Eighth Doctor was referred to by this name after his escape from the morgue was discovered. (TV: Doctor Who)
  • Dr James Alistair Bowman: Dr. Grace Holloway came up with the name "Dr Bowman" for the Eighth Doctor whilst introducing him to others at the New Year's Eve party. (TV: Doctor Who) The Doctor subsequently used this alias on occasion, filling it out to James Alistair Bowman. (PROSE: Seeing I)
  • Doctor Doctor: Inadvertently introduced as such when talking to Doctor Charles Roley and his staff; Samantha Jones dismissed it as an amusing irony, with the Doctor explaining that this was why he preferred to just be known as "Doctor". (PROSE: The Taint)
  • Dr Friedlander: While visiting Banquo Manor, he assumed the name of a real Doctor Friedlander who hadn't arrived at the Manor in order to avoid having to explain his presence. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)
  • Dr Jack-of-the-Moon: This was a term meaning those who concentrated on high-minded things at the expense of the normal world. It was used to refer to the Doctor (for example, on his marriage invitation) during his time on Henrietta Street. (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street)
  • Doctor Jack Halliday: mistake for the real Jack Halliday after finding his body and deciding to look in his office for clues about what happened to him. The original Halliday was not a doctor, but Charley referred to him as such and the Doctor claimed that he just didn't advertise the title to avoid giving people the wrong idea. (AUDIO: Invaders from Mars)
  • Dr Foster: To hide his identity from Nyssa, he introduced himself as Dr Foster from the planet Gloucester, famous for its rains and huge puddles. (AUDIO: A Heart on Both Sides)

War Doctor

Ninth Doctor

  • Doctor Table: Used while trying to get a Neanderthal out of a hospital, claiming to be an expert in a rare disease that the man was suffering from. (PROSE: Only Human)

Tenth Doctor

  • Sir Doctor of TARDIS: After being knighted under this name, the Doctor tried to use it when he met William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's mind could not be swayed by psychic paper used to show his title. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
  • Spartacus: When visiting Pompeii in 79 A.D, the Doctor and Donna both called themselves 'Spartacus', which had been a minor joke. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)
  • Doctor Noble: The Doctor used this when investigating the Ood Industries claiming that he and Donna were from the Noble Corporation. (TV: Planet of the Ood)
  • Time Lord Victorious: A very brief title the Tenth Doctor was going to start using after interfering with a fixed point in time and saving Adelaide Brooke from her death. When Adelaide killed herself to restore the timeline, causing several changes that the Tenth Doctor instantly saw because of what he had done, the Tenth Doctor was filled with extreme guilt and horror over what he did, quickly abandoning the "Time Lord Victorious" title. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

Eleventh Doctor

  • The Anti-Squid: A title the Doctor put little thought into due to the lack of preparation time. Meaning of the title is that he is the Devil of the space squid religion. (PROSE: Space Squid)

Twelfth Doctor

  • The Architect: A title used to disguise his identity when arranging to rob the Bank of Karabraxos; until the heist was almost complete, he was unable to remember this thanks to the deliberate use of a memory worm. (TV: Time Heist)
  • Dr McGuiness: An alias he assumed while investigating "the Bell" experiment in 1944, but was quickly found out and mistaken for a German spy. (PROSE: The Crawling Terror)
  • Skovox Artificer: Using a voice manipulator, the Doctor was able to convince a Skovox Blitzer that he was its superior and got it to deactivate itself. (TV: The Caretaker)
  • Doctor Mysterio: A young Grant's name for the Doctor, if he were a comic book character, which the Doctor professed a liking to. Grant used the name again after he encountered the Doctor once more as an adult. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

Nicknames

A list of names other individuals have called the Doctor throughout his travels.

First Doctor

  • The Traveller from Beyond Time: The epiphet given to the Doctor by the Elders. (TV: The Savages)

Second Doctor

  • Scarecrow: Spitefully used as a retort against his unkempt appearance by the Third Doctor in return for being called "fancy pants". (TV: The Five Doctors)

Third Doctor

  • Fancy Pants: An insult used by the Second Doctor to get a parting shot in at his successor's appearance before the incarnations went their separate ways. (TV: The Five Doctors)

Fourth Doctor

  • The Wizard: Emily, a child in whom Leela was reborn after her death, referred to the Doctor as "the Wizard." (AUDIO: The Child)

Fifth Doctor

Sixth Doctor

Seventh Doctor

  • Professor: Ace calls the Doctor this instead of his preferred name. (TV: Dragonfire, et al)
  • The Umbrella Man: After he rewrote her history, Elizabeth Klein referred to him as such given she was not aware of his identity. (AUDIO: Dominion)
  • The Traveller from Beyond Time: A name the Doctor gives himself against Lily. (AUDIO: Afterlife)
  • The Sandman: A name the Doctor gives himself against Lily. (AUDIO: Afterlife)

Eighth Doctor

  • Tigger / Eeyore: When the Doctor is split into three, each bearing different parts of his personality, Charley Pollard gives these nicknames to the bouncy and excitable, and the surly and ruthless Doctors. (AUDIO: Caerdroia)

War Doctor

  • Dalek Killer: One of the names awarded to the War Doctor by the Daleks. (PROSE: Engines of War)
  • The Great Scourge: One of the names awarded to the War Doctor by the Daleks. (PROSE: Engines of War)
  • The Living Death: One of the names awarded to the War Doctor by the Daleks. (PROSE: Engines of War)
  • The Executioner: One of the names awarded to the War Doctor by the Daleks. (PROSE: Engines of War)
  • Grandad: A nickname given by the Eleventh Doctor due to the War Doctor's aged appearance. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
  • The Mad Fool: A nickname given by the General, since the War Doctor was working against the Time Lords' plans and seemingly ensuring their destruction. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
  • Captain Grumpy: A nickname given by the Eleventh Doctor due to the War Doctor's serious personality. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
  • The Doctor of War: A name that arose as part of a saying used to describe him during the Time War. Gastron quoted it as, "The first thing you will notice about the Doctor of War is he's unarmed. For many, it's also the last." (TV: Hell Bent, Twice Upon a Time)

Ninth Doctor

  • U-boat Captain: A snide nickname given by Captain Jack, who mocked the Ninth Doctor's leather jacket, which made him look like a German officer. (TV: The Empty Child)
  • The Final Judgement: Title used by Addison Delamar when auctioning off the Doctor's memories. (COMIC: The Bidding War)
  • The Prophet: Called so by Father Heretika, a representative of the Church of the Evergreen Man, a race who believed the Doctor to be a messiah. (COMIC: The Bidding War)
  • Big Ears: Mickey Smith describes the Ninth Doctor in this way, causing the latter to believe Mickey was saying he wasn't handsome. (TV: Boom Town)
  • The Great Exterminator: The name given to the Doctor by the Dalek Emperor whilst preparing a Delta Wave. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)
  • The Great Destroyer: Another name given to the Doctor by the Dalek Emperor, whilst taunting the Doctor to use his Delta Wave. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)
  • Big Nose: The Tenth Doctor refers to this incarnation as such when questioning the Alternate Twelfth Doctor about his whereabouts. (COMIC: Four Doctors)

Tenth Doctor

  • Martian Boy: Donna Noble often called the Doctor by this name if not using Spaceman, originally earning her protests that he was not from Mars, leading to her calling him the latter. (TV: The Runaway Bride, et al)
  • Mr. Conditional Clause: a nickname given by a frustrated Luke Rattigan after the Doctor said "ATMOS system" as a clapback because "ATMOS" meant "Atmospheric Omission System" and the Doctor would, according to Luke, be saying "Atmospheric Omission System system". This was because Luke earlier had said to the thought of moving to other planets "if only that was possible" and the Doctor corrected him saying "if only that were possible", saying it was a "conditional clause". (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem)
  • Dick van Dyke: Another mocking nickname given by the Eleventh Doctor, after the Tenth commented on the War Doctor's gravely voice. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
  • Number Ten: Used by the Eleventh Doctor when discussing his regeneration cycle with Clara Oswald. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

Eleventh Doctor

  • A Madman with a Box: A title Amy Pond bestows on him on their first encounter after fourteen years, which he later adopts. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
  • Space Gandalf: When questioned by Amy as to what kind of person he's like, the Doctor answers that he's this. (TV: Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2)
  • The Rotmeister: When he is talking to Craig Owens about the suspiciously growing rot on his ceiling, he refers to himself as the "Rotmeister" since he was an expert in rot. (TV: The Lodger)
  • The King of Okay: A title he gave to himself when Amy was shocked to see him alive and well, having seen his older self be shot and killed at Lake Silencio. He immediately tossed the idea aside, saying it was a "rubbish title", giving Rory his own title instead. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
  • My Thief / My Beautiful Idiot: Names given to the Doctor by the spirit of his TARDIS during their brief time together when House took over the empty shell. (TV: The Doctor's Wife)
  • Monster: Ada Gillyflower called the Doctor her "monster", after he had been rejected by Mr Sweet's poison. She kept him alive because it was strange that he survived despite "rejection", and to have her own secret. (TV: The Crimson Horror)
  • Chinny: The Tenth Doctor's nickname for the Eleventh Doctor, who had a very prominent chin. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
  • The Demon: Kovarian taught the assassins she raised to kill the Doctor to refer to him as the Demon. The sound of his TARDIS was also referred to as "the Demon's roar". (AUDIO: The Furies)
  • Number Eleven: Clara calls him this when he discusses his regeneration cycle (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
  • Number Twelve: After reminding Clara of his Time War incarnation, she renumbers him (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

Twelfth Doctor

  • Outer Space Dad: Called so by Danny after he learned about the Doctor's identity; at the time, he had mistaken the Doctor for Clara's father. (TV: The Caretaker)
  • The Eyebrows: A nickname given to him by Missy to differentiate the twelfth incarnation from the other Doctors. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)
  • Basil: The Doctor jokingly said this was his real name when questioning Osgood about what her given name was, she began referring to him as Basil. (TV: The Zygon Inversion)

Other

  • Belot'ssar: A title used by the Ice Warriors to refer to the Doctor. The name means "cold blue star" in reference to either the light on top of the TARDIS or the cold blue star he showed them to settle near after Mars became uninhabitable. The name was given to him by Lord Azylax. (PROSE: The Silent Stars Go By)

Behind the scenes

  • The first edition of the behind-the-scenes book The Making of Doctor Who, published in 1972, stated that the Doctor's name was "∂³∑x²". This has never been confirmed in any Doctor Who narrative, but these letters do appear on the plinth in the Tomb of Rassilon in The Five Doctors. They are also seen on K9's regeneration unit in Regeneration.
    • The same first edition explained the Doctor "is never cowardly" which was expanded in the second edition to "never cruel or cowardly" and that "He never gives in, and he never gives up." These phrases were later used in the TV series as the promise the Doctor made when chosing his name.
  • During Comic-Con 2012, Steven Moffat, the head writer, has confirmed that he knows what the Doctor's real name is, although the said name has not, as of yet, appeared in-narrative.
  • In The Night of the Doctor, the incarnation of the Doctor that follows the Eighth Doctor is referred to in the closing credits by the name "War Doctor". This name has yet to actually be used on screen in a narrative; it was, however, used by Strax in a fourth wall-breaking lead-in for Deep Breath detailing all the Doctor's previous incarnations. In an interview with the Daily Mail published on 16 November 2013, actor John Hurt used the name to refer to his version of the Doctor.[2] However, in the 2015 episode Hell Bent, this incarnation was referred to by the alternate name the Doctor of War.
    • The title of 'Doctor of War' was subsequently used to refer to the Doctor as a whole by Testimony, an organization based in the far future, due to his crucial role in so many conflicts.
  • Executive producer Steven Moffat jokingly said that no one can know the Doctor's name, except each successive showrunner. "We're commanded never to reveal what we have learned, because then the show would have to be renamed Mildred. Oh, bugger."[3]

Footnotes

  1. The actual signature is not seen on screen, but Sylvester McCoy's hand movement in the scene makes it clear that he signed a question mark.
  2. Hastings, Chris (16 November 2013). Doctor Who was one of my toughest roles, says John Hurt... star of Alien and Elephant Man. Mail Online. Retrieved on 12 April 2016.
  3. Doctor Who's real name is Mildred, claims Steven Moffat. NME. Retrieved on 12 April 2016.