Aliases of the Doctor

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Revision as of 12:31, 24 June 2022 by 62.254.224.52 (talk)

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, while others, like John Smith, were used by almost all of their incarnations, with some variations. The Doctor told very few people their original name, instead asking others to simply call them the Doctor. By many accounts, the Doctor considered this title to be their real name. (TV: The Name of the Doctor et al.) It was their chosen identity, and a promise to the universe. (TV: The Sound of Drums, The Beast Below, The Day of the Doctor)

In other accounts, however, the Doctor's "true name" was the one which was hidden, a guarded secret the Doctor kept from almost everyone. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace, The Shakespeare Code, The Fires of Pompeii, The Time of the Doctor) Most names the Doctor kept were a matter of convenience, and they were prone to take on whichever name would help them blend in best, or stand out more, depending on the situation. Some companions felt this was not the Doctor's strongest suit, however. (AUDIO: What Just Happened? et al.)

The Doctor's real name

Most accounts treated the Doctor's true name as a complete mystery. Bill Potts, his student, asserted that "nobody [knew] the Doctor's real name", although Missy claimed that she was an exception to this given that she "grew up with him". (TV: World Enough and Time) One account even implied that their given name was ceremoniously withdrawn and stricken by their Cousins as punishment for a disgrace the Doctor had brought upon their House. (PROSE: Lungbarrow) However, the Doctor's true name did appear in secret files created by the High Court of the Time Lords, containing a transcript of the Doctor's trial, where it was spelled as "∂³Σx²". (PROSE: The Trial of Doctor Who) While wandering in the Doctor's TARDIS, Clara Oswald read a history of the Time War which apparently told her the Doctor's name, causing her to remark "So that's who." (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)

Even when put on trial by the Time Lords, they were 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) 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) Even those who had known them in childhood addressed them only as "the Doctor", such as the Master, (TV: Death in Heaven) and the Rani. (COMIC: Weapons of Past Destruction)

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) Other accounts 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, World Enough and Time)

The Doctor's real name has been said to be difficult to pronounce, for humans at least, (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, 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) Moments before his regeneration, however, the Twelfth Doctor stated his belief that "children [could] hear [his name]", but only when "their hearts [were] in the right place, and the stars [were] too." (TV: Twice Upon a Time)

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 that "there [was] no name," and that the Doctor was hiding it 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)

By one account, in his youth, the Doctor had outright removed his name from time, all but he and the Master forgetting his birth name. (AUDIO: Blood of the Time Lords)

Significance

By one account, names held mystic importance in Time Lord society, meaning that all Time Lords kept their true names as closely-guarded secrets. In this sense, the Doctor's name was not any more or less significant than any other Time Lord's. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion)

The Eleventh Doctor told Clara Oswald that his original name was not important since he specifically chose the title of "Doctor" to take its place, saying it was "like a promise [one made]." (TV: The Name of the Doctor) This promise was; "Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in." (TV: The Day of the Doctor) Even Clara considered "the Doctor" to be his true name and the only one that mattered. (TV: The Time of the Doctor) Despite their hatred of the War Doctor's actions, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) both the tenth and eleventh incarnations 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 War Doctor rejected the name to fight in the Time War, (TV: The Night of the Doctor) but proudly called himself the Doctor once he was given the chance to end the conflict without killing the Time Lords. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) During his final day, the Twelfth Doctor stated being "the Doctor" was being kind, even if it meant pulling a self-sacrifice to bring others a small amount of extra time to live. (TV: The Doctor Falls) The Thirteenth Doctor said that a "bit of adrenaline, dash of outrage and a hint of panic" helped her to remember she was the Doctor. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)

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 that, 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 the Twelfth Doctor's efforts to save Captain Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart, he came to conclude that the "Doctor of War" was not a man who revelled 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) as well as "a scientist, an engineer, builder of things". (TV: The Aztecs) 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 claimed they were not a medical doctor. (TV: "The Forest of Fear", "Mighty Kublai Khan") Though by their second incarnation, he had studied medicine in the 19th century, (TV: The Moonbase) although Clara recalled the Doctor telling her that he graduated in the wrong century. (TV: Death in Heaven) The Eleventh Doctor described himself as a medical doctor. (TV: The God Complex) The seventh, eleventh and twelfth incarnations displayed some medical knowledge, being able to help with minor injuries (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, The Vampires of Venice) and tell if a person was vitamin deficient. (TV: Thin Ice) The Ninth Doctor could also diagnose patients in a hospital ward, quickly deducing they all shared the injuries of a scar on the back of their hands, collapsed chest cavities, crushed rib cages and gas masks fused into the flesh on their faces, (TV: The Empty Child) and displayed extensive knowledge on nanogenes, such as their ability to repair organic matter and restore life as a mere "quirk of matter". (TV: The Doctor Dances) The Tenth Doctor in particular proved a proficient medic, performing life-saving surgery on Laszlo, sustaining him as a Human-Pig hybrid, able to live as long as a human again. (TV: Evolution of the Daleks)

When asked by Mabli if her doctorate was in medicine, the Thirteenth Doctor described herself as having a doctorate in "medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, Lego, philosophy, music, problems, people, [and] hope." (TV: The Tsuranga Conundrum)

Individuals with knowledge of the Doctor's 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, Sam 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 life, despite believing there was no one left in the universe who knew it, the Tenth 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. Though that timeline was aborted, leaving her with no memory of it, (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS) 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) Additionally, she was able to hear and see River when she said the Doctor's name to open his tomb, but the circumstances of River's saying of the Doctor's name are unknown. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)

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 Twelfth Doctor said she was just teasing Bill Potts, but he refused to answer if it was truly his name. (TV: World Enough and Time)

"Doctor Who"

The name "Doctor Who" was used by or applied to the Doctor on a large number of occasions, with accounts varying on whether this seemed to be the time-traveller's actual name — or at any rate a name they accepted and used for themselves — or simply a placeholder applied to them by others for lack of knowledge of his real names.

The Third Doctor once stated that his real name was not "Doctor Who", but that others often called him that for lack of him divulging his actual true name. (TV: The Shrink)

The Master addressed a postcard to the Third Doctor as "Dr Who". (COMIC: Fogbound) Missy later made two bold claims to Bill Potts in quick succession, first that "Doctor Who" was in fact the Doctor's real name, and second that it was, more specifically, an alias he had chosen himself early on, as an attempt to "sound mysterious". In this account, he would later drop the "Who" because it was "a tiny bit on-the-nose". The Twelfth Doctor told Bill she was just trying to wind her up, but he later identified himself as "Doctor Who" to Jorj, noting that he liked the name. (TV: World Enough and Time) According to one account, a conversation he had with Missy at an earlier point bore out Missy's claim, seeing him explain to her that the name arose from the question of "who to save", calling it "the Doctor's Who". (COMIC: The Road To...)

When the First Doctor was using the name "Doctor Caligari" and someone remarked, "Doctor who?" he replied, "Yes, quite right."; (TV: The Gunfighters) similarly, when Jimmy Forbes asked "Doctor who?", another incarnation of the Doctor replied "Yes, if you like.", (AUDIO: Seven Keys to Doomsday) and when Citizen 327KL asked "Doctor who?", the Fourth Doctor simply said "yes". (TV: Dr. Who For Keep Australia Beautiful) The Fourth Doctor outright stated that his name was "Dr Who" when Richard the Lionheart asked for his name; King Richard later referred to him as simply "Who". (PROSE: Doctor Who Discovers The Conquerors)

The TARDIS-Keeper on Gallifrey also knew the Doctor as "Who". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon)

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) as did Argon, (PROSE: Terror on Tiro) Mitzog, (PROSE: The Cloud Exiles) and Phlege. (COMIC: Mission for Duh) The Doctor's grandson John (COMIC: The Klepton Parasites) used the last name "Who". (PROSE: Beware the Trods!)

The First Doctor used the username "Dr_who" when bidding on the TARDIS, which he lost to Buchanan in a bet, on RetroAuction.com in 2006. (PROSE: The Mother Road)

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 he once signed a message as "Dr W." (TV: The Underwater Menace) The Zaons called him "Doctor Who". (PROSE: Daleks Invade Zaos)

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 aged Keeper of the Files referred to the Doctor with the name "Who". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon)

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, due to a miscommunication, presented it as "Doctor Who Discovers Historical Mysteries". (AUDIO: The Kingmaker) A version of the Doctor in a young boy's imagination, based off a fictional depiction of the Doctor off television, claimed that she was "not allowed" to refer to herself as "Doctor Who", despite personally finding the "brilliant". (PROSE: The Terror of the Umpty Ums)

K9 occasionally made 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 version of the Doctor in the Land of Fiction was known as Dr. Who. (PROSE: Prelude Conundrum, Conundrum, Head Games) On television in the 1960s, fans referred to him as Dr. Who. (COMIC: TV Terrors)

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, with the Eighth Doctor noting it was "the nom de guerre [he] seem[ed] to keep ending up with". (PROSE: Alien Bodies) 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)

The First 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 a concussion, as he saw it being used as a brand name on a metal container. (TV: The Wheel in Space) The Doctor himself used the alias when being interrogated by a German soldier. (TV: The War Games) 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 the name 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 UNIT files referred to him as "Dr. J.S.". (AUDIO: Tales from the Vault)

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)

The Thirteenth Doctor once made use of a variant, "Jane Smith", while hiding her true identity from Martha Jones. (COMIC: A Little Help from My Friends)

By one account, "John Smith" was the name which the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor chose to go upon settling down with Rose Tyler. (COMIC: Empire of the Wolf)

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, The Pandorica Opens) It identified him uniquely amongst the Time Lords and was not to be spoken outside of the Academy. (PROSE: Falls the Shadow) Despite this, both contemporaries of the Doctor (TV: The Armageddon Factor) and the Doctor themself mentioned the name while away from the Academy and Gallifrey. According to the author of The Time Lord Letters, a historical document compiling writings by and concerning the Doctor, "Theta Sigma" was also their Academy Student Identification Code. (PROSE The Time Lord Letters)

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

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

When the Doctor's final incarnation permanently died during the first battle of the War in Heaven, his coffin had two Greek letters on it; one of these was "Sigma". (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

In an alternate 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)

Oncoming Storm

The Doctor was referred to as the "Oncoming Storm" by the Draconians, (PROSE: Love and War) himself (PROSE: Vampire Science) 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)

Destroyer of Worlds

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)

First Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Second Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Third Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Fourth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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  • The Bohemian / The Wanderer: Titles given to the Fourth Doctor by the Master. (GAME: Destiny of the Doctors)
  • The Evil One: The Sevateem tribe referred to the Doctor as "the Evil One". Xoanon, the supercomputer which they worshipped, had two personalities, one of which was based on the Fourth Doctor. (TV: The Face of Evil)
  • The Wizard: Emily, a child in whom Leela was reborn after her death, referred to the Doctor as "the Wizard." (AUDIO: The Child)
  • The Boggle-Eyed Demon: Delthea's people believed the Doctor was a malevolant being from their history who had brought their civilisation to ruin by destroying the Protector. He was remembered as the Boggle-Eyed Demon is their pantomimes and other stories which villified him. (PROSE: The Destroyers)
  • Everywhere Man: The Tarl leader Ergu opted to refer to the Doctor as this was after asking him about his origins. The Doctor answered he came from "everywhere". (AUDIO: The Exxilons)

Fifth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Sixth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Seventh Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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  • Professor: Ace called the Doctor this instead of his preferred name. (TV: Dragonfire et al.)

Titles and epitaphs

Eighth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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  • Skipper: The Doctor's companion Samson Griffin always referred to him as such. (AUDIO: Terror Firma)
  • Lord Byron: A nickname given to the Eighth Doctor by Ace. (AUDIO: The Light at the End)
  • Tigger / Eeyore: When the Doctor is split into three, each bearing different parts of his personality, Charley Pollard gave these nicknames to the bouncy and excitable, and the surly and ruthless Doctors. (AUDIO: Caerdroia)

Titles and epitaphs

War Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Ninth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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  • 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)
  • 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)
  • The Heathen: Another name given to the Doctor by the Dalek Emperor. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)

Tenth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Eleventh Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Twelfth Doctor

Known uses of John Smith

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Thirteenth Doctor

Known uses of Jane Smith

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Miscellaneous

Other aliases

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Other

Behind the scenes

The Doctor's name

  • 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". It was later spelt as "d³ᓬx²" in the "Who is the Doctor" prologue of Marvel Premiere #57 in 1980. 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 and on the cover of The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who.
    • 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 choosing his name.
  • 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."[2]

Invalid sources

Ordinal or cardinal

In The ArcHive Tapes, the narrator refers to the different incarnations of the Doctor as "Doctor (cardinal number)" rather than "the (ordinal number) Doctor".

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. Doctor Who's real name is Mildred, claims Steven Moffat. NME. Retrieved on 12 April 2016.