Why Wouldn't Gilligan's First Name Be "Gilligan?"

Why do people assume Gilligan was his last name? Don't close friends

David Levy...

Both Sherwood Schwartz and Bob Denver said so. While the character's
first name was never used, they indicated that it would have been
"Willy."

Default User...

I think it was used in the original unaired pilot.

call each other by their first name? He was the Skipper's little buddy;
would you call your best buddy by his last name day in and day out?
Just one of my pet peeves!! I always assumed it was his first name.

Lobster Man...

It makes sense if you assume that the Skipper came from a Naval
background. Pretty common in the military to address someone by their
last name, or their rank. Or maybe in a more familar setting, by a nickname.

Hence in MASH, Klinger was rarely called "Max". Lots of other examples.

Barry Margolin...

For one thing, Gilligan is a much more common last name than first name.

Second, it's not uncommon for military folk, or people in similar social
structures, to call each other by last names, even if they're otherwise

jayembee...

It doesn't even have to be a military or similar social situation.
I've had friends that I just called by last name for no particular
reason.

very informal. If they don't use the last name, they're more likely to
use nicknames than first names (e.g. Kirk almost always called McCoy
"McCoy" or "Bones", rarely Leonard, and the colonels on M*A*S*H said
"Radar" or "O'Reilly", but almost never his given name (I don't even
remember what it was)).

Rhino...

FYI: I'm pretty sure Radar's first name was Walter.

EGTea...

The Skipper was Gilligan's Big Buddy. His given name was Jonas. Did you ever
hear Gilligan call him that?

Kevrob...

He could have even been THE Gilligan, long-lost head of Clan Mac
Giollagain. The gaeilge root of the name is "giolla", which means
"lad." For an eternal boy-man like "Willy" Gilligan, that seems apt.

Kevrob...

That's just silly, but if Tina was one of the few women who meant it
when she claimed that she liked guys with a good sense of humor, then
good for her!

bklyntv...

Lots of people call each other by their last names. Summer on the OC
calls her boyfriend Seth Cohen "Cohen" exclusively (I don't think she's
EVER called him Seth) and her best friend Marissa (RIP) "Coop" for
Cooper.

Barry Margolin...

The cases I find weird sounding are wives who call their husbands by
their last names, since it's also their own name (in all the cases I
recall, the wife has indeed taken his name). Like on "Huff", where his
wife calls him "Huff" (an abbreviation of their last name).

I guess it makes sense, as they presumably got in the habit when they
were just friends, but it still sounds strange to me.

me...

Kelso on That 70's Show, Cartmann on South Park, Wilson on Home
Improvement (oh wait, his name was Wilson Wilson :) Kramer on
Seinfeld.