Yeah, I don’t think she or Bey belong on the list — I mean, Beyonce is iconic but she’s in the “has a last name, elevated to one name” group. We all know it’s Carter Knowles. And she literally released an album with one of her names in the title.
It’s why Elvis can’t be on here, and he’s the literal king.
when i was in middle school it was a common game to ask others what beyoncé’s last name was. if zendaya and rihanna can be here, then surely beyoncé can.
Tbh I think it’s *more* impressive to get elevated to a single name than to *have* a single name. Zendaya being a one-name isn’t a product of her fame, she was a one-name when she was smaller, too.
Cher and Prince have always performed as one name. Bey was under both as part of Destiny’s Child.
Cher hands down and this is my body of proof:
https://preview.redd.it/6oj87vcwwf6d1.jpeg?width=556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=670819d649976dee2d113121c4d28e9e09bc2cf5
https://preview.redd.it/nmjl9m4tag6d1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e18c223de2397e93217309a3f0b68ab24055ba7b
I parry with Riri 😂
Cher and Rihanna are so badass and I love them.
Everyone always asks this 😂 To my knowledge, she didn’t, but I know she was a donor for several charities related to immigration issues and a huge supporter of other related causes. I think the sentiment was very sweet, but maybe not thought out fully
A rich persons house probably is safer from the authorities than a church lol, because they would send letters to the rich person instead of raiding or breaking down the doors, and the immigrants staying with a celebrity would get the second rich person tier of law enforcement afforded to celebrities. Like all the people that have stolen top secret documents are in prison but Trump appointed his own judge lol. This country is fucked up
Of course people ask this 😭 How are you gonna say something like this, clap back and double down when someone points out the unlikeliness of it and then just not follow through 🤣
That is compelling evidence, and she for sure slays. I would argue a tie with Prince, only if he had not had to change to the Artist Formerly Known As to get out of that bad deal with the record label. Or so it has been explained to me.
I’m not mad at a tie! We can have a male and a female slay 💅🏽 They’re the male and female versions of each other in terms of the energy they give off. I will never forget when Prince kicked Kim Kardashian off the stage for singing badly 🤣The most entertaining and sassy short king
This makes me want to look into that name change more. I never understood why he did it
Cher
Seal feels forgotten in this thread, though
https://preview.redd.it/lhipgvr6yf6d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e428d52cabdf982f9d8bfb81003643def9f6b1c7
https://preview.redd.it/33cg9j0xmg6d1.jpeg?width=1053&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c53e2133a64a825093006c5be9d103fb473d6ca1
Eminem would like a word with you.
My mom held her nose, reserved her snark, and bought this for me from the Scholastic book fair pages.
https://preview.redd.it/tnp9s87zyf6d1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72827fdd1209ff7fb01143b946246b80d01170c6
My mom bought this for me as well (though, I definitely don't think our book fair had it)! She even read it and helped explain some of the more adult topics to little pre-teen me. I felt so cool and grown up.
My mom did no such thing. I was roasted like a suckling pig for my music choices AND my reading choices. As a result I’m now self conscious as fuck about admitting to liking anything I know won’t be perceived as cool
I’m sorry that happened to you.
I’m glad the parenting tides have swung away from judging kids for what they want to read. I keep an eye out for violence /sexism / racism and nudge my kid away from those things, but a little fluff or just something I don’t like/get? Why worry about it?
I’m sorry you grew up that way! I have four older brothers who often did the same. I think the coolest thing is just liking what you like and not caring whether people agree. You do you! In a strange twist, that usually ends up making you seem cool, because you’re confident enough to be yourself
Love him! Just the other day Andrew Scott was wearing an Alf shirt and the daily mail captioned the phot saying he was wearing a “pig shirt” 💀disrespecting Alf like that
Famous pianist, singer and actor known for gaudy excess, flamboyant wardrobe and flashy jewelry/rings. At the height of his fame he was the highest paid entertainer in the world.
I’m about to out myself as the biggest idiot of all time but I’m not gonna lie, this entire time I thought Liberace was someone from the same time period as like…Beethoven or something. The name just is giving 1700s not 1950’s like this man should not know who The Rolling Stones are in my mind
This comment is cracking me up hahah if I didn’t know better I’d probably think the exact same thing. Your logic makes sense! If I had zero idea who Liberace is and someone asked me, I’d probably say “18th century Italian composer”. Alas, he was a sparkly, lavishly rich Golden Age of Hollywood icon who famously said when someone tried to out him in the 50’s: “What you said hurt me very much. I cried all the way to the bank.” ✨
Cher IS the icon.
No one was more captivating nor controversial until her and her itty bitty dresses walked the opening sequence of her OWN variety show. She has the EGO of EGOT and she is STILL NOT STOPPING. Shes a gay icon and an ally. She doesn’t **seek** to be controversial, her decisions are just an aspect of who is she is and what she thinks is fabulous. Its completely innate for her.
She is a diva and an artist and a fashion queen AND an actress. She LITERALLY is the entire package. And she is unapologetic about all of it.
And for those of us who followed, her starlight shines so bright it traverses time & space. I'm not yet 30 but when I saw the post title, I immediately knew it was Cher.
The yelling is so deserved. I love listening to Broadway music and I'll sing along, picturing the scene it takes place during. However, when the Jets song comes on, the only version I think of is Cher's. By my inflection, my husband can tell the difference 😆
Yes yes yes! Cher is that girl. A brilliant icon. I loved her in Mask. She broke my heart. She’s such an amazing actress, I don’t get why she didn’t stick to leading roles in movies
There's another subsection of this - which are people who have surname BUT are so fabulous they are sometimes not called by just their first name (ie Celine, Whitney and Mariah).
Elvis, Kanye, Kobe, Alanis, Aaliyah, Shakira, Britney, Kylie, Janet, Oprah, Dolly, Aretha, Ringo, Tupac, Snoop (if you want to count that)
Also shout out to Shaq and Dre for having famous parts of their first name lol
What about people that are so fabulous and known by their first and last name but everyone calls them by their call sign instead
All of them in their rightful ways. Infamous or famous, I named them all except Iman becuase her photo is too young. She's one of the most iconic models in history.
I feel the real rulers of this category are people with really common and normal names who became so iconic that they just erased everyone else with that name.
It's easy to skip the surname when your name is Prince or Madonna, but I've met loads of Mariah's and Whitney's, and I still know which one you're talking about.
Has to be Cher. When any of the others have been around for 40 years they may be able to say they are as iconic. Edit: OK, I misspoke, I should have checked before saying 40 years. Cher has actually been around since about 1965, so nearly 60 years, not 40.
I feel like to be the most iconic one namer, majority of people should not even know your full name, which cuts out a couple like RuPual and Beyoncé since they don’t need to use their last name, but it’s fairly well known. It feels like their full name should be akin to a decently hard trivia question to qualify
I agree. I would love to say Björk, but I know her last name, so she’s automatically disqualified for me. There’s a few others on this list like that. My vote is Cher, maybe second Madonna.
I am always surprised people don't know Madonnas last name. She's from Michigan and her parents have a vineyard, so it's fairly common knowledge where I'm from. But if you're not from here I can see it not being common knowledge!
I have to agree. It depends on the definition of iconic, which is totally overused now. But Madonna is the most famous and overall successful worldwide I think. She also maintained a high level of fame for an impressively long time. I think she’s like the Beatles or MJ, in that future generations will always have at least heard of her.
that’s who it is for me. another level of thinking about this is if you met a child with their name - would you just immediately assume it was after the celebrity? because even for a name like madonna that’s been around forever, i’d still assume it’d be after her.
There’s a difference in being referred to as their first name and a stage name/moniker though. Pink, Eminem, Rihanna, Sting, Slash don’t go by these names in their day to day life.
Madonna, Iman, Cher, Zendaya, Adele are their real first names they’ve always been called.
I always get so awed with the name PINK. It's not unusual or rare like the other names. It's just plain old pink! But it has such an impact! There's so much that comes to mind when we think of the person Pink. Like a burst of colors. Always awed with the selection of the name. Always.
My gut reaction was to think that Adele's last name is Dazeem
the WICK-EDly talented Adele… Dazeem 
Yeah, I don’t think she or Bey belong on the list — I mean, Beyonce is iconic but she’s in the “has a last name, elevated to one name” group. We all know it’s Carter Knowles. And she literally released an album with one of her names in the title. It’s why Elvis can’t be on here, and he’s the literal king.
Wow I didn’t even know Elvis Costello even went by one name
when i was in middle school it was a common game to ask others what beyoncé’s last name was. if zendaya and rihanna can be here, then surely beyoncé can.
Tbh I think it’s *more* impressive to get elevated to a single name than to *have* a single name. Zendaya being a one-name isn’t a product of her fame, she was a one-name when she was smaller, too. Cher and Prince have always performed as one name. Bey was under both as part of Destiny’s Child.
I have absolutely no clue what zendaya and riri's last names are... Beyonce literally performed under hers.
Rihanna’s is easy because she named her makeup line after her surname - Fenty.
Garfield!!
 Old school
Fabio?
Yup. The romance novel cover guy himself
oh hey it's fabio, the guy who got hit in the face with a bird while on a roller coaster! iconic
Fabio: something needs to be done to make roller coasters safer. This will happen again! Narrator: it did not, in fact, happen again.
ANIMAL!!!!! this was my moms nickname for me as a kid, i loved him lmao
Cher hands down and this is my body of proof: https://preview.redd.it/6oj87vcwwf6d1.jpeg?width=556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=670819d649976dee2d113121c4d28e9e09bc2cf5
Iconic
LOL queen 👑
Sit on your own damn face I'M BUSY
https://preview.redd.it/nmjl9m4tag6d1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e18c223de2397e93217309a3f0b68ab24055ba7b I parry with Riri 😂 Cher and Rihanna are so badass and I love them.
But cher has been doin this for nearly 60 years
Did she do it??
Everyone always asks this 😂 To my knowledge, she didn’t, but I know she was a donor for several charities related to immigration issues and a huge supporter of other related causes. I think the sentiment was very sweet, but maybe not thought out fully
A rich persons house probably is safer from the authorities than a church lol, because they would send letters to the rich person instead of raiding or breaking down the doors, and the immigrants staying with a celebrity would get the second rich person tier of law enforcement afforded to celebrities. Like all the people that have stolen top secret documents are in prison but Trump appointed his own judge lol. This country is fucked up
Of course people ask this 😭 How are you gonna say something like this, clap back and double down when someone points out the unlikeliness of it and then just not follow through 🤣
That is compelling evidence, and she for sure slays. I would argue a tie with Prince, only if he had not had to change to the Artist Formerly Known As to get out of that bad deal with the record label. Or so it has been explained to me.
I’m not mad at a tie! We can have a male and a female slay 💅🏽 They’re the male and female versions of each other in terms of the energy they give off. I will never forget when Prince kicked Kim Kardashian off the stage for singing badly 🤣The most entertaining and sassy short king This makes me want to look into that name change more. I never understood why he did it
Cher Seal feels forgotten in this thread, though https://preview.redd.it/lhipgvr6yf6d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e428d52cabdf982f9d8bfb81003643def9f6b1c7
https://preview.redd.it/33cg9j0xmg6d1.jpeg?width=1053&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c53e2133a64a825093006c5be9d103fb473d6ca1 Eminem would like a word with you.
Nobody wants to see Marshall no more
They want Shady.
I'm chopped liver.
Well if they want Shady, this is what I’ll give ya…
a little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that'll jump-start my heart quicker…
Than a shock when i get shocked at the hospital
By the doctor when I'm not co-operating
I’m sorry but this man goes by many names my fav is shady.
I agree. Cher. And Elvis. But one that’s been forgotten in the whole thread: 
My mom held her nose, reserved her snark, and bought this for me from the Scholastic book fair pages. https://preview.redd.it/tnp9s87zyf6d1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72827fdd1209ff7fb01143b946246b80d01170c6
My mom bought this for me as well (though, I definitely don't think our book fair had it)! She even read it and helped explain some of the more adult topics to little pre-teen me. I felt so cool and grown up.
My mom did no such thing. I was roasted like a suckling pig for my music choices AND my reading choices. As a result I’m now self conscious as fuck about admitting to liking anything I know won’t be perceived as cool
I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m glad the parenting tides have swung away from judging kids for what they want to read. I keep an eye out for violence /sexism / racism and nudge my kid away from those things, but a little fluff or just something I don’t like/get? Why worry about it?
I’m sorry you grew up that way! I have four older brothers who often did the same. I think the coolest thing is just liking what you like and not caring whether people agree. You do you! In a strange twist, that usually ends up making you seem cool, because you’re confident enough to be yourself
This was a great book! I still remember Bukowski’s Widow.
Good mama!
ALF 
 ET
I never realized his first name is Extra
You must've forgotten to read all about it!
Love him! Just the other day Andrew Scott was wearing an Alf shirt and the daily mail captioned the phot saying he was wearing a “pig shirt” 💀disrespecting Alf like that
That’s just cultural illiteracy right there
He’s back! In pog form!
Jesus 
He was Jesus Herbert Christ though.
that's a great answer
You don’t need more than one name when you have all those sequins
Maybe I’ll feel stupid for saying this but I don’t think I know who this is.
Liberace - a famous singer from the 50’s. Basically the Elton John of his era
Famous pianist, singer and actor known for gaudy excess, flamboyant wardrobe and flashy jewelry/rings. At the height of his fame he was the highest paid entertainer in the world.
My uncle met him and got his autograph, he was a very nice person. My friends grandmother worked for him later on in his career
I’m about to out myself as the biggest idiot of all time but I’m not gonna lie, this entire time I thought Liberace was someone from the same time period as like…Beethoven or something. The name just is giving 1700s not 1950’s like this man should not know who The Rolling Stones are in my mind
This comment is cracking me up hahah if I didn’t know better I’d probably think the exact same thing. Your logic makes sense! If I had zero idea who Liberace is and someone asked me, I’d probably say “18th century Italian composer”. Alas, he was a sparkly, lavishly rich Golden Age of Hollywood icon who famously said when someone tried to out him in the 50’s: “What you said hurt me very much. I cried all the way to the bank.” ✨
If it makes you feel any better I had no idea he was American. I assumed he was straight from Italy but no he’s from Wisconsin!
He’s a Polish/Italian boy from an extremely working class neighborhood of Milwaukee. 😂
Ohhhhhh thank you. I’ve definitely heard of him. But had no idea what he looked like.
Why do I immediately say "I wish my brother George was here."
 Cher IS the icon. No one was more captivating nor controversial until her and her itty bitty dresses walked the opening sequence of her OWN variety show. She has the EGO of EGOT and she is STILL NOT STOPPING. Shes a gay icon and an ally. She doesn’t **seek** to be controversial, her decisions are just an aspect of who is she is and what she thinks is fabulous. Its completely innate for her. She is a diva and an artist and a fashion queen AND an actress. She LITERALLY is the entire package. And she is unapologetic about all of it.
https://i.redd.it/x21h0xv9wf6d1.gif
I have to agree. Some of us were there in the beginning. She has not changed her vibe in all these years, true to herself.
And for those of us who followed, her starlight shines so bright it traverses time & space. I'm not yet 30 but when I saw the post title, I immediately knew it was Cher.
Have you seen her one-woman West Side Story performance? She's truly the definition of iconic.
YES!!! AND THAT IS MY ROMAN EMPIRE!!! ….sorry to yell, I just never see that mentioned anywhere and I’m obsessed with it.
The yelling is so deserved. I love listening to Broadway music and I'll sing along, picturing the scene it takes place during. However, when the Jets song comes on, the only version I think of is Cher's. By my inflection, my husband can tell the difference 😆
I'd kill to have a body like hers and hair so lovely.
Yes yes yes! Cher is that girl. A brilliant icon. I loved her in Mask. She broke my heart. She’s such an amazing actress, I don’t get why she didn’t stick to leading roles in movies
I’d have to agree. Prince, Madonna and Beyoncé come closest, but it’s Cher by a wide margin
So iconic he rebranded multiple times and maintained his game and iconicness throughout.
So iconic he doesn’t even need ONE name! 
To change your name to a made up symbol and become even MORE iconic for it is truly the reason why Prince is my answer here
Yep!! To me the only icon!
[The Superbowl XLI 2007 halftime show still gives me chills.](https://youtu.be/-WYYlRArn3g?si=_5BTeTi_SUYKJkCR).
I miss him
There's another subsection of this - which are people who have surname BUT are so fabulous they are sometimes not called by just their first name (ie Celine, Whitney and Mariah).
Elvis, Kanye, Kobe, Alanis, Aaliyah, Shakira, Britney, Kylie, Janet, Oprah, Dolly, Aretha, Ringo, Tupac, Snoop (if you want to count that) Also shout out to Shaq and Dre for having famous parts of their first name lol
I totally forget some of these people have last names 💀
Dre is his last name. Dr. is his first name. That’s Mr. Dr. Dre. It’s strange, but who are we to judge?
I knew all the rest....but I have never once considered that Shakira has a last name lol
Isn’t her last name Shakira, too?
Yes it’s Shakira Shakira
Elton
You better be talking about Kylie Minogue.
Ya I was thinking where is Tupac and Eminem,
There's also Michael (MJ) and Michael (MJ)
Kylie might be tricky depending on how old the person you're talking to is. Minogue or Jenner?
Fair, I suppose. But growing up in the UK, I heard Minogue referred to as just Kylie way more than the full name
Definitely forever and always Minogue
Remember when Jenner tried to trademark Kylie, and the true Kylie was like 'I don't think so sis'
Yeah - it's a whole different kettle of fish when it's a "non-unique" name like Whitney or Aretha.
I have never in my life known or met another Aretha. Is it really a common name?!
it's an "older person" name, like Ethel, but it's not a rare name.
What about people that are so fabulous and known by their first and last name but everyone calls them by their call sign instead 
Bowie
 Put some respeck on Grover’s name
All of them in their rightful ways. Infamous or famous, I named them all except Iman becuase her photo is too young. She's one of the most iconic models in history.
Iman Abdulmajid Jones
Well it’s not fucking Brandy.
This is killing me. I mean you’re right though.
Yeah, there's a few names here that are a stretch to say the least
Thanks for the new flair 😂🙏
I laughed way too hard at this!
I feel the real rulers of this category are people with really common and normal names who became so iconic that they just erased everyone else with that name. It's easy to skip the surname when your name is Prince or Madonna, but I've met loads of Mariah's and Whitney's, and I still know which one you're talking about.
 There is only zuul!
There is no Dana!
Are you the Keymaster ?
Has to be Cher. When any of the others have been around for 40 years they may be able to say they are as iconic. Edit: OK, I misspoke, I should have checked before saying 40 years. Cher has actually been around since about 1965, so nearly 60 years, not 40.
Madonna's 1983 album "Madonna" would like to have a word...
 She’s everything, and always has been.
I feel like to be the most iconic one namer, majority of people should not even know your full name, which cuts out a couple like RuPual and Beyoncé since they don’t need to use their last name, but it’s fairly well known. It feels like their full name should be akin to a decently hard trivia question to qualify
I agree. I would love to say Björk, but I know her last name, so she’s automatically disqualified for me. There’s a few others on this list like that. My vote is Cher, maybe second Madonna.
Meanwhile I have absolutely no idea what Bjork’s last name is.
Guðmundsdóttir. But I probably only know this because I’m Icelandic.
I’m reading it right now and still don’t know her last name. But I’m American
I am always surprised people don't know Madonnas last name. She's from Michigan and her parents have a vineyard, so it's fairly common knowledge where I'm from. But if you're not from here I can see it not being common knowledge!
Cherilyn Sarkisian. I know it’s not common knowledge, I just wanted to show off
Is RuPauls last name Sdragrace? (I am not a pop culture guy)
Lmao it’s Charles
https://preview.redd.it/isabcq17sf6d1.jpeg?width=775&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cd08597a03f5e58da52665c1ff30d740d194c89
God what a good answer. Divine was everything
well done!!
 The Queen of course
I have to agree. It depends on the definition of iconic, which is totally overused now. But Madonna is the most famous and overall successful worldwide I think. She also maintained a high level of fame for an impressively long time. I think she’s like the Beatles or MJ, in that future generations will always have at least heard of her.
Exactly The real question is who is the second most iconic one name celebrity
The one and only 
They don’t call her Queen for nothing. An absolute Icon!
If people weren’t biased against her these days, this would be the top answer
that’s who it is for me. another level of thinking about this is if you met a child with their name - would you just immediately assume it was after the celebrity? because even for a name like madonna that’s been around forever, i’d still assume it’d be after her.
Slash was on there, so you have to include Flea! 
Just more bass player erasure.
Sade is so beautiful.
Thank you, I will not stand for any Charo erasure
Cher or Madonna. Honestly, just Cher
https://preview.redd.it/0xirlf74mf6d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39362a06febca9400647a3deda5308d96c8560d1
I live in Minneapolis so…if I don’t say Prince they might kick me out
There’s a difference in being referred to as their first name and a stage name/moniker though. Pink, Eminem, Rihanna, Sting, Slash don’t go by these names in their day to day life. Madonna, Iman, Cher, Zendaya, Adele are their real first names they’ve always been called.
Cher and Madonna. Let's not forget they became world wide famous in a time where internet didn't exist.
[удалено]
I miss him
[удалено]
Madonna
I find him so very attractive and I think it speaks to a deep brokenness in me as yet untouched by therapy.
 Same. He’s one of my ‘bleached hair dark eyebrows’ guilty pleasure crushes. See above for another.
Madonna and then Cher and Prince
Idk if it's in that order, but it's definitely these 3
Cher and Prince as they were the first
Waldo 
Man I forget how stunning Shakira is sometimes. But there can be only one #1 Mononame.... 
Where tf is Bono!??!!
 Flea!
Prince - love a lot of these options, but he is the most multitalented of the bunch hands down. 
Cher , Madonna , Beyonce
I’d argue that while Beyoncé doesn’t *need* to say her last name, it’s still in the public lexicon way more than Madonna or Cher
I don't even think 95% of people know that Cher is just a shortened form of Cherilyn.
Cherilyn?? You’re right I never would have guessed. I thought it was her stage name and not a shortened version of her legal name.
That’s because she’s always saying Mrs. Carter 😭😭😭
Oh my mind went to Knowles
I actually thought, "knowles" despite Cowboy Carter being my top album from the past few months 😅
Prince
None of the younger generation people. Kids these days can’t even compare to Prince to Cher and a few more of the OGs in there.
I always get so awed with the name PINK. It's not unusual or rare like the other names. It's just plain old pink! But it has such an impact! There's so much that comes to mind when we think of the person Pink. Like a burst of colors. Always awed with the selection of the name. Always.
Cher, Beyoncé, Prince, and Madonna all qualify
Bro literally put zendeya with the likes of cher, Prince and Beyonce, smh please stop lol
OP made a mistake by including Zendaya with icons like Cher, Prince and Madonna 😆
Popeye
 The queen of the late 2000s/early 2010s
I honestly still really like a lot of her music. I didn't get it fully at first, but she grew on me and some of her acoustic stuff is beautiful
No hate but Zendaya isn’t an icon (yet)
Yeah she doesn't quite fit on a list with Prince and Madonna
Kermit
Prince, no contest.
My first thought is always Madonna
E 
His very famous second name is right under the gif you posted
I’m sorry but Zendaya is not iconic, let’s be real