A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants orphaned by natural disaster for whom no written record survives.^{[citation needed]} The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that a child has the right from birth to a name. Certain isolated tribes, such as the Machiguenga of the Amazon, also lack personal names.

Naming conventions are strongly influenced by culture, with some cultures being more flexible on naming than others. However, for all cultures where historical records are available, the naming rules are known to change over time.

Common components of true names given at birth include:

Some people (called anonyms) choose to be anonymous, that is, to hide their true names, for fear of governmental prosecution or social ridicule of their works or actions. Another method to disguise one's identity is to employ a pseudonym.

Ben Cross (born 16 December 1947) is a British actor of the stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

Cross was born Harry Bernard Cross in London to a working class Irish Catholic family. His mother was a cleaning woman and his father a doorman and nurse. He began acting at a very young age and participated in grammar school plays – most notably playing Jesus in a school pageant at age 12. Cross was educated at Devonport High School for Boys, a grammar school in Plymouth, Devon, but was bullied by a teacher and left home at 15.

Cross initially worked in various jobs including work as a window cleaner, waiter and joiner. He was master carpenter for the Welsh National Opera and property master at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.

In 1970 at the age of 22, he was accepted into London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) - the alma mater of actors such as John Gielgud, Glenda Jackson and Anthony Hopkins, but later expressed little interest in pursuing the classical route.