Why do they call Galileo by his first name?

Is it just because it sounds like Galilei?





You don't hear people call Newton Isaac, or Einstein Albert.

Why do they call Galileo by his first name?
He is from the land of people with one name, such as Michelangelo, Elvis, Cher, Pliny, Euclid, Nostradamus, and Copernicus. Everyone knows them by one name and it seems superfluous to say the entire name every time they are referred to. Galileo is the only person we know about with that name. There are many thousands of Isaacs and Alberts. If you referred to them using only their first names, no one would know who you were talking about.
Reply:Sometimes it's done that way. I see "Tycho," "Jesus," many in the Bible, "Abraham," "Moses," "King David" "Herod," "Caesar," and Hannibal" referrred to that way sometimes.
Reply:why do they call you Adam? because its your FIRST name.


if you want your first curb stomp... gimme a call
Reply:first names cool enough!! it sounds pretty sweet!
Reply:Good question. At first, I was going to say that they used first names more commonly in Galileo's day (thinking of Tycho [Brahe] as an example), but then I remembered [Nicolas] Copernicus as a counterexample. On the other hand, maybe they did: Leonardo [da Vinci] and Michelangelo [di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni] are just two more examples.





As long as it's clear whom you're discussing, I guess it doesn't matter.
Reply:I think it has to do with Italy at the time. First names seem to be what people were called by in most literature I have seen from his age. Also we cannot call Newton or Einstein by their first names because they are too common, there have been many Alberts an Isaacs but not many Galileos.
Reply:It's unique enough. Isaac can be mistaken for some Biblical character and Albert for, well, Fat Albert?
Reply:Galileo's full name is Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei. The last part, "di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei," I believe is a patronymic (meaning "son of Vincenzo Bonaiuti of Galilei" or - his father's name). It makes more sense to refer to Galileo by his first name rather than his less-famous father's name
Reply:Ha. Good question. I've wondered about that myself. Your right, you don't hear people say, "Wow. That was such a 'tard thing you did at school today. Your such an Albert." I mean it doesn't have the same impact as saying, "Wow. That was such a 'tard thing you did at school today. Your such an Einstein." That sounds much better. I have no idea why we call Galileo by his first name. Maybe he was a very friendly guy?





I'm such an Albert, maybe you'll pick my answer as Best Answer.