---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all have names we don't know about."
description: "\"We all have names we don't know about.\" — Martin Amis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg"
---

#  We all have names we don't know about.

![“We all have names we don't know about.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg)

> “We all have names we don't know about.”

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Everyone possesses hidden histories and unknown identities that shape their lives.

**In simple terms:** We have unknown names.

Key Takeaway

Explore personal history.

Themes

identity mystery storytelling

Mood

curious introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- genealogy research
- creative writing
- personal therapy
- social networking

Key Concepts

psychology of self narrative theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What unknown aspects of yourself intrigue you?
- How does knowing a name change perception?

A Different Perspective

Uncovering hidden identities can be unsettling.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Don Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-know-236502/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/name/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Names Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names-don-1266495/)

## Related quotes

> [“I'm an American, our names don't mean shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-m-an-american-our-names-don-t-mean-shit/)

[Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/)

> [Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/now-you-people-have-names-that-s-because-you-don-t-know-who-you-are/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [No names I don't play that silly game you smoking to much weed you ain't no killer mayne,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/south-park-mexican/no-names-i-don-t-play-that-silly-game-you-smoking-to-much-weed-you/)

[South Park Mexican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/south-park-mexican/)

> [A lot of the times when I've auditioned for parts in America, the answer is, 'Sorry, we need a bigger name.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sheen/a-lot-of-the-times-when-i-ve-auditioned-for-parts-in-america-the/)

[Michael Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sheen/)

> [I always just wanted to be the singer or the bass player in the band. I'd love to have a band, where I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/i-always-just-wanted-to-be-the-singer-or-the-bass-player-in-the-band/)

[Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/)

> [People say, 'I love 'Snatch,' I love 'Lock Stock,' but I want to be more than a movie name. I'd love to be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/people-say-i-love-snatch-i-love-lock-stock-but-i-want-to-be-more-than/)

[Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/)

> [I think you can tell a great deal from a name. For me, there are certain names that I hear, and I think, 'Urgh.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/i-think-you-can-tell-a-great-deal-from-a-name-for-me-there-are/)

[Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/)

> [Every name in a TV show has to be run by the legal department first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/every-name-in-a-tv-show-has-to-be-run-by-the-legal-department-first/)

[Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/)

> [I always loved putting on shows - when you're the youngest of seven and five are older sisters, you've got to get noticed somehow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-always-loved-putting-on-shows-when-you-re-the-youngest-of-seven-and/)

[David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/)

> [All men that date me have to know that their name may end up in a pop song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/all-men-that-date-me-have-to-know-that-their-name-may-end-up-in-a-pop/)

[Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/)

> [When we started Appaloosa, we were going to name it Pegasus because everyone was using Greek names. We filed the name. We paid $300,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tepper/when-we-started-appaloosa-we-were-going-to-name-it-pegasus-because/)

[David Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tepper/)

> [When I started out, I was Avici with one i. But on MySpace, that name was taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avicii/when-i-started-out-i-was-avici-with-one-i-but-on-myspace-that-name/)

[Avicii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avicii/)

> [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/)

[Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/)

> [I am hands-on in any project that I am associated with. I just don't want to put my face or name and lend it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-am-hands-on-in-any-project-that-i-am-associated-with-i-just-don-t/)

[Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/)

> [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/)

[Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/)

## More by Martin Amis

> [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

[Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## More Know quotes

> [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/)

[Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/)

> [“To know someone, to be known. That matters more than he'd ever thought it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/to-know-someone-to-be-known-that-matters-more-than-he-d-ever-thought/)

[Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/)

[Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/)

> [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/)

[Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/)

> [Don't get too attached to someone you know you can't be together with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-get-too-attached-to-someone-you-know-you-can-t-be-together-with/)

[Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/)

> [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/)

[Robert Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-preston/)

> [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/)

[Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/)

> [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/)

[Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/)

> [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/)

[Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/)

> [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

[Browse all 22,299 Know quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We all have names we don't know about.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martin Amis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Know"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e1/martin-amis-704_names_we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about-15_1591896.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We all have names we don't know about.” — Martin Amis",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Martin Amis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We all have names we don't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/we-all-have-names-we-don-t-know-about/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
