Jfc, if you knew how long it has taken me to know the names of some of my friends, and not just work friends or gym friends, it would be absurd.

Hell, even after months of hanging with someone, you might not know their last name; it's all "hey, I'm zipper". Why zipper? "I dunno, you know how it is". Yeah, I feel that. Anyway, went a beer, zip?

My chronic pain/disability support group shares space with an autism support group. Not a single one of the autism group knows my actual name afaik, but we'll hang out down the road at a diner some nights as a mixed group when we're meeting at the same time. It's all "hey, beard!" And "sasquatch, wanna see my cat?" And sometimes just "man". I've known some of them for years and we don't know each other's actual names. A couple of them, I've been to their house, and vice versa, and we don't know each others last name at all.

One guy in specific came over, heard my wife call out my name and was confused as hell because my name sounds like a regular word and thought it was a different nickname. Asked for the story behind it, and I had to show him my driver's license because he thought I was fucking with him. We'd had dinner together at the diner dozens of times.

No need for real names when you're bros