[hk__2]

Her name is von der Leyen. "Ursula" is fine for your friends, but it’s awkward for a public figure. Do you write "Donald" as well?

[barney54]

I write Donald sometimes. If you say Donald in the right context we know who are talking about. Or Kier or Emmanuel. There is nothing wrong with first names of public figures.

[molybd3num]

"ça va manu?"

[root-parent]

You have 3 million threads here to police, talking about Elon. Get on with it...

[Fnoord]

Because in the name Elon Musk, Elon stands out.

[drysine]

So does Ursula

[Fnoord]

I only know one Elon. Never heard the name before, don't even know the origins.

[drysine]

And I know only two Ursulas, the other one wrote about wizards.

[hk__2]

Come on, "Elon" is the exception.

[philipallstar]

The "Awkward Police" is not a job.

[hk__2]

"Snarky commenter" is not either.

[boltzmann-brain]

It's very usual to name famous people by their first name. like John, Ringo, George, or Paul. Or Steve and Bill. Or Sam and Dario.

[tosti]

Mario and Luigi.

[nancyminusone]

yeah, I do write 'Donald', as do a lot of people. Awkward only if you are talking about the duck or the hamburger clown.

[achenet]

<HN is the 'well actually' capital of the internet>

well actually, it's Ronald McDonald, not Donald McDonald

(but Donald Duck's first name is indeed Donald)

</HN is the 'well actually' capital of the internet>

[queenkjuul]

Oh lol, i assumed trump was the "hamburger clown"

[arendtio]

You can argue that it is somewhat disrespectful, but only to a low degree. Since everybody knows who is meant, and the disrespect fits the context, I think it is totally fine to just use the forename.

[zrn900]

Censursula is her nickname that she got in the days when she was a minister of family or something and wanted to censor the internet and allow using it only with a permit (2009).

[stronglikedan]

what? it's her name. people use it. it's fine. you act like politicians deserve respect