Mages tend to echew long titles and names,
and the general feeling is that a wizard's fame should precede him
or her, such that a single mention of the name is sufficient, and no
one would doubt the speaker was referring to anyone else but the
genuine article. For example, there may well be an Elminster the
Barber or an Elminster of Waterdeep, but a reference to Elminster
(or even the more modest "Elminster the Sage") refers to the advi-
sor without peer who resides in Shadowdale.
* Source:
Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb. "Forgotten Realms: A Grand Tour of the Realms."
Lake Geneva, W.I.: TSR, 1993, 23.