In addition, of the characters in The Tale of Genji, the people whose (possible) real names are known are only FUJIWARA no Koremitsu and MINAMOTO no Yoshikiyo, lower-class servants of Hikaru Genji (some people include Tamakazura, too, in them), but in the tale, most of the characters including Hikaru Genji are known by their 'nicknames' which were derived from their official positions or the names of their related places such as their residences.
しかも、源氏物語の登場人物の中で本名（と思われるもの）が明らかなのは身分の低い光源氏の家来である藤原惟光と源良清くらい（玉鬘(源氏物語)を含める説もある）であり、光源氏をはじめとして大部分の登場人物は本文中にはその官職や居住地などのゆかりのある場所の名前に由来する「呼び名」しか記されていない。