Why You Never Learned Penny's Last Name On The Big Bang Theory

If you're a big fan of The Big Bang Theory, perhaps you can answer this simple question for us: What exactly is Penny's last name? Well?

We imagine you're totally stumped right now. That's because unlike the other main characters Penny doesn't actually have a last name… At least, not a last name that we ever heard on the show.

Sure, she became Penny Hofstadter after she married Leonard … but her maiden name still remains a big mystery, even after the season finale aired in May 2019. Many of us waited and waited, but we never got the big reveal. And it's entirely likely that we never will.

This omission evidently wasn't an oversight at least, not through the entire run of the show. As it turns out, the creative minds behind the show made an executive decision to leave Penny's surname an unsolved mystery, evidently unaware that this is exactly the kind of thing that keeps us awake at night.

Chuck Lorre, the co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, once hinted that Penny's last name might be Barrington. But if that's true, it was certainly never mentioned on the program or anywhere else, for that matter so he may have been trolling his fans.

As executive producer Steven Molaro explained during a March 2019 WonderCon panel,

"[Eventually] we got nervous and superstitious about giving her [a last name]. It will always be [her married name] Hofstadter."

He said something similar to Vulture in 2013:

"What name could we possibly pick that would be satisfying at this point? You know, I don’t think we will [reveal it]. We’re kind of a superstitious lot here. We’ve made it this far without knowing Penny’s last name. I think we’re good not finding out." Keep watching the video to see why you never learned Penny's last name on The Big Bang Theory!

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