As the story reaches its climax, it is revealed that Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) is not a separate person, but a dissociated personality created by the Narrator’s subconscious. While Tyler is the name of the "projection," the physical body of the Narrator is the one who legally bears the responsibility for Tyler’s actions.

Occasionally cited in different drafts or interpretations.

Paradoxically, this vacuum of identity becomes his only authentic feature. When he begins attending support groups for testicular cancer and other diseases he does not have, he finds release not in confessing a real self, but in adopting false names . “I’m Bob,” he says in one group, or “Cornelius” in another. These pseudonyms allow him to cry, to sleep, to feel human. The narrator’s real name is never spoken because the real self has nothing to say. It is only in the spaces of fraud and anonymity that he can experience catharsis. This reveals a terrifying truth at the heart of the novel: in late capitalism, authenticity is impossible. The closest one can get to feeling real is by pretending to be someone else.

However, fans and critics often use two other names to identify him, though neither is strictly his "real" name within the story:

When the character attends support groups, he uses various pseudonyms to hide his identity. In the book, his primary fake name is Cornelius . In the movie, he introduces himself as "Cornelius," "Rupert," and "Travis" at different meetings.

The lack of a name reinforces the theme that the character has been hollowed out by his lifestyle. He is defined by his furniture and his job, not by his humanity.

When people in the story—members of Project Mayhem or the police—address the man we know as the Narrator, they believe they are talking to Tyler Durden. In a literal, legal sense within the world of the story, Tyler Durden is the only name the character truly "has." Why He Remains Nameless

: In the comic book sequel Fight Club 2 , the Narrator adopts the name Sebastian as he tries to live a "normal" life ten years after the events of the original story.