Max Greenfield's character has always been known by his surname, Schmidt, in the sitcom "New Girl." Even his wife, Cece (Hannah Simone), did not know what his first name was. This all changed in the sixth season, where the show revealed that his given name is Winston, the same as his best friend and roommate Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris).
In the sitcom, Schmidt said he would finally take back his first name to complete his identity and to build his brand. He revealed his first name to his friends via a nameplate. The other Winston initially tried to stop him from finally divulging this, saying that there is "nothing but pain down that road" should he make his revelation.
It turns out that the two made a pact 15 years ago when they were still in college that one would go by the first name and the other will use the last name to avoid confusing people.
A press statement from Fox revealed that his full name is Winston Saint-Marie Schmidt.
According to "New Girl" showrunners — Brett Baer and Dave Finkel — they decided to keep Schmidt's full name a secret for comedic purposes. As a result of this decision, they said in an interview with the A.V. Club that they took pains to conceal it, such as a thumb covering the first name on a wedding invitation.
The two revealed that they were finally able to stumble upon the name "Winston" in season 5, saying that the idea to give him the same name as his best friend came from Liz Meriwether, the show's creator. They also said to TVLine that neither Greenfield nor Morris knew about this until they read for the episode.
With the revelation of Schmidt's first name, does that mean that viewers will also see a change in the character's personality? Finkel said no. "In the end, Schmidt is Schmidt," he said.
Baer said that the decision to finally reveal his first name was the result of the uncertainty of the future of "New Girl," as the show has not been renewed for a seventh season yet.
"We obviously wanted to hold our fire for as long as we possibly could. We also didn't know if this was the end of the road, so we wanted to finally do it," Baer added. This uncertainty drove them to create a season finale — and possibly a series finale — that will close major storylines but still provide room for the writers to maneuver should the show be picked up again.
"New Girl" airs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox.
